Peppermint Themed Gingerbread House

House seems like a bit of a stretch. It's more like a cottage. I baked a gingerbread house from scratch one year and realized that I am not an architect! After that, it’s been Wilton, or grocery store pre-baked kits to the rescue. I picked the kit up from JoAnn's and Wilton does such a good job wrapping all of the pieces that nothing was broken.

I decided to go with a simple red and white theme, hence the name. And since this is decidely NOT a family affair ( more like a spectator sport in my house) I get to pick!

The front door is made from Andes Peppermint Crunch candies. Here’s where the charger didn’t make such a great base:

I wanted to make a sugar cube chimney and “brickwork” but need a little more truly flat space than I had. Oh well! Icing hides everything!

Maybe next year I’ll try baking a chocolate one from scratch.  MAYBE!

Yes Virginia. This Is A Christmas Card!

I could tell from the envelope that there would be a treasure inside. My life longiest BFF ( since 7th grade!) is a true artist. She’s one of those naturally talented people who for as long as I can remember could draw ANYTHING freehand without instruction.

She went on to expand her creative talents into sewing just about anything including her own wedding gown, home décor, art dolls,  gorgeous gifts…you name it. She’s done some very creative Christmas cards over the years but this is my absolute favorite:

It is a 3-D Gingerbread House! It folds flat to mail but with a easy twist, pops right into shape. I just had to share it. And this is so her…look at all of the details done by hand:

Twisted chenille stem candy canes. Ribbon candy trim and puff paint trees and snow!

Look at the sides and the roof!

And for privacy, I’m not sharing the inside but if you undo the bow, the doors open and there’s a pic of her gingerbread family complete with Santa hats!

How could I not share this? She’s not a blogger but since I am, what’s the point of having a blog if you can’t show off your BFFs?

Love you, you.