Holiday Traditions – Gingerbread
Posted: October 25, 2019 Filed under: cozy nights, Frosty's flakes, warm reception | Tags: Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks, WOW embossing powders 30 Comments
Here in Canada Thanksgiving is behind us but in the US it is about a month away; Christmas is exactly two months away! With that in mind Shauna, from the Foiled Fox, and I have teamed up to host a ‘Holiday Traditions’ giveaway.
Like me you probably have some Thanksgiving or Christmas traditions, perhaps they were handed down to you or maybe something new you have recently come up with. Either way, we want to hear about them. For the next two weeks you can comment on a holiday tradition post on my blog or the Foiled Fox blog and be entered into a giveaway.
If you haven’t guessed already the first tradition I want to share with you is my gingerbread making tradition. We have been making gingerbread for years. It was not my mother’s Christmas baking tradition, she made yoyos (melting moments), Christmas cake and forcer biscuits (pressed butter cookies). I started making gingerbread when I lived in Australia and the recipe I use is from an Australian chef, Jill Dupleix. Now that we have three people in the family eating gluten free I make gf batches too, usually with a packet mix. I used to mix a gf gingerbread dough but the packet one saves me so much time which I can spend decorating instead. Decorating is the best part, well maybe equal best with eating!
We make stars, hearts, trees, snowflakes, bells, gingerbread men, women and children but we also have a a set of Aussie animal cutters and, would you believe, a ‘gingerdead man’ which cuts out the person shape and then stamps a skeleton impression on the cookie! We have also made gingerbread houses and other structures over the years. If you click over to my other blog you can see gingerbread houses, a church and a tank from years gone by.
Making gingerbread cards was a bit quicker than the edible version. I used Neenah desert storm kraft cardstock and stamped on it in versamark then embossed with bright white opaque embossing powder. To create the snowy hill I cut a post-it note mask and sponged white delicata ink in a hill shape. The delicata was too delicate, not bold enough for a snow hill so I embossed with more white embossing powder.
After completing all the stamping and embossing I blended tea dye distress ink around the edges of the panels to give everything a nice baked not burnt look. Believe me I have burnt plenty of batches over the years!
The last step was a sprinkling of icing sugar aka splatter of white gesso to complete the snowy look. All the stamps are from Penny Black and are linked below along with the other supplies.
Now it’s your turn. I would love to hear about some of your holiday traditions. What do you do for Thanksgiving or Christmas? It doesn’t have to be something you make; it could be a place you visit, a story you read, songs you sing, food you eat. Let me know in the comments and you’ll be entered in the giveaway. Make sure you visit the Foiled Fox blog also as there will be holiday tradition posts on both of our blogs during the next two weeks.
Supplies
Heather Telford 
Absolutely stunning cards (as usual). Thanks for sharing and telling us how we can “attempt” to get similar results. Our favorite tradition is to read the Bible story of Jesus’ birth on Christmas morning.
What a wonderful tradition Jo Anna, focusing on the greatest gift of all.
I love your gingerbread houses cards. Can’t wait to try this!
Hope you have fun with it, I am hoping to try it with a few more stamps now.
I love your gingerbread cards! Can’t wait to try this!
Love your “gingerbread” colored cards, Heather! They do look like decorated cookies! Our family tradition is making my mom’s kolache. She always made it for Christmas & our family has taken over the tradition as she is,sadly, gone now. We sure think of her with every bite!
I love the way the tradition has been handed down. I had to look up what kolache is; it looks yummy!
My family’s traditions are in a transition period due to the passing away of dear ones.Christmas morning breakfast is still going strong though. Food staples are red velvet cake and peanut butter pinwheels.
Christmas can be bittersweet as we miss dear ones but remember years past when we were enjoying their company. Your traditional treats sound delicious; I love anything peanut butter flavoured!
You certainly achieved the look of white frosting decirated gingerbread with these 2 cards, love them! My favorite holiday tradition is making almond flavored thumbprint cookies, it is so much easier than decorated Christmas cookies and I prefer the taste also!
