Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Gingerbread House - made of soap!

So, as I was browsing through the dollar store the other day, checking out all of the Christmas goodies, I spotted this silicone mold:


Of course, when I see any silicone mold, my mind immediately goes to soap and this was no exception. I remember seeing an adorable gingerbread soap house that Kinpira (Soaphistication) made last year, and thinking that this was something that I would really like to try.

As I was going through the register with my mold, the cashier told me that she had bought this same mold and it had worked really well for her gingerbread cookies. I always like to see people’s expressions when I tell them that what I am buying will be used for/in soap. Sometimes people are keen and interested, other times they don’t skip a beat and keep right on talking, and I remember on at least one occasion distinctly getting an expression of semi-horror, like I was mistreating the poor little toys for putting them in soap. This particular cashier however didn’t skip a beat and went back to discussing cookies ;)

I toyed with the idea of using melt and pour for the house pieces, but in the end I thought I would like to try making them out of cold process. I knew I needed a CP recipe that would set up fast and hard, so I chose to use a 100% coconut oil recipe for the house pieces. Even though I used a gingerbread fragrance that will surely turn the house pieces brown, I did use some cocoa powder to achieve the gingerbread color for the pieces.

Here are the pieces poured into the mold:


And out:



I lost the little gingerbread men, as I was too impatient and ruined them trying to get them out. Luckily I had these guys on standby:



I made gumdrop candies for the house with melt and pour colored with mica and dusted with glitter to give them a sugared look:



I stalled a bit when I got to the frosting. Should I use regular cold process or whipped soap? I went back and forth as to which might work better, and in the end I settled on whipped soap, hoping that the thicker consistency would give a stronger and quicker bond.

Next, I carefully set about putting together the gingerbread house. I put the whipped soap into 2 frosting bags, one with a large round tip and one with a smaller round tip for detailing.

I used the large round tip to put a good amount of whipped soap on the bottoms and sides of the house pieces to hold it all together. I used cans to prop up all the pieces, including the roof. I only had one cave-in, which was kind of expected and I was thankful I only had one!

I used the large tip to put the snow on the roof, and I nestled some gum drops on top and sprinkled it with some glittery stars:





I used the smaller tip to do some of the detail work; around the windows, doors and around the bottom of the gingerbread men:


I let it sit a full 24 hours before I even attempted to remove the cans....carefully….I held my breath and stepped back:


Success! The whipped soap really did a great job holding the house all together, it was easy to decorate with but set up very firm. When my husband came home last night, I asked him to guess what it was made from. He looked it over and studied it carefully and said 'gingerbread?', 'chocolate?', 'fondant?'. He was so confused because it looks and smells just like real gingerbread...lol! 

Here is a little Vine video of the house:


PS - Thanks to those of you who followed along with me on Facebook as I was putting this house together…you all made it a lot of fun! :)

PPS - I thought I would share a couple of pictures of my daughter’s birthday cake that I made last week; the cake was red velvet with cream cheese frosting, the starfish and shells were all white chocolate, and the starfish were also dusted with some edible blue pearl dust:





Thanks so much for reading...wishing you all a great week~! 

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47 comments:

  1. I just love it! The gingerbread house is super cute and you are so talented! Can´t say anything else. I also want a gingerbread house like that :)

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    1. I'm hoping that if we tuck it away veerrry carefully this year, we can use it again next year! :D

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  2. Wow! That is something really awesome! Absolutely beautiful little house! And cake too!

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  3. Ooooh, so cute the gingerbread house and looks so yummy!! What are you going to do after the holiday season? I can't even think of carry it into the ultimate bathroom :)

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    1. Thanks Jessie! My daughter wants to display it at her craft show, and then I think I'm going to try to tuck it away carefully for next year...I'm hoping it will last!

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  4. You are super talented Cee! The gingerbread house turned out perfect and the birthday cake is really special!

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  5. This is awesome, pure pefection! You are really a magnificant soap artist! And the cake is beautiful too :)

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    1. Thanks so much Renata, I'm blushing right now! =)

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  6. Wow how cute is that???
    I LOVE IT!!!

