Gingerbread "Stump House" for Elderly Elves

by John Hess
(Seneca, South Carolina )

The folks at the Assited Living, Residence of Park Place, in Seneca SC, made their 2013 Ginger Bread House. This was not one of your run of the mill Ginger Bread Houses. The idea and theme for it was thought up by one of the residences (91 year old school teacher). Along with the help of the activities director, and the effort of about a 1/2 dozen of the residence’s themselves, along with yours truly the idea came to life ! The tree stump is made from Gingerbread, covered with Dark and White Chocolate fondant and sugar gumpaste over the gingerbread to sculpture the tree stump. Everything else on the stump was made of ingredients such as Royal Icing, Wheat Chex, Cheese-Itz and Wheat Thin Crackers, Sugar Cubes, Gum Drops, a Blue Berry Muffin, Chocolate Chips, Snow Caps Chocolate Candy, Various Food colored Royal Icing, Home made Spun Sugar, Rock Sugar and cold Ice crystal sugar. Accents were Borax Crystals grown on pipe cleaners. Sugar gum paste to form mushrooms and toad stools. Rolled Tootsie rolls to create tree bark and rocks. No store ‘bought/commercial’ decorations, other than the Micro battery powered lights. Windows were melted butter scotch hard candy, then poured into window cutouts in Ginger Bread. The other windows each had a photo of one the ladies who created the stumphouse and there was a window photo of their activies director. There is a clock Tower on the left side, wish we could have put in another photo for you to see.
The theme was printed on parchment which was then put on a scroll of white chocolate fondant, that was brushed with green food coloring.

Once upon a time….
There was a beautiful tree living in the forest
One day men from the village came with large saws
They were looking for a giant tree.
“Here is the perfect tree for us,” they said.
So they cut down the tree and carried it away.
All that was left was a large wooden stump.
It was useless.
Until one day some Kitchen Elves came into the forest.
They saw the stump and jumped for joy!
“The perfect home for our Elderly Elves!”
So they built, baked, iced and decorated until, the stump
became….
The Gingerbread Stump House For Elderly Elves

This piece of delicious art, took 6 Weeks to make by "young at heart" 80 and 90 year old Grand and Great Grand mothers.