Sugar Cube Building

Photo Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living 

Ok. I've been wanting for years to build cute little cugar cube cottages or a rustic castle or perhaps even an igloo. Decided this year was the year and instead of the gingerbread house we'd try our hands on something new.

Broke the news to Wille and Martin and they agreed! Wow, that was easy and kind of unexpected!

Turns out they had a different idea than I... They wanted to continue last years theme of NYC landmarks...
 

 

So 8 kgs (15 pounds) of sugar and a string light later, here it is in all it's glory!

Here are some shots of the process:

A print out of the building, the Muji mini as inspiration, a bit of math, a whole lot of sugar and patience is what it takes.

Martin and Wille started out by mapping out the size. Good thing they didn't go with the first calculations of 27 kg (59 pounds) of sugar...
 

We were a bit unsure if frosting alone would hold our building together so Martin and Wille experimented with hot glue, elmers glue etc but ended up using caulk from a caulking gun to attach each cube using a small metal spatula to get an even coating.

We came up with the idea to add light inside and inserted a string light in the process. The back of the building is actually open to prevent it from getting too hot. The whole thing sits on a foam core board and the cable runs in a guaged out tunnel at the bottom.

After a few daýs (Rome wasn't built in a day and so wasn't this) we brought the project downstairs so we could eat at our dining table. It was a slow and apparently quite boring process to build the main mid part but as soon as they got to the top bit it got exciting again and the project took off.

 

And again here it is! Now we're just hoping Mini and Bonus will keep their little tounges away...  
  

Comments

[Helen]

This is totally awesome!!!!!
WOW! It reminds me of those cooking shows on food network where the chefs would compete for a price buy making amazing cakes and sugar pieces. Your building is so much cooler than martha's =)

[Helen]

oops, i meant prize, not price =P

[ibb]

WOW, incredible.
And a different but very interesting idea.

[kathryn]

Holy cow, that is awesome. I cannot believe how cool that is. Incredible.

[Angie]

It's very, very beautiful and original!!! I'm impressed! Congratulations to the Larssons' Family :-)
Xxx
Angie

[far out brussel sprout]

This is a tasty looking homage to NYCs best. Well done.

[Lotten]

Wow! Helt underbar byggnad! Nu blir jag oxå sugen på att bygga i sockerbitar ;-) Det har nog inte mina gossar något emot....

[quinn]

Good job, Larsson Construction Company!

[Teresa]

Terrific idea! I am impressed!

[meta]

wauw! respect! heel erg mooi gedaan! :)

[meta]

ooh, and those are little cars in front?
hahaha, humor!

[Sara]

OH MY GOSH!!! You three are incredible! We all should have known that you'd find a way to make a white 'gingerbread' house. :)

[jodi]

wow!!

[patty]

very cool!

[Mary]

That is so-o-o cool! I bow at your feet :)

[carol k]

Oh Fantastic! You guys are brilliant! The lighting is awesome. What a trio you guys make.

[April]

I was pretty impressed when I saw the first picture of it. But then the one with the lights! Wow! That's seriously cool and very classy.

Maybe I'll try something like that too!

[maryannlucy]

That is beautiful - no more words!

[Lessie]

I am so amazed!!! Very impressed. This is a good example of those men's ways complimenting those women's ways. :)

[Charlene]

Fantastic! I love it. You can sure see all the planning and time it took to build. Totally worth it.

[mirka]

sugarific idea!!! i really like it. they did a great job.

[Vicki K]

Incredible - your whole family is amazing and creative!

[Kara]

This is amazing! And so inspiring. Definitely cooler than Martha's!

[Crafty Mermaid]

Stunning! Really, really amazing.

[Helena]

I don´t know what to say. This is amazing!
Great work and I love it.

[Abby]

What a fantastic idea! A great spin from the traditional gingerbread house!! Nice work. =)

[Jakob]

The important question is: what are you going to do with it after the holidays? Keep it is a permanent decoration? Sweeten a swimming pool of coffee?

[dinah]

lol love how you and the guys had different images in mind.

[Alana in Canada]

Congratulations to the Larrson men. Nicely done.

[jja]

Amazing! I love your family projects!

[Christine]

Very hard core Christmas deocrating!! I love the early stage research! I can see they took this very seriously. Cute.

[Nolwenn]

It looks fantastic, well done :)

[bec]

that is fabulous. YOur family doesn't do anything in half measures. Well done boys!

[iva]

wow! i like it!

[Erin Kleider]

Oh my gosh! This is the coolest thing ever. I am going to have to show my hubby! WAY cooler than Martha's...WAY cooler!

Nice job!

Erin :)

[Sandi]

Oh dear! You are amazingly crafty. I cannot let my children see this. It would take me (not so coordinated)and my (not so coordinated) children ages to do this. Fantastic!

[CreativeActivity - Sandra]

OJojojoj!! Helt galet! Vilket tålamod ni måste ha..:-)

[Franziska]

:) smile smile smile. I like your ideas (the ideas of the family). And I like that you do the projects as a family. Everyone takes part of it. That's very cool.
The building is fantastic!

[Freck]

Wow!!! This is so incredible!!!!!

[Ciloubidouille]

Hi :) ! I'm french and i love to read your articles. This one give me another idea... Click on the link to see how your blog inspire mine.

http://www.ciloubidouille.com/2009/12/13/arbre-de-noel-en-sucre/comment-page-1#comment-164192

[pixie]

That is amazing! I love it..esp the way the lights glow through the sugar.

[Valerie]

woohoo ! you rock !

[Janneke]

This is such a great idea! amazing :)

[shayne]

wow this is really cool and looks like a lot of fun

[Jeff]