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  7. I am so amazed at your gingerbread soap house! So cute, beautiful and detailed! And the cake for your daughter is so pretty! I bet it tastes really yummy too! :-)

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    1. Thanks Silvia! The cake was very yummy, red velvet is one of our newly-discovered favorite cakes!

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  8. I don't think I can add something to everyone's impression, I share them all. Super cute and super demanding, which make you a great artist.

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    1. Aw, thanks Miss Diva...your encouragement and support means so much to me!

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  9. Like Diva, what can I say?? I echo everyone else--it is one of the coolest soaps ever! I've thought about using a short milk carton to make a mold, but a silicone one is way better. You have a pretty great dollar store, by the way! (And the cake turned out great!)

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    1. I always like cruising through the dollar stores, they get a lot of cute little silicone and ice cube molds that work well for soap! A milk carton is a great idea for a gingerbread house mold too, that would be so cute and probably a lot easier!

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  10. OMG, Christine, I am speechless! You are gorgeous! Can't believe it's soap! So perfect, so full of colors ...
    And the cake for your daughter is so cute You are amazing!( can't wait to see your birthday cake :)

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    1. I'm so glad you love it Nat, it's fun to surprise you guys! Hey, isn't it your birthday soon too? ;)

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  11. What a creative idea! That gingerbread house looks absolutely fantastic! I make the cookie versions sometimes, but it was such a smart idea to make it from soap! Way to go!

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    1. Thanks Chrissy! I have to admit that I usually buy the gingerbread house kits...maybe I'll get brave this year and try the real thing!

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  12. Followed you on facebook and was amazed at every step! The house turned out beautiful.....what will you think of next! I Love your birthday cake.....may steal this one for my husband's birthday, he loves the beach!

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    1. Hi Gloria, thanks so much for following me on Facebook, it was really a lot of fun! If you do make the cake, please post a picture...it was super-duper easy, but it looks really nice when it's all put together!

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  13. That is the cutest soap house I have ever seen! =)

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  14. You never cease to amaze, Cee! Also, I want some of that cake!! =D

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  15. Fantastic, Cee! The gingerbread house turned out beautifully! I don't know if I would have the patience to attempt such a project. The cake is gorgeous, too! It's neat how similar baking can be to soapmaking sometimes.

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    1. Thanks so much Jenny, it was a fun project to try! It is nice to be able to use those cake decorating skills in soapmaking and vice versa! =)

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  16. I can't tell you how cool this is!!!! Wow! I'm speechless! You are so talented!

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  17. When I first started reading this post, I thought "oh I know Cee's going to make an amazing gingerbread soap house." I didn't realize though how incredible it'd turn out. Like all the other commenters, I am completely awe struck by your dedication and patience to make it. I'm glad you're saving it for next year because it's certainly worth bringing back year after year.

    Your daughter's cake looks so good too! I'm drooling (once again) on my computer as I type. ;)

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    1. Hey, welcome back Monica! :D

      The house wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, it was just like putting together an real gingerbread house...so if you've done that, you could totally do this! =)

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    2. Thanks Cee!

      I couldn't put together a real gingerbread house, I'd have half of it eaten before it could be done. ;>

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  18. YOU ARE AMAZING!!! What a soap artist! I just can't stop looking at it. It's so beautiful! I was neat to see it come together in Facebook and could not wait to see the final result. I was stunned. Great Job Cee!!!

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    1. Thanks Roxana - I couldn't have done it without everyone's kind encouragement!

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  19. OMG Cee, you never ceased to amaze me! The gingerbread house is STUNNING. It will make a very nice Christmas pressie. Your creations are always one of a kind..

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    1. Thanks so much, I don't know if I can top this one....I might have to retire now!

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  20. Wow. Stunned speechless. Beautiful.

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  21. hi. i luv ur gingerbread house. it looks amazing. where did u buy the mold and how much was it?

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    1. Hi, I got it at our local dollar store, but you can find it on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Freshware-CB-700RD-Silicone-Gingerbread-Chocolate/dp/B003XT8HUK

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  22. 3 Studies SHOW How Coconut Oil Kills Belly Fat.

    The meaning of this is that you actually burn fat by consuming Coconut Fat (in addition to coconut milk, coconut cream and coconut oil).

    These 3 researches from big medicinal journals are sure to turn the traditional nutrition world upside down!

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