Freddie's Gingerbread House (aka Mansion) Tutorial

This is a day late- oops! It's been a busy week in the Jackson house as we finished up JPF Market orders and started making preparations for our first Christmas as a family. However, last weekend we took a break and had some family time. We invited Freddie's sister over to help us make a Gingerbread House. Don't judge, it was all of our's first time ;) haha

I've read and heard horrible stories of these beautiful creations falling apart, so I wanted to try my design hand at making a fail proof gingerbread structure. I pulled out all my interior design and architecure model building tools and skills and got to work planning our house. This DIY tutorial will be a combination of mine and Freddie's steps to build an awesome Gingerbread House (aka Mansion). I had him put together in his own words how we made this, as part of his writing last week for homeschool- practical and fun!

1. Planning: Pinterest to your hearts' desire to choose your finishes- What do you want to create your roof with? What about the front door? The pathway? The windows? The lights and decor? The trees? Will it have people? What do you want to build your structure with- homemade gingerbread, pre-made gingerbread structure, or graham crackers?

2. Shop: Gather all your supplies that you'll need for each of the design elements you chose. And... don't forget you'll need ingredients to make royal icing- 3 large egg whites (up to 6 for large structure), cream of tartar, a box of powdered sugar (2 if you plan to do a large one).

You'll also need building supplies for the structure (I demo this in the video below).

Lauren's Building Supplies

(fail-proof structure)

2 pieces of Foam Core
Cork-backed ruler
Straight edge (I used an architect's triangle- this also helps with determining roof angles)
Pen or pencil
Self-healing Mat
Hot Glue Gun and Sticks
Xatco Knife

3. Choose and Build Your Structure:

If you've never built a model with foam core, you'll want to find a template. Or, if you're using a pre-made house this is also helpful because you can use the same angles and sizes as the house.

First, draw your structure.

1. Heat up your hot glue gun. Meanwhile, draw your facade aka the front. Really dig in to how large or small you want your structure. Choose your roof pitch. This is the perfect place to use your architect's triangle to get a symmetrical roof line.

Tip: We used the plan below as a go-by, but made it bigger. And, we added the doors and windows with candies instead of actually cutting to save on time and add color!

2. Next choose the depth of how long you want your house to be and draw the rectangles for the sides based on the height of your front side.

3. Draw the roof based on the angle of the front and make sure that you include an over-hang for the roof line to meet.

{Kitty was all about family time}

4. If you've never worked with foam core, make sure to use the cork-backed ruler to make sure that your ruler doesn't move when you use the Xacto blade to cut your pieces. Before cutting make sure to place the foam on the self-healing mat, so you don't cut or scratch the surface you are working on. Score the top paper of the foam core with your Xacto blade resting against the ruler, then cut the foam layer, and then cut the bottom. Don't rush it. WATCH YOUR FINGERS.

5. Use the front piece to trace your back side, so they are the same size exactly.

6. Find a large piece of foam core for the base and glue the back of the structure down to the base. Place the side pieces on the interior of the back piece one at a time and glue them to the back and the base. Then situate and glue the front in place. Last, glue the roof on.

4. Whip it:

Make your icing! Royal icing is the bee's knees when it comes to gingerbread houses. It will harden for you. If you go with a pre-made kit, I've been advised to not use that icing. It doesn't hold, from what I hear. So here's a wonderful recipe for you to use! Not only is it great for structure and building but it's also great for decorating. You can also add food coloring to it to decorate with different colors. Just a touch goes a long way.

Lauren's Royal Icing Recipe

(double if large house)

3 Large Egg Whites
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
8 oz of Powdered Sugar

Instruction:

Combine all ingredients and whip on highest setting for 7-10 minutes or until icing reaches stiff peaks.

Photo credit: Wilton UK

5. Add Architectural Details:

First, start with your walls and then your roof. We actually hot glued the "gingerbread" wall tiles on so to help stabilize the design elements. If you're doing like we did and using graham crackers, I recommend starting from the center of the wall at the bottom and laying a brick pattern. This took a while, but really made it beautiful. If you're using a pre-made kit, attach your gingerbread pieces with hot glue too for a firmer structure.

Next, lay your roofing tiles. We used cinnamon toast cereal pieces, by laying a thick layer of icing and then placing them on one at a time.

Then, move to adding your door and windows elements using the royal icing.

6. Decorate!

Now it's time for the fun stuff. Separate all your pretty candies into small ramekins. Add a little icing to make each piece stay in place. Last decorate your base. Make pathways, fences, a campfire, snowmen, snow covered trees. The possibilities are endless.