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Homemade Christmas Decor – 30 Craft Stash Drive

Hello! I am Tiffany from 30 Craft Stash Drive!HPIM6460
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Before I begin I would love to thank Michele for having me! It has been fun gathering new ideas and now I have a lot of thing I would like to try.

My blog is actually my second craft blog, I was formally the Crafty Home Maker but after some issues with privacy I started a new blog that was about crafts, cooking, and really anything creative. What I try to do is make Thirty crafts from my stash before I can buy more crafty things. {Let me tell you though with Christmas this went out the window}

I am also currently going to school to become a dietitian, and I am a full time mommy and wife. So I blog when I can usually a couple of times a week. I love everything crafty and I love to try new things for example this year I wanted to make a beautiful gingerbread house and well things do not always turn out the way we want them.

So this was going to be the cutest little Ginger Bread House post you ever read; unfortunately the ginger bread house didn’t make it. It all started a couple of months ago when I found this recipe for gingerbread houses. I took down my cookie cutters and I envisioned this cute little town with cars and Christmas tress, snow men in the front yard and in the center this beautiful mansion; all made from Gingerbread. It was going to be fantastic! Then that warm winter day came (It was in the 70’s here) and I knew that it was going to be the day where magic happened. I called up my awesome sister in law we made plans and I was off to work making my templates. I took out some saved cracker boxes and cut out the gingerbread house templates of my dreams! Then I set to work on making my ginger bread dough. After 5 cups of flour I took it out to start to roll; this should have been my first indicator it was sticky! No matter how much flour I put down after I cut my template out it stuck and I had to start again.. After the first one I ended up taking tin foil spraying it with Olive oil and cutting out my template from here. This worked so much easier! The I put the tin foil directly on my pan. When I was all finished I carefully packed up my gingerbread, daughter and the remaining dough, and headed to my awesome SIL’s place. We took out all of the gingerbread things we could think of including our back up plan. Our back up plan consisted of graham crackers.
HPIM6427Then my awesome SIL showed me this neat little trick to fusing sides together. She put sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat until it melted and then dipped each side of the graham crackers in and fused two pieces together. It worked really well on everything expect my ginger bread house. It made it crack. So I used royal icing instead. Which consisted of 4 egg whites and about 5-6 cups of powder sugar. After my mansion didn’t hold up to the pleasure of having to stand on it own, I deiced to make an A frame house. It was going well until it collapsed. And the roof (which was my extra pieces) fell apart.
HPIM6430So it was time for PLAN B. So I present to you the blogging community my little neighborhood. This was great also for my 5 year old daughter and my 3 year old niece. Like I mention before my Awesome SIL fused to pieces of cracker together to form a right angle. Then we put two together to form a box and one on top to form the roof. .then we got to decorate and enjoy each others company which is what making fun things to me is all about!
HPIM6442Let me take you on a tour of our little town in which my daughter appropriately named “Little Christmas Town”

Here we have the 5 year olds house. What you don’t see is that inside here house she has hidden candy covered by wrappers so that she may sneak some later. What she doesn’t know is I let her do it, because it made me giggle!
HPIM6442sdHere is our Christmas tree it is made from sugar cone the lights are candy buttons, the star is a starburst heated for 10 seconds in the microwave so that it can be molded. The presents are gumdrops.
HPIM6441Here is my house that was mostly gratifying because it stayed up!

The glass is a fruit roll up the door is a starburst the wreath is the rest if the fruit roll up. The walk is foot by the foot. And gum drops line the walk.
HPIM6434Also check out this chocolate wood pile.
HPIM6442jiklThen we have the manger. I collect Nativities and since we had left over crackers I thought this would be a fun challenge to make. With the walls slightly angled you can see my marshmallow Mary Joseph and baby Jesus. The “cradle” is made from a broken roof and the shawls are made from fruit roll ups. The snow is coconut.
HPIM6433This was a great project that was wonderful at including kids. They are quick to put together and they are super fun!

I know you are wondering about the what happen to the gingerbread house the crumpled. Well we salvedge them by making AZ snowmen. Just use the broken pieces add some frosting top with a marshmallow and decorate!
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If you would like to attempt to make a gingerbread house here is the recipe that I used it is from Better Homes and Garden Magazine

Ingredients
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 16×12-inch pieces parchment paper
• Purchased canned white frostings
• Assorted purchased candies

Directions
1. In a very large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping bowl.

2. Beat in molasses, eggs, and vinegar until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Divide dough in thirds. Cover; chill 3 hours.

3. Cut a 16×12-inch piece parchment paper in half crosswise. Place one of parchment halves on pastry cloth. Sprinkle parchment with flour.

4. Divide each piece of dough in half (you should have six). Place one piece of dough on parchment; roll to 1/8-inch thick. Using 8×5-1/2-inch cutter, cut into shape. Remove scraps; set aside. Lift dough and parchment; place on cookie sheet.

5. Bake in 375 degree F oven 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are browned. Slide cookie and parchment onto rack. Cool. Repeat with remaining dough and parchment, gathering cookie scraps together and rerolling.

6. When cool enough to handle, peel cookies from parchment paper. Decorate using frosting to attach candies. Makes 12 cookies.

You may need to double the recipe to build a big house.

Well I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at Gingerbread houses! Come and check out my blog sometime over at Thirty Craft Stash DR.
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Tiffany

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madhu

Wednesday 29th of December 2010

Wonderful..Thanks for sharing!House Templates

Tammy

Saturday 18th of December 2010

I think this is a wonderful little Christmas village. Love how you let her "sneek" the candy. That is so precious and what wonderful memories.

Alison

Friday 17th of December 2010

Wow! Lots of cute ideas!!

craftykat

Friday 17th of December 2010

Thanks for sharing your trials with the gingerbread house(s).. and kudos to you for turning something frustrating into positive instead with your back up plans. I think I'm going to have to get some graham crackers and have my girls make some of these.

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