stained glass

Layering Details for a Magical Gingerbread House

~ Kenda ~ Leave a comment
The finished gingerbread house in the evening.

I have been wanting to build a gingerbread house for literally decades. I decided this was the year. I absolutely underestimated the amount of work, but I ended up being pleased with the final product. I think the key to creating a house that I love was layering inexpensive decorations, mostly purchased from dollar stores and Wal-mart. Let me share with you some specific details and also let you know where I purchased many of the decorations

The front door is a breakfast biscuit from Dollar Tree which is a generic for Belvita biscuits. It has a dragees doorknob and royal icing wreath. Above the door is a tree sprinkle on a peppermint and a bell made from a yellow gumdrop and a dragees. The garland is green royal icing, sugar pearls, and some large sixlet-like candies from the cake decorating section at Wal-mart.
The “Joy” banner is attached to a large pretzel rod. Above the banner are gingerbread man sprinkles on peppermints. A snowflake is on either side of the banner with a dragees in the center.
The clock is made from a chocolate-covered graham cracker, topped with a vanilla cookie, topped with a mint candy. Hands were piped from royal icing and are centered with a heart sprinkle.
The stained glass windows were made from pouring edible glass windows and then quickly sprinkling chopped lifesavers and jolly ranchers into the hot syrup.
Cutting a hole in the back of the house allowed a string of lights to be inserted for a magical glow at night. The best thing about these lights is that they are battery operated, so you don’t have to worry about being near an outlet AND they operate on a timer so only light up for about six hours per day which allows the batteries to last for about 3-4 weeks. Using rechargeable batteries will keep the cost down over time.
The window box is a vanilla sugar wafer with smartees and sprinkles glued to the front with royal icing. A strawberry pocky stick forms the candle. The green royal icing is decorated with sprinkles and a large royal icing flower.
Windows are topped with half a vanilla cookie, a Haribo cherry heart candy, and dragees. Pirouline wafers are between the windows. The chimney is an ice cream cone filled with royal icing and a Haribo cherry heart candy on top.
The chimney is an ice cream cone filled with royal icing and a Haribo cherry heart candy on top.
The house features pink swirl lollipops on either corner of the house. The pastel marshmallows line the roof’s edge. Royal icing is highlighted with dragees in many places. Chocolate sugar wafers form the front stairs.

Where did you find the _____?

These candies, cookies, and sprinkles were mostly purchased from Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Walmart. Exceptions were the Haribo Herzbeben heart candies from World Market and the silver dragees Not pictured were the Great Value alphabet cookies from Walmart which spell out “JOY”, the pink swirl lollipops, and the large royal icing snowflakes and pink flowers purchased on Etsy.

Some posts on this site include affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please know that the opinions expressed are entirely our own.

Advertisement

Make a Fireplace Screen from a Stained Glass Window

~ Kenda ~ 1 Comment

Make a Fireplace Screen from a Stained Glass Window. Photos and a printable with materials and instructions are included.I didn’t particularly like the gas fireplace insert that came with our older home, but a new one was not in the budget.  My next thought was to buy a fireplace screen to cover it up, but they were all expensive, unattractive, or you could see through them, which rather defeated the purpose.  When I fell in love with an old stained glass window in an antique store, I knew that I had to have it, but could it serve as a fireplace screen if I attached some shelf brackets?  I decided to buy it and figure out the “how to” later.

After some thought, the answer came after I bought the shelf brackets and realized that the metal part inside could be unscrewed and turned upside down, such that the large part where the screw was inserted was at the bottom and the smaller part was at the top.  Once the screw was attached to the stained glass window, the window sat on the brackets, even without wood glue.

Shelf BracketStill, for added strength and stability, I used wood glue and secured the bond with C-clamps to dry overnight.  Incidentally, I chose these particular shelf brackets because the open design would allow me to easily attach the C-clamps.

unpainted stained glass window with brackets

Once the brackets were attached, I taped off the glass and painted all of the wood black.

It should be noted that a fireplace screen such as this should not be placed in front of an open flame.  Our fireplace has a gas insert, so all flames are behind glass.  A fire lit up the stained glass, but we just don’t light our fireplace all that often.  I eventually tried Christmas lights hung on a couple of nails behind the glass.  Much better!

The warm lights give the room a nice amber glow at night.

Stained Glass Fireplace Screen with Christmas lights

Please click here for a printable list of tools, materials, and instructions.

Happy Decorating!

Some posts on this site include affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This commission allows us to avoid banner ads and popups. Please know that the opinions expressed are entirely our own.

EPSON MFP image
Make a Fireplace Screen from a Stained Glass Window

Some posts on this site include affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please know that the opinions expressed are entirely our own.