Day 3: The Gingerbread Church

In my last post, I left you with the walls of the church finally being raised! But alas, it was still missing a few critical pieces. Like the roof, for instance. Today, the last pieces of the gingerbread church would be installed!

Before I added more pieces that would get my in my way, I wanted to get the steps done, which was as easy to slapping a bunch of frosting on the steps then pushing a variety of broken Necco candy waffers into the frosting. I figured these would be easier to decorate now than after installing an overhanging roof.

The steps are largely finished. Truth be told, it looks a little sloppy. The vertical edges were supposed to be more... well, vertical, but they formed more of a slant that I had expected. Part of the reason was because I used Rice Crispy treats which didn't cut as neatly as I had hoped (rather than the Styrofoam my book suggested).

With the church steps done, I added a little trim to the church (and the steps) then installed the roof with help from my mom. Candy canes are supposed to form columns at the front of the church, but we had trouble finding some of sufficient length to get the job done. My mom checked a few different places looking for giant-sized candy canes (as did I--we split up to cover more ground!), but these were the largest we could find. The problem, however, was that they were a bit too short.... but I had the idea to build a "base" for the columns made out of leftover stacked Necco candy waffers. Those are the piles you see on the steps. I got five candy canes even though I only needed four--one was a backup in case I broke one by accident. I also broke off the curvy tops because that wasn't very column-like.

And the columns have been installed! Again, I needed my mom's help to hold the pediment in place while the icing dried and I added the columns. I just didn't have enough hands! As a side note, you can also see more work I've done on the clock tower and bell towers. I added the clock to the clock tower, and a bell-shaped Reese's peanut butter cup to the (currently) upside-down bell tower while the icing holding it in place dries.

I've added the clock tower to the church! The sharp-eyed observer will also notice that I've added a white trim to the pediment that wasn't there in the previous photo.

And finally, the addition of the bell tower and steeple! And that was the last of the gingerbread pieces I had. The structure is complete! There's still some decorating that needs to be done and I haven't even started the landscaping, but it's starting to look like an actual church now! =)