Gingerbread

I know it has been a while.  Blogging has a way of sucking me in and I start to feel totally obsessed with posting and linking, and reading everyone elses posts.  I think maybe I have a problem with time management? :)
So, in an attempt to really focus on the kiddos and sewing projects (the kiddos Halloween costumes), I put posting on the back burner for a few days the end of October.  Well, after a few days, the amount of posting I needed to accomplish built up to a slightly overwhelming time amount, so I continued to put it off. (I just didn't have 2 hours to spare that week!) And put it off, and put it off.  And really, all I have done is just postpone a task that will continue to become larger and larger.  I now have 6+ weeks of projects to write up.  So instead of 2 HOURS, I'm looking at a solid 2 DAYS of photo editing and writing to catch.  But who can spend that much time on a blog during December?  I can't.  I have too many Christmas projects to work on. Plus, with many of my completed, postless projects revolving around Halloween or Thanksgiving, I'm not feeling super enthusiastic at the moment.  I am completely in Christmas mode right now.  Maybe if I tackle one post a day I can get caught up?  Maybe...  But, I am going to post what I am working on now first.  On days that I have nothing, I can tackle items on my backlog.  Maybe...
In December 2010, I decided that I wanted to decorate my kitchen for Christmas with a gingerbread theme.  I really love to eat all things gingerbread/gingerspice/gingersnap and the season just wouldn't be the same without them. So, a gingerbread kitchen is perfect for me.  My mom happily passed down her old gingerbread decorations.  I love them!  And, I will slowly add to the collection so that I can fill every little nook and cranny! 

I keep a slim tree tucked into the corner of the breakfast nook. 

Last year, I fixed some of her ornaments to match my more obnoxious Christmas color scheme of lime green and bright red.   I love the way it looks.  I wouldn't change a thing...

except to add a tree skirt.  I have a brilliant idea, now I just need time.  I may or may not get to it this year.
My kitchen is triangular shaped, and I have cabinets on all three walls.  They are the short cabinets, so I am left with space above them before hitting the ceiling.   This is a perfect place for me to stuff decorations, thus leaving my countertops cleaner. I don't have quite enough gingerbread stuff to fill all 3 of the spaces right now, so I will gradually add gingerbread pieces every year until I do. 

The first wall you face as you enter from the dining room,  and thus can be seen from our front door. 

The second wall is to the left, and you face it as you enter the kitchen from the family room, but you can also see it when you are looking at the first wall. 

The third wall can only be seen when you are in the kitchen facing the fridge. 

Consequently, the first 2 walls have decorations at the moment and the 3rd has had nothing (finish the places that are most easily seen first!)
Above the cabinets on this first wall, I put our gingerbread train. 

We made a gingerbread train last year, and the kids had so much fun!  So, we decided to make another one this year.  I made an engine, caboose and 3 cars (something for everyone in the family!)   The train might not be perfect; it might look as if a kid frosted it (he did!) but maybe that is part of the charm.  I really had to put my Type A personality away and let the kids go to town.  They had a great time, and really that is all that matters.





The "before" display on wall #2 holds all of my permanent gingerbread decorations, thus leaving nothing for wall #3. However, what if I add these darling letters?

These are just some more of my wooden letters that I cut out with my scroll saw, stained and modpodged fun papers. 

















For the gingerbread letters, I used snow tex to create the look of frosting.  I piped it onto the letters just like I would have piped real frosting onto a gingerbread man.

 I found candy ornaments at Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Tree that I used for decorations.  I simply removed the ribbons and hooks and glued them on. I think that these figures look almost like real gingerbread creations. 

Now, with such a long word, I had to switch around my gingerbread displays.  I wanted Gingerbread to be on wall #2 since it can be seen so easily from both entrances into the kitchen. 



So, all of the things that were on wall #2 are now displayed on wall #3!

I'm happy to say my kitchen feels decidedly more decorated for Christmas now!

I will be linking up to these parties as well as to a Gingerbread Party at Cozy Home Scene!

Gingerbread Boards

Of the gingerbread items my mom donated to my kitchen's Christmas theme, there were these 2 darling plate sized gingerbread decorations.  I don't really have a ton of wall space in my kitchen, so I didn't have anywhere to hang them up.  But I do have the space above my cabinets.  

So, I took a couple lengths of a 2x6 wooden plank, painted them red and then sanded the edges.  Placed a nail at the top, and then hung them on the wood.  They looked bright and cheery next to the other gingerbread items I will display there.

Gingerbread Kitchen

Remember when you and your young hubby were crammed in a tiny one bedroom basement apartment and even 1 box filled with holiday decorations just seemed to overpower the tiny space? I do. Gradually through the years, we have moved to slightly larger apartments, to a small house and now we are in a medium sized house. As the size of our home has grown, so has the size and quantity of my holiday decoration boxes :) We had only been in our house a few months last Christmas, so I didn't have enough decorations to fill all of the spaces last year. I added a few and brainstormed for ideas of what I could do to all of the remaining spaces. I have several nativities and a snowman theme throughout most of our main living areas. However, I thought it could be really fun to have a different theme in the kitchen. I had seen a gingerbread theme in someone else's kitchen (my mom's) and I decided to copy it for this year. When I mentioned my idea to Mom, she decided to give me most of her gingerbread stuff. She has since moved on to a different theme and her stuff was just collecting dust in a box in the attic. I graciously accepted! Some of the figures I place on my countertop and some I placed in the space above the cupboards. As you can see, I need to add a little bit more. I have some gingerbread craft ideas that I hope to make over the next couple weeks to add to the collection. Most likely, it will take me 2 or 3 Christmas seasons to finish collecting gingerbread decorations for the kitchen. It should be fun!

I have a small, slender tree that I can put in a corner of my kitchen. My mom has one too, and she also gave me her gingerbread ornaments. Many I could simply hang on the tree. She did give me some cookie cutter ornaments that I modified. She uses the traditional reds and greens in her holiday decorations. However, I have decorated my house in the really bright red and lime greens that are popular right now. So I added brightly colored ribbon and bright red and green picks to the cookie cutters so that they tie in better with my color scheme.
My mom also had these really cute tiny gingerbread men ornaments meant for a miniature tree that she had glued to ribbons and used on her slim tree. However, my tree is smaller than my mom's and with all the other gingerbread ornaments and cookie cutters it was already too full. So, I glued ribbons that matched the cookie cutter ornaments to the mini ornaments making a loop. Then I strung these up on the curtain rods in the kitchen windows for a little window decoration.

Kind of a fun effect and it helps spread the gingerbread theme throughout the kitchen.

I just think this little tree is darling, and it is so fun to have so many Christmas decorations in my kitchen. I spend enough time there cooking and doing dishes that it is really nice to have it decorated along with the rest of the house!