I remember making thumbprint cookies with a friend one year, all our children got involved and had a great time.
Your two cards are gorgeous Heather and certainly have the delicious look of iced gingerbread. I really love the taste of ginger, one of my favourites and the recipe you use looks great and I might be tempted to give it a go myself this Christmas. When I was young and when our son was young we would have breakfast, then undo presents and then I would set to making the turkey dinner. My mum did make the cake and sometimes the pudding, rich with fruit and spice, but I must admit in recent years I have not made my own. Now that parents are gone and our son lives in Australia we generally have a quiet day on our own. We do still have the roast dinner but not always turkey, in fact we quite often have a nice piece of steak instead, and then watch the tv. We always have cold cuts i.e. turkey and ham for dinner on Boxing Day. x
My mum also did the cake and pudding and put sixpences in the pudding to be found and traded for a prize. The possibility of a prize was the only reason I ate the pudding as it really wasn’t a favourite of mine! We don’t always have turkey either, in fact we tend to have something different each year either roasted or barbecued out in the snow!
Gingerbread cards! What a great idea for an accompaniment to the cookie plates I give family and friends.
I might do some little ‘gingerbread tags’ to go with the plates I give away too!
What a great tradition! The tank is certainly not your average gingerbread but is pretty neat nonetheless:) Our tradition is not as noble as yours, but each member of our family picks out one new Christmas tree ornament each year. I use a Sharpie to write the year and family member’s name on the ornament. It’s fun reminiscing while unpacking the box of ornaments each year. There are many stories that hang on our Christmas tree!
I love that tradition as it grows each year and family history is hanging on your Christmas tree.
Heather, I have seen these house stamps and ones like them over the years but never have I thought to make them gingerbread houses. Yours are brilliant, even the edging of tea dye distress ink to make them look ‘baked not burned’. What a success as a project. Well done!
I am hungry now…..:)
I am hungry too! This project might end up bringing the gingerbread baking kick off earlier!
Oh, Heather, I just love these gingerbread house cards! Thanks for sharing!
Shirl
Gorgeous cards! I’ll have to try this combination! Love the kraft cardstock with the embossed white images!
I have one tradition for Thanksgiving that is making a garnet yam casserole. It has fresh cranberries mixed in and an oatmeal/brown sugar topping on it. Many years back I took a microwave cooking class at my local junior college, and I got the recipe from the holiday meal we prepared for the class. It was a hit when I served it at home, so I make it every year!
My Christmas tradition is making 4 or 5 kinds of cookies, then packaging them up to share with friends and neighbors. I love to deliver the baked goodies on Christmas Eve!
The yam casserole sounds yummy and 4 or 5 different cookies sounds like a lot but must be so appreciated by your friends.
I love reading about your Gingerbread traditions, Heather. What a fun tradition! Our favorite tradition is Cookie Day. The older grandkids don’t usually come around for it anymore but the youngest ones still get excited. I think Their moms and I get even more excited!
I will have some little nieces visiting this year in December so I might have some help decorating gingerbread!
I forgot to add that your gingerbread cards are fantastic! They are so beautifully “iced” and the soft sponging makes the look deliciously browned but not burnt.
I love your gingerbread cards. Gesso is a product I have, but have not used to splatter. Yours looks perfect. Our families are all far away so traditions together can’t be done. We used to when we were all young. Mom and Dad created great memories for us. Where it was baking cookies, singing Carols together, or sneaking peeks at the presents. We would take plates of cookies to the neighbors and sing to them too.
Our family is far away too but I have the same memories as yours. This year I will have one Australian nephew with us for Christmas so that will be lovely.
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Very amazing cards – love the gingerbread look you have created! The one tradition I remember the most from my childhood was my father making peanut brittle. He never spent much time in the kitchen, but come the holidays he always made this candy, It was delicious and there was never enough!
We made peanut brittle a few times too; it was delicious.