Gingerbread House

Day 3 : Gingerbread House

After the preparation boards yesterday it's only right the finished ones are shown today! The metal trays the houses sit on are 4x3cm.

Gingerbread house preparation boards

Day 2 : Gingerbread house preparation boards

These always look so pretty. However there is a lot of preparation that needs to be done before assembly. In the real world it's a case of shopping in the sweet and baking aisle but in miniature they have to be made first!

I made the snowmen, lollipops, candy canes, mints, christmas tree cookies, robin, snowman and penguin biscuits and icing ready to decorate. Then the gingerbread houses themselves and the fun began making each one individual and unique.

The marble effect boards the houses sit on are 4x3cm. I wanted these prep boards to have some of the chaos of a real kitchen while in the middle of building a gingerbread house.

Chocolate cake

I've decided to do a mini blog post for each day during December showing some of the miniatures I've made. I'll have some how to makes, some musings on miniatures and the cat might make an appearance! 

Day 1: Chocolate cake. 

Who doesn't like a slice of cake. This is a very simple cake to make and I'll tell you how!

You need - fimo in pink, white, biege, brown and translucent, Translucent liquid sculpey (TLS), brown oil paint. 

1. To make the chopped nuts - condition small pieces of white, beige and brown. Make into a thin sheet by rolling through a pasta maker and cook as per packet instructions. While warm using a sharp knife or single sided blade chop into very small pieces. 

2. Roll small balls of pink and brown fimo then roll in the 'chopped nuts'.

3. Make a cake by mixing equal brown and translucent together and shaping. The one in the picture is 3/4 inch round which would be the equivalent of a 9 inch round cake. 

4. Mix TLS with a few drops of brown oil paint to make the icing. Add to the top of the cake, add the truffles then cook. 

If you want to see this and more take a look in my etsy shop.

Fridge Magnets

I'm constantly thinking of ways to get my miniatures out there in the big wide world.  I've put food in frames and put them up on the wall and I like this idea because people who come into my house see them but they might not ask to see a dollshouse. The first ones I made were around 10 years ago and I've improved my mini making skills a lot since then and I keep saying one day I will get round to putting them together in a blog post. 

But my latest plan for my minis is a fridge magnet. I had some small round magnets in my stash and thought well why not use them for something. 

And these are the results ... each round board is 4cm across and the food is made in 1:12 scale.

Cheese wheel tower

While I was on pinterest searching for cheese pictures I came across cheese towers, or cheese 'cakes' where wheels of cheese were used as a celebration cake for example a wedding.

I had to make one of course!

Teeny tiny cheese and biscuits. 

I made some very simple crackers, grapes and figs to add to the display, then glued it all together. The wooden board I painted and sanded to give a well loved look to and all together measures 1.5 inches high. 

Miniature cheese board

After the gingerbread houses I decided to do something little different. I decided to make a cheese board, which sound easy but as with most miniatures it's the tiny details that make the difference. The colour of the mould, the texture of a crumbly Cheshire, the tiny cranberries put into a Wensleydale cheese. It takes time and I'm very happy with the end result.

Gingerbread Houses

I haven't written a blog post for a while but I have been really busy making things. My favourite newest makes are the gingerbread houses. They take a lot of time to make and a lot of time to prepare. 

I began making these around a month ago with a list of embellishments that I needed for the decoration. So I began making candy canes, snowmen, cookies etc. I may have overdone it slightly but as I have a catering background my old college tutor would be impressed with my mise-en-place! 

I completed the houses over three days - Day one - I built the houses then cooked them. Day two - put the decoration onto the roof and cooked. Day three - put the houses onto the tray and decorated the gardens. 

Each house is unique and individual as I didn't want to replicate any house. I've made twelve so far and I'm quite happy with my miniature gingerbread village.