SLuGgie Gingerbread Houses!

On November 27th and 28th, 1999, under the auspices of the not-quite-official-yet SLG Producers' Guild, various members of Shining Lakes Grove spent time together making gingerbread houses. Saturday was spent baking and gluing the gingerbread itself, while Sunday was devoted to decorating. And here are the results:

(click on the name to see the picture)

• Castle
  A towering design by Gen Stoyak, with construction assistance from Basia Kawka, this uses gingerbread walls and ice cream cone parapets. The moat water and flags are done with Fruit Roll-Ups, the stones around the moat are made of popped corn cereal, and the dragon guarding the drawbridge is a cake decoration from a bakery.
  (Note the gigantic Jan Henderson in the background.)
• Castle again
  Same as above. Godzilla attempted to invade the castle, but was thwarted by the dragon.
• Christmas Trees
  Designed by Bob Henderson. The roof is done in chocolate wafer cookies.
• House with Fence
  Designed by Don Clayton. The roof is done in shredded wheat, and the fence is done in pretzel sticks.
• Nemeton
  Made by Annette Gabriel, this piece shows an ADF-style nemeton (based on the nemeton at Brushwood in New York) surrounded by images of our eight High Days.
  The nemeton itself has a gingerbread bilé in the center, a fire to the left (made of cinnamon candies), a well to the right (blue Fruit Roll-Up for the base, also note the silver offering), and an offering shaft behind (not quite visible in this photo).
  From the top middle, the holidays:
  • Yule - a decorated tree ( by Natalie Henderson), caroler, and presents
  • Imbolc - a Bríd's Cross (shredded wheat)
  • Spring Equinox - a rabbit (marzipan, also by Natalie), having left its footprints on the snow
  • Beltaine - a Maypole (cinnamon stick w/Fruit Roll-Up ribbons)
  • Summer Solstice - the Sun (gum drop w/Fruit Roll-Up rays)
  • Lughnasadh - our Grove's wheat patch, still growing (shredded wheat)
  • Fall Equinox - a basket of fruits (Willy Wonka Runts)
  • Samhain - our Grove wheat patch, harvested
• Santa with Trees
  Designed by Natalie Baird. The roof is done with rainbow-colored cookies, showing Santa's support for people of all orientations!
• Santa's House of Horrors
  Obviously designed by a sick mind. The roof is done in chocolate eyeballs and Gummi Spiders, with an impaled Gummi Bear to commemorate the original version from 1985. The picket fence is done in Gummi Fangs. Note the gumball vampire on the left, and the chocolate vampire on the right, holding the bloody (red icing) head of a decapitated marshmallow snowman. Not visible on the left wall is a Blair Witch stick figure done in cinnamon sticks, though you may be able to make out the pile of rocks (cinnamon jelly beans) and bundle of sticks (pretzel sticks, licorice rope) on the ground.
• Snowman with Porch
  Designed by Jan Henderson and Patrick Monigan. This was the only house with a porch (mostly behind the house, you can see the ends on either side) and a pond with Gummi Fish.

Note: Despite the many mentions of Fruit Roll-Ups, General Mills did not actually pay us anything. We just find them to be very useful in decorating gingerbread houses! However, if you are General Mills and would like to pay us for promotional considerations, please contact us at the e-mail address below.