Haunted Gingerbread House

Maybe you know it or not but the inspiration for this house is from a place in town.  Of course I didn't stick with the same colors because I wanted it to be a little brighter.  It's getting so dark so early now.  We need a little bit of brightness around here.

Here it is with the grass down. Learned a lot here.  

I will add a ribbon around the foam core base.

Haunted Gingerbread house - PROGRESS!

I changed the roof.  After looking at the photos of the house I realized the roof was not right.  So now it's peaked. 

Roof for mine.  Walls for the children's houses.

I used paste dyes to add color to the Royal Icing and the fondant.

I added crushed jolly ranchers to create the stained glass windows.

You can add them when baking or you can add them later and bake them into place. 375 degrees for 8 or 10 minutes.

And that front porch piece down on first is why I messed up the front area and ended up with a very tipped roof.

All sorts of sprinkles (and a syringe of cough medicine). 

Candy, candy, and more candy...

6 types of sprinkles - because we used fondant we didn't need the sugar color sprinkles.

 Dots and Candy Corn

I used the melted brown sugar to glue it together.

Harvesting the last of it

I chopped up peppers and put them in the dehydrator for Kiwi to enjoy this winter.

So Pretty!

Celery from my garden.

now it's Frozen Celery

Garden is cut down. Soon it will be plowed and the garlic will go in.

Pumpkins everywhere

We are now in the teens for our pumpkin harvest.  Some are on the front porch, some are on the hearth, some are on the bookshelves in the living room.  I placed a 12 oz glass in the first photo so you could see how tall the one in the back is.  Pretty nice for a Spirit Bush pumpkin.  There are 4 or 5 more that will be ready soon.  

I better get back to making preparations for the Gingerbread Haunted House.  I just mixed up the dough (I haven't found a gluten free gingerbread recipe that holds up for long and makes sturdy enough walls so I made a regular white flour recipe and my hands are itchy - time to break out my steroid cream)

Royal icing is next! I make the gates, railing, and decorative edging before hand and let it dry on wax paper.  Then it's easy to apply it to the house with a little more icing.

My son carried all of these pumpkins down the hill and into the kitchen and onto the cabinet all on his own.  Amazing!

Cardboard pattern for Haunted Halloween Gingerbread Hous

So as you can see I have been cutting cereal boxes and using them to make the pattern.  

 Lots of tape will be needed for this process

And lots of extra cardboard for mistakes.  Now is the time to get it right.  It won't be so easy with gingerbread.

 

So here you can see it with most of the front completed.  

I need to finish the top and the back.

When I pull it apart I will cut the windows and doors.

The windows will be filled with crushed hard candy that will then be melted to help the house glow.

What are your halloween traditions?