Here's an introduction to the mayhem... :)

         For the past 5 years or so, my step mom's family has had a tradition of getting together for the holidays and creating gingerbread houses, and though I have only had the privilege of joining them for the past two years, it didn't take long for me to get completely hooked to the process.
       The first year, I was completely overwhelmed. Everyone seemed to know exactly what they were doing and all the talk of patterns, blueprints, fondant, and roofing material seemed to fly straight over my head, so when I was handed a book full of different kinds of houses, I instantly picked the most simple house I saw and hoped I could keep up with everyone else. Once the day arrived though, I found that it was a fun, creative way to celebrate Christmas. My gingerbread house turned out lovely and I counted down the days until the next year, when I could challenge myself and try something a little harder.
        So the next year rolled around (which would be last year) and I had my very own book of gingerbread creations. (Many thanks to Jan Ferguson for a wonderful Christmas gift.) I flipped through it, picked the biggest, most difficult gingerbread house I saw and had at it. Instantly, however, I was burdened with rolling and cutting tons of dough, and rushed through it, not taking the time to properly measure everything or make sure thre dough was even. That resulted in numerous complications in piecing the walls together, and even MORE complications with getting the roof to stay. Eventually, the walls were stuck together with about a POUND of frosting, and the roof was held up with a wooden stick. (Not to mention the can of beans I accidently left inside of my gingerbread house after I put the roof on.)
        Now it's that time of year again, and I've decided that I am going to put everything I have into the details of this gingerbread house. I did alot of looking online and I found the perfect house (which I will elaborate on in the next post) and you can join me on my triumphs (and failures) of creating this years gingerbread house. :) Below are a few pictures from the house I made last year...