1. Cover your base with aluminium foil. If you have baked a flat piece of gingerbread to go on the base and under your house, lay it on the base now.
2. Pipe (or spread with a knife) two straight lines of icing at a 90 degree angle. One line is for a side wall and the other line is for an end wall. Pipe icing on the side wall where the joint will meet the end wall. Place the walls on the base touching each other. Hold them in place until they are dry enough to stand on their own. This will take about 15 minutes. You can use cans as support.
3. Repeat this process with the remaining two walls. Run a line of icing glue along the corners so all the walls are glued together. You should also put icing on the inside seams to make it stronger. Hold the walls in place until the icing is dry.
4. Let the walls of the house dry at least 30 minutes more before adding the roof. Then pipe a lot of icing along the tops of all the walls. Run a thick line along one long side of a roof section. Stick the two roof sections together at an angle and set them on top of the house.
Hold the roof in place until it dries or support with cans. Let this dry for another 30 minutes
5. If you baked the door to add to your house, attach it to the doorway by running a line of icing glue down one side and along the base. Leave the door slightly open so it's easy to see.
6. Fill in any empty spaces with more icing and let the house dry until it is solid. The best thing to do is let it set overnight and continue with the decorating the next day.
 Extra Tip:
If you want to be able to nibble on the gingerbread house without the house falling in, here's how... Tape your pattern pieces together after you've cut out the gingerbread. Place this on the base and completely cover the cardboard house with foil or saran wrap. Then build your gingerbread house over and around the cardboard house. Pieces can then be pulled off without damaging the whole structure.
 HAVE FUN!
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