Pictures of the Process of Making the Church

First we bought lots of supplies (candy)! We also took lots of pictures of the church and calculated ratios, measurements, and sizes.
	Then we made gingerbread and rolled it out. This project took six batches of gingerbread.
We had made a mock-up of cardboard first. Then we made a partial mock-up of gingerbread to try it out. We used the cardboard as patterns and cut out the gingebread, baked it, then cut it out again. Leaving edges helped to keep it strong and straight. Here's a picture of the baking process.
	After we took it out of the oven, we cut off the extra edges. The leftovers made good munchies!
Then the pieces cooled on wax paper.
	We used the method of trial and error to see what would make the best stained glass windows. We settled on melted green jolly ranchers. We melted them in the microwave for just the right amount of time. (Otherwise the styrofoam melted and it oozed everywhere! :>)
Then we poured the hot "glass" into the window holes.
	There are over 40 stained glass windows in our gingerbread church.
After everything cooled and dried, then we made lots of brown icing for mortar.
We built the gingerbread church piece by piece, with icing reinforcement on the inside and outside.
	After a few sections were finished, we let it harden overnight.
Finally the church was built.
	Next we placed it on its wooden platform (which we also built), and started to do the shingling. In this case, mini-oreos were perfect.
But first we split them in half and scraped off their yummy insides.
	Finishing the roofing.
Of course after we finished the roofing we had to test the stained glass windows. Three flourescent lights are hidden inside the church.
	Then came the outlining in icing.
And we began to plan the landscaping.
	Landscaping from one side.
And the other. Now we were ready to transport it to the church. See the Installation process!