ginger 2014: group 2

Hello again! Here is the second set of Ginger 2014 masterpieces. I like to call this grouping Castles, Fairies and Tall Tales. Cast your vote at the bottom of the post to help determine the winner of the 2014 People’s Choice Prize.

(For more information on how this competition will go down, click here.)

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Sarah’s Gingery Tower {Rapunzel}

Take it away, Sarah:

Once upon a time, in a deep dark enchanted forest of sparkling green trees, there lived a sweet buttery girl name Rapunzel. An evil and wicked witch had taken her as a baby and locked her away in a tall lonely gingery tower with only grape-cherry stained glass windows to give color to her day. She spent her time brushing her long golden marzipan scented locks and singing songs to the velvet chocolate deer and other animals below.

One sunny fine spring day a Prince who was riding by on his strong cinnamon steed fell in love with the fair maiden and after calling to her and seeing she was locked away in the door-less tower, promised to return that night to rescue her.

Rapunzel was very flattered by the handsome Prince and knew she wanted to go away with him to be his Princess. That night she lit all her tower candles to help him find his way through the forest.

When he finally arrived with a beautiful spring flower, he called up, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your long hair!” and climbed on the chocolatey rocks. Rapunzel was delighted, and lowered her beautiful marzipan locks.

And so they lived happily ever after in his kingdom, where sweet Rose Gingerbread cottages, jelly bean paths and candy topped castles filled the land.

I don’t have a lot to say about this other than: squeal! Sarah has created an absolutely magical scene AND provided the perfect sugary backstory. Look at that magnificent tower! The trees! The horse! It’s whimsy overload, which is the best sort of overload. Look at the Prince’s top! (I believe he’s coming from a night at the discotheque.) Did you see the candles lit up in the night scene? COME ON! Perfect gingering, Sarah. Perfect.

Wanna hang out with Sarah? You can find her blog here: www.sublimedelights.com 

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Mary Lou’s Five-Cherry Castle

Mary Lou sent the following information with her entry:

Each year I make a gingerbread something for my grandchildren to destroy when they come for our Christmas celebration. They may be disappointed in the castle because I didn’t use any candy except the five sour cherries on the towers.

She then wrote:

I did not have a pattern for the castle so I wasn’t sure it was going to go together, and I always end up trimming (and breaking) a few pieces to get them to fit. I Googled gingerbread castles for ideas, but most had square towers, which is just wrong.

I’d like to start off by saying that I’m really glad Mary Lou has strict standards when it comes to castle assembling. Square towers are for suckers! Also, and probably more importantly, I’d love to see Mary Lou’s grandchildren fight over those five sour cherry candies. Actually, this withholding of candy may explain why the kids destroy things at your house, Mary Lou.

Did you notice the dragon sitting on the upper level of the castle? (I think he ate Santa.) The moat? The decorative wreaths on each level? The cone-shaped towers? The perfectly pruned trees? It’s all so masterfully constructed and majestic. Keep the drawbridge lowered, Mary Lou. I’m moving in!

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Katherine & Scott’s Fish Bowl / Gingerbread Snowglobe

Katherine sent the following information with her entry:

Dearest movita,

When I was a kid, I dropped my family’s beautiful glass snowglobe one Christmas.  It shattered and all the water and the little house and the reindeer came tumbling out. I cried about it for hours because at that point in my life I had no perspective.  If I had known then that my goldfish would die from farting too much (this is a real thing. I asked a vet.) or that I would need braces for 4 freaking years, or that I would never truly grow a pair of boobs, well. . . the snowglobe might not have seemed like such a big deal, but there you have it.  

Anyway, check out my brand new gingerbread snowglobe!! It’s much better than the original. The house is made out of gingerbread and icing and cereal and you can’t see it but there’s a little computer fan behind it that *in theory* blows glitter around inside the dome. It didn’t work but we totally tried. Fittingly, the dome is made out of the fish bowl that the farty fish lived in thirty years ago. YES I WASHED IT.  

Katherine, I’d like to start by telling you a fun fact about farting – more specifically, not farting. It can kill you. I know this because someone I know knows someone who died of politeness. In other words, that dead person held in their farts and died of implosion. I think it happened at the dinner table. Which would be way more embarrassing than breaking your family’s favourite snow globe.

Anyhoo, your new snowglobe is all sorts of awesome. The teeny-tiny reindeer and teeny-tiny trees? The itty bitty homestead and perfectly shingled roof? The little walkway and glitter that isn’t blowing around? GAH!! I just wanna shove the whole thing in my mouth. If I were a pint-sized fairy, I’d move into that cottage in a heartbeat. Promise you won’t drop me though, k?

Wanna hang out with Katherine? Go here: eggton.com

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Willow’s A Very Fairy Gingerbread House

I’ve edited some of Willow’s five page ginger dissertation, so now you only have to read, like, a page:

Confession time: I have never made a gingerbread house before. So, naturally, when I decided I would make this one, I figured I should try to do a bunch of other things I’ve never done before, like make things out of marzipan and pulled sugar. I also decided to make my gingerbread house with a curved roof and sides, because straight lines are for wussies.

(Not really, but I have always liked the whimsical look of curvy houses, and since common sense wasn’t there to tell me what a terrible idea it was to attempt to make curved pieces of gingerbread, I went for it. This is called “biting off more than you can chew” which was the only part of this endeavor I was familiar with.)

It’s hard to tell in the photos, but the windows are made of poured sugar, and there are little lights behind them (when it’s dark, it looks like a wee cozy fire is burning inside). The fairy (her name is Cinda) is made entirely from marzipan and pulled sugar, as are the squirrel, acorns, and wee mushroom outcropping. The door and chimney details are made from gumpaste. The rest of the house is constructed entirely out of gingerbread, royal icing, duct tape, and human tears. Okay, just kidding, I didn’t really use duct tape. You may have noticed Cinda has a bit of a skin condition — this is due to her years of addiction back when she was living on the streets. But don’t worry, she’s got her life together now. 

The squirrel! The chimney! The acorns, mushrooms, perfect stones AND an edible addict? No words. It is one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen. I’d actually consider living there with Cinda if I were’t worried that her former street associates might murder me in my sleep. (Gang grudges account for a great number senseless crimes and do great harm to innocent bystanders.) I mean, how did Cinda pay for that perfect cottage? Have you thought about that Willow? Actually, let’s not think about it. I’ll happily purchase that gingerhouse should it end up on the market again. It’s splendid!

You can read more about Willow’s creation on her blog: http://www.willcookforfriends.com/2014/12/fairy-gingerbread-house-ginger-2014.html

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Kate’s Gatehouse of the Realm of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Kate placed 2nd in Ginger 2013, and she’s back with another delightful entry. Kate writes:

I am calling this “The Gatehouse of the Realm of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” It’s not actually her castle, I would imagine her castle would be much more impressive. This is just the gatehouse at the entrance of the magnificent Candy Land Park that I’m sure surrounds her palace.

Special features: candy glass windows, icy candy trees, sugar cube archway lining, candy cane path and ice cream cone turrets and cottage roofs decorated with rows and rows of pink, white and silver dragees and miniature snowflake sprinkles. This year I also included one non-edible element which are the two little deer, one is a little bit shy.  

This ginger masterpiece is absolutely captivating! There are only three people who could possibly man this perfect gatehouse for the Sugar Plum Fairy: Prince William, Catherine (Duchess of Cambridge) and wee Prince George. Catherine would work in an office at the top of the gatehouse – her duties would include media relations, hospitality and organizing ceremonial and social events for Sugar Plum. (Because anyone who has turrets laden with sparkling dragées is bound to do a lot of entertaining.) William and George would provide support using the smaller cottages for property services, security and lawn care. That perfectly manicured candy cane walkway doesn’t maintain itself, after all.

Also, that deer isn’t shy. It’s hiding from Prince George. He’s a handful.

Sugar Plum perfection, Kate!

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Cast your vote below! The overall winner of online Ginger polling will win the 2014 People’s Choice Prize!

Repeat voters are blocked by cookie and IP address.
Polls close at 10 am AST, Saturday, December 20, 2014.

Follow the links to see the first grouping of Ginger 2014 entries, and here for Group 3.

Come back tomorrow to see Group 4, Group 5, Group 6 and Group 7. Polling for these groups will remain open until 10 am AST, Sunday, December 21, 2014.