Making Gingerbread Houses is one of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season!

Growing up, we used to make gingerbread houses every Christmas. My mom actually used to make them from scratch and cut out the walls using paper templates that she made herself! Then, we would take a trip to the bulk candy store and pick out tons of candies and embellishments to put on our houses. It was always a big project but it was also always so much fun.

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These days, making gingerbread houses has gotten even easier. There are kits you can buy or even giant cookie cutters that you can use to create the exact pieces you need for a cute little house.

At first, I was kind of against using the gingerbread house kits, because they seemed so lame. Especially when I was spoiled by my mom making everything from scratch (thanks mom!). But recently, the gingerbread house kits have gotten a lot nicer.

And guess what – I made this gorgeous little house using one of those kits!

You can see this Gingerbread House in my Christmas Home Tour 2016 {Part 2 – the Kitchen}

This year I picked up a kit that seemed pretty basic from Wilton, but once I opened it up I was completely surprised. The house was PRE-ASSEMBLED in the box! And, it was the cutest little size. The kit was actually called a “townhouse” gingerbread house, which is perfect because we live in a townhouse.

*I couldn’t find a link to the actual kit that I bought, but here are some alternatives. The real kit that I bought was found at my local Walmart.*

The kit came with an entire tube of pre-made frosting, a piping bag and tip, candy, and even green fondant.

It also came with a code for a free cake decorating class from Craftsy. If you’ve never heard of Craftsy before, it’s basically an online resource where you can take creative classes. I redeemed my coupon code for a piping class to learn how to make frosting flowers. I can’t wait to take it and I thought that it was a pretty awesome value to get all of that for the price of one little gingerbread house.

Even though the kit came with candy and colorful embellishments, I wanted to create a more sophisticated looking gingerbread house. I love the look of the all-white gingerbread houses. I think that they look so pretty and magical especially in white kitchens. So, I decided to make a wintry white gingerbread house using only frosting.

This little house may look complicated to make, but it was actually super easy. Even if you aren’t talented at decorating at all, you can definitely make this gingerbread house for your home. To help you out, I’ve put together 5 elements for creating the perfect wintry white gingerbread house.

5 Elements of Decorating a Wintery White Gingerbread House

Covered Seams

The first thing that I did after taking this little house out of the box was cover the seams between gingerbread pieces with fresh frosting. You want to hide wherever two gingerbread pieces meet with the frosting to give it a more finished look. The bright white contrasting against the brown gingerbread looks polished and creates clean edges for your house.

Embellish Windows & Doors

Next, I piped a door and some windows onto the gingerbread house. Instead of just piping a box for all of these elements, I added some piping embellishments.

For the door, I went with an arched top. I also added mullions at an angle inside the door and a small dot of frosting as a door knob. Around the door, I piped another layer of frosting with a different look to distinguish the door from the details. This added an extra something to the door to create some interest and texture.

For the window on the front of the house, I created a rounded window. I added a different embellishment of looped frosting around the top of the window to add a different element and look to the design.

For the windows around the sides of the houses, I went with a simple rectangle design with basic mullions. But then, I beefed up the tops of the windows with some back and forth vertical piped frosting to give the illusion of trim. I also added some looped frosting to the tops of the windows for even more detail.

Patterned Roof

For the roof of the house, I decided to create a pattern design and repeat it until I covered the entire top surface of the gingerbread house.

The pattern I chose was a shingle-looking loop that resembles a real house roof. Starting at the top point, I made large piping loops until I created a row. Then, I alternated the placement as I moved onto each additional row.

Flourishes

The next step was to add even more detail. Are you seeing a pattern here? Detail adds textures, textures are interesting to look at, and interest makes for a pretty looking gingerbread house.

The first flourishes that I piped onto the house were the swirls next to the front door. They added a fun whimsical element along with a few frosting dots. On the back of the house, I added a few more swirls in different configurations.

Next, I added the icicles to the front and back of the house. I wanted the icicles to hang from the roof pieces, so I piped short bits of frosting directly onto the edge of the roof. Once I could tell that the frosting was attached, I quickly moved my hand downwards pulling the frosting into a point. This made the frosting drip look like little icicles. I repeated this until I covered the front and back rooflines of the house.

Then, to finish my flourishes, I added frosting dots all along the edges of the gingerbread house. These dots followed the lines of the seam frosting that I added at first, but they were a different style (dots) and added a whole new element of texture to the design.

Fresh Snow

Finally, the finishing touch of this gingerbread house was adding a fresh layer of snow. For the actual house, I used powdered sugar that I sifted through a tiny sifter to make it look like freshly fallen snow on the roof. This last step really made the gingerbread house feel wintry and magical!

Around the bottom of the house on my cake stand, I covered the cardboard base with fake snow that’s made for mini Christmas village displays. This stuff fills in really well and looks great!

Tada! A beautiful wintry white gingerbread house!

You can see this Gingerbread House in my Christmas Home Tour 2016 {Part 2 – the Kitchen}

It really is easier than you think to create. Just start with frosting and build onto the design by adding details as you go.

I know it might seem intimidating at first, but just start and you will get the hang of it. But, if you still need some encouragement, I’ve got 3 more tips that will help you feel confident enough to make your own house.

It doesn’t have to be perfect

From far away in the photos, my gingerbread house looks just adorable, doesn’t it? But guess what, when you get up close you can definitely tell that it’s NOT perfect. My frosting lines aren’t all straight, there are flourishes that look like a little kid doodled on the side of the house, and I don’t even think everything is level! But guess what, it doesn’t really matter. All of the details and textures together create enough interest that the gingerbread house looks cohesive and intentional.

Keep everything uniform

By choosing to use only white frosting and no other colors or candy on the house, I created a uniform look that helps make everything look professional. I also tried to keep most of my frosting lines similar widths. That way I didn’t have large splotches of frosting in one spot and tiny string of frosting in another. Similar widths make the details on the house look unified.

Leave some “brown space”

This is definitely a wintry white gingerbread house, but you can still see a lot of the gingerbread cookie. That’s because the “brown space” matters! Just like how white space matters in photos or graphics, “brown space,” or letting to cookie show through all the frosting, creates balance and is pleasing to look at. The brown gingerbread cookie provides great contrast for the white frosting and makes all the details pop. So, don’t worry about covering the house completely with frosting – leave some “brown space” showing.

I hope these tips help you create your own beautiful wintry white gingerbread house. If you decide to make one of these adorable little houses, tag me on Instagram, @keystoinspiration . I would love to see your designs!