The Gingerbread Family is busy in their kitchen this holiday season, baking cookies for their favorite Philanthropist, Santa! Come see the real live Fantasy Candy Kitchen, and the story of the Gingerbread Family Gift!
Thanks for all the wonderful comments I have received over the Gingerbread Family Gift Story Video! I had so much FUN creating this project!
Every Christmas Season I try to do something big for a Gingerbread Contest, and as the season approached I didn't have any good ideas at all. Nada. Then all of a sudden, the idea of the Gingerbread family in their kitchen, cooking up some gingerbread cookies, came into mind, then, as I drafted the idea on paper, the whole story unfolded....
Then, it evolved into telling the story with a video, because I just had to figure out a way to make it a permanent thing, because after all that work, I just knew that the finished product would only last a day!
I had no idea how hard it would be to make this, at first. I had never made sugar glass before, and I started 2 weeks early and learned all i could about making it.
Then a week before, I started my first batch. So many foibles, and errors on my part, the sugar glass wouldn't come out of the mold, or shattered, or was the wrong thickness. The first prototype of the whole project, melted in 2 days!
So I tried again, the second prototype, the fireplace wall, melted again, but I learned!
The third attempt, I sprayed each element with acrylic spray as i did it, to prevent humidity from melting it. Each Jolly Rancher had to be sprayed , turned, and sprayed.
It took 180 Jolly Ranchers to build the Fireplace Wall on the 2nd Prototype!
The sugar glass was sprayed both sides several times.
One big error, was after assembling the whole house, I accidentally grabbed the can of olive oil spray, thinking it was acrylic sealer! Disaster! The oil potentially could dissolve all the sugar! ACK!
I managed to mop it up, and seal it further, just in time.
The cookies, went through several trials and errors. Learning as I went, the final batch had no egg, more flour, and oil, no butter. Formed freehand all the gingerbread men, and women, were posed with aluminum foil propping their arms and legs up in the oven!
The Gingerbread Santa was a last minute thought, as I needed it to complete the storyboard anyways! I did that freehand, I just saw the lump of gingerbread dough, and took away everything that was Not Santa, that's how I can describe it.
My kitchen was covered in red melted sugar, gingerbread dough blobs, broken gingerbread arms and legs, red food coloring stains, broken jolly ranchers, and candy canes that wouldn't come out of their wrappers! Used up Royal Icing drips on the floor and chair, and empty ziploc bags with leftover icing.
While the elements were drying, I was busy creating the video timeline, generating the titles, and finding the music track, and creating the beginning scenes with lollypops, candy canes and peppermint sticks.
My Facebook Friends took me by the hand through out the process, offering condolences, ideas, and support , and I am thankful!
The final Project was entered into the Washington Oaks Holiday in the Gardens Dec 12th. It turned out to be quite a rainy day, which, for gingerbread houses, and especially candy houses, was a disaster!!
My candy kitchen slowly melted throughout the day!
I didn't win, not even last place! I imagine because it was not a gingerbread house, really, and also, there was quite a bit of good competition this year.
But, you know, I really won in my heart, because I challenged myself to learn something I didn't know how to do, and I also created another family memory, and a brand new Christmas Story, with a message that I can share with my family and friends each year from now on. The fun I had watching people view it, and read the poem at the table, made my heart smile, and I felt like I had connected to them. Priceless.
With the power of the internet, The YouTube Video is now getting around and it makes me happy knowing that each person viewing it, will smile and be filled with Holiday Joy.
That's Why i did it!
I really wanted to capture the imagination of the kids and the grown up kids too, who will view it.
My own Kids had fun throughout the process, and watched the developments, daily. My oldest son got to see the video yesterday and it makes me happy that I could share it with him, even as he is all the way on the other side of the US! He got a good glimpse of this season's project, and it makes him feel happy, and closer to home!
I wish you all a very happy and healthy Holiday Season!
Gail Carson
