Waldorf Treehouse - made from gingerbread!

 I made a gingerbread house based on waldorf tree houses/gnome houses.  Its made from 4 batches of gingerbread, using a few different recipes to give different colors and sturdiness.  The details are made from melted sugar, edible clay (made from scratch of course) and food coloring.  The only non-edible bits are the base, some toothpicks and a bit of string.  Everything else is all food!  

I have a tree house with 12 gnomes, a play house, checkerboard, swing, picnic table, bench, book, 2 tables, 4 chairs, firepit, garden, well/pulley system, ladders, a staircase, sugar greenhouse, a slide and sea saw, and a dock with a fisherman and lake.  

I painted the gingerbread with cocoa and food coloring to make different shades to make it look more like wood.  The posts were also painted with a layer of watered down gingerbread dough and re-baked to give a bark like texture.  

I tried to get pictures from all sides: 

  

This little green gnome is sitting a toadstool table.

 

Two gnomes sitting at another table on another floor. 

 

A gnome manning the pulley system for the well, and a bright red ladder.

 

On the top level, there is the swing off one side.   There is a picnic table with a chessboard and grey gnome, a little playhouse, and another gnome reading a book.

 

Gnome on a swing

 

Gnome on a yellow bench.

 

The little yellow gnome is fishing on the dock.  The fish is hand painted, and there are two more in buckets (the orange/green one made by my 6yr old).  The water is poured sugar over tin foil.   Behind is the path, hand painted with cocoa. 

 

Here is the greenhouse that I made from poured sugar.   There is also a carrot patch and a basket of carrots.   In the background is the staircase and playground. 

 

This is the well made from gingerbread and painted.  The rock is holding the string for the bucket/pulley system.  Green archway in the background is one of two.

 

Here is the firepit.  Its got "ash" in the bottom, rocks surrounding it (for safety of course), and logs and flame.  The teal gnome is roasting a marshmellow (funny angle in the pic, the marshmellow is by the gnomes face)

 

The pulley system holds this bucket, with a tiny gnome inside!

 

Another shot of the firepit, staircase, path and carrot patch. 

 

Lastly, here is a 360* view (no sound needed, the only audio is my sister watching house hunters in the background!)  

What does the Fox Say?

Inspired by Levi's favorite Kids Place Live radio station song, "What does the Fox Say?"  I made him a shirt!

Its a hoodie made from t-shirt fabric, with an embroidered cross-stitch fox and text, and a hand painted speech bubble.   The sleeves are mock-layered, and the brown long sleeve bit is super light weight, because he really doesn't need long sleeves here, but it went with the look I was going for.   It also has a lined hood with fox ears!  I thought of adding a detachable tail, but thought it might be a bit much (i.e. I was tired after sewing 4.5 shirts in one day so I called it good!)

 

 

Sunrise

Levi, Nai Nai and I woke up early one day to see if we could view the eclipse.  Because of the clouds, we didn't really see it, but it was a beautiful sunrise!

We made this shoebox contraption to safely view the sun.

It was a little cold for Levi! 

Fire Station Field Trip

We went on a field trip to the fire department!   The kids got a tour of the office, main hang out area/kitchen, sleeping area, and the truck bay.  They even got to see the bathroom!   They also got to ask lots of questions and check out the trucks/equipment close up.  

Sleeping area, separated by curtains. 

Big first aid kit with meds for cardiac arrest and more. 

This machine can check heart rates, they put it on one of the guys to show how it works. 

We stopped at Fire House subs to get Buddy a sandwich for lunch, and to carry on the theme of the day! 

Firestation lover? 

I can make embroidered shirts in firestation themed designs from Lynnie Pinnie.  Check out the designs here.   Shirt start at just $18

Giving Back - Sharing Center Field Trip

Levi and Nai Nai went on a field trip to the Sharing Center - a place where food is sorted and stored to be distributed to those in need.   The kids got a tour, learned what the Sharing Center does, and helped to organize some of the food.