Gingerbread Church

My 4th gingerbread building is a church.

When I opened this pack I see that I had already colored the motherboard for the Gingerbread pieces. I moved to the white trim and painted it white front and back. It still retained some color from the laser. The card itself though seemed to be more off white than the other kits I had already done.

Before applying paint

I will add glitter later.

Wiring plans

After my mistake with the previous building, I labeled the pieces. I wrote in pencil in places I knew would be covered like inside under wallpaper.

Ceiling upside down
Ceiling right side up with the right wall outside

Notice the gap I added for the wire

Groove for roof light

Wallpaper

The sides and front have windows. When cutting an opening for a window it is best to do before installing in the project. It is also best to cut with a sharp craft knife but scissors are OK.

I cut mine by first cutting from bottom corners to center with the craft knife.

Then I used some sharp small scissors to cut the rest.

To cut a curve I find it best to guide the paper into the blade rather than the blade towards the paper. It is still a cutting motion but not the same. Practice helps to learn this technique. It is not a snip, snip, but a smooth full cut. Also don’t cut to the tip of the scissors as this creates a tiny tear at the end.

Another tip is to work with the scissors from the bottom of the paper so they don’t hide the line.

Applying glue for the wallpaper, I use tacky. I use a brush to even it out over the area. This makes it a thin coat.

Note the L and R in lower corners

I did mess up on the paper for front of the church. I mention it because later I had to trim away so the tabs for the ceiling fit. It is a tad too high on the left side.

It was because I decided to apply the wallpaper while the building was still flat. I usually line up the wallpaper on the main wall against a floor. Then the side walls can be done flat. The tacky glue does not allow one to move once the paper is placed. Nor is the brown cardboard forgiving enough to allow use of isopropyl alcohol to loosen the glue. I tried and it just tore the wallpaper.

Swags of Greenery

This kit has greenery on the front and on the backs of the pews. I decided I wanted them to be over the windows as well. This was my first time making the swags.

In the kit is very fine wire and flower soft to make the swags. I immediately think that the silver wire could be green instead. I have worked on various lighting projects and have saved the leftover wire which is red or green wires. Only now I can’t find despite knowing I saved it. Finally I remember the light I broke with the last building and so I found some.

The instructions say to bend the wire zigzag but I choose to wrap mine around a needle. Then I just stretched it.

This wire wasn’t as thin as some of the LED wires.

Green wire after wrapping around a needle
After one coat of flocking

Many years ago I watched Ladybug Sue Thwaite give a demonstration on how to use flocking. She recommended putting it and the item in a plastic tub and shaking it. But I don’t have a tub and when painting on glue seems globby. Her one caveat was too never blow on it just tap or shake it brush off. My tip is don’t touch your eye after handling.

I tried coating the wire with glue and inserted it into the bag but that resulted in some glue getting pushed off or around. Instead I dumped it on a plate then used tweezers to sprinkle over the glue covered wire. It looked pretty good initially but after handling it wasn’t as fluffy. I’m sure it might look better if pre-cut and wait for the glue to dry. Carol’s instructions say to coat it twice. I did where the fluffy didn’t stay or wire was bare.

It was doing these that I decided I needed a platform.

It’s a plastic bottle with tape applied. Part of the tape is sticky side up so I can place the pews on. This is better for holding and moving around as I glue on the beads for ornaments.

These pews are really nice once assembled. Follow the instructions and it works great. I did these one at a time so I wouldn’t mix up the pieces but I did anyway. Thankfully it wasn’t the last one so I was able swap pieces with the last one so every piece was used correctly.

I also made tiny wreaths for the doors. I used the same wire. I just made a loose circle and applied the flocking. I also added the bead ornaments. I would have preferred smaller beads but I didn’t put extra effort to find the smallest. There is often some minor size difference in the ones I have. It’s a mixed bag so could be slightly different sizes or just variations. Regardless, what I used are big and now look like a face.

In the picture is a tool I created for dealing with the beads. I cover using it in my previous build.

Stained Glass Windows

To glaze the windows I used Glossy Accents in a squeeze bottle because it is what I have available. My mistake was to not apply beyond the window lines. I had to fill in a couple of spots later, although nothing was noticeable afterwards.

Most of these go behind the white trim. After my mistake on the last building, I made sure to apply to the back of the trim before I applied trim to the building. Except for I forgot to for the upper windows.

For the roof and steeple windows, I applied the glass to the inside of walls. It made it easier to deal with them (not having to cut around the trim) but really it was my focus on lighting for the roof that I didn’t do per the instructions.

Roof and Steeple

I am putting a second light in the roof. It was pretty bright so my final solution was to add a piece of paper over the light. The light was kept in place by brown cardboard scraps I glued to make a groove. This was because it was inside the roof and won’t show.

For assembly of the steeple top I marked the backs of the pieces so I knew which way they align. I wanted them to fit properly. Then I glued them together with the bottom edges against the cutting mat so it was even. The white lines were where I marked so I could keep them oriented.

I did a similar process assembling the steeple box using my gluing jig/square. Notice it is upside down in the jig so I could square it. Everything fits best when assembled properly.

Using a jig or other technique to assure everything is square

I waited to add the top of the steeple until last. I should have not left it undone. I was tired and headed to bed. Several hours later my husband woke me up because my youngest cat had knocked over a side table along with several boxes related to this project. The white trim for that piece was lost. Some of those tiny caviar beads were also sacrificed rather than sort out the dirt.

Instead of trying to cut a new trim pieces for the starburst, I decided to cut out a cross from leftover brown cardboard. Then I used scraps from the white trim to piece together.

Cross I made to replace a piece I lost.

All done

I forgot the swag over the door
All so far
Lights make them better
The light from each window is pretty

Update 12 27 2022

I finally added the swag to the outside. Plus some to the outside windows in front.


Happy miniaturing!

Preble

Comments are welcome.