Chippy-Doodles: Gingerbread Houses

Gingerbread City 2011

The Bakery window has goodies inside....

.........Tiny little plum puddings and plates of cookies.

Over 2,000 individual 1" long gingerbread bricks. I did not count the individual strips of fondant siding. 80-100 hours to complete - am I nuts or what? But it was fun, it really was. (and I got the individual brick idea out of my system - I won't do THAT again!)

Brick meets wooden clapboard row house - gingerbread bricks, put on one at a time, and strips of fondant siding, also put on one at a time. Gingerbread window frames.

The best way to get realistic looking bricks? - burn 'em! (of course I PLANNED it that way - it's not like it was an accident or anything) - red food color mixed in with my gingerbread mix, then cut into brick shapes and baked - some just done, some over done, some burned - then mix them all up and slap them on a nice hard foundation (cereal bars anyone?) with frosting 'glue' - then a nice wash of watered down black food color/frosting mix to make it look old. The back of this building is also brick - won't do THAT again either!

Another view of "Christmas in the City"

Someone has left a basket of goodies by the door.
The windows and window boxes are dried fondant - measure, cut, and lay out for a few weeks, then it's just a matter of assembly with frosting 'glue'.

The End

Gingerbread Study 2010

I wanted to make a realistic house, and fashioned thsis one after my study in my own house. (with the addition of the black and white floor - something I do not have, but do want.)

tons, (and I do mean that - this creation was HEAVY!) of gingerbread and fondant (I used over 7 pounds of just powdered sugar alone.) fruit roll-up bows, tortilla tree.

books made of fig newtons. Candles are large dry pasta, covered in fondant, with small dry pasta inside to be the flame.

The original plan - made of cardboard and tape - this was put together just the way I wanted it, then taken apart and the pieces were used as templates to cut the actual gingerbread.

This is what the back looked like - trees in the snow behind the fireplace.

My Daughter's Gingerbread Softball Field 2012

This was her first year playing softball, so she decided to make a field. She did this on her own - I helped only with putting trays into the oven, providing needed items, and of course, washing all of the dishes used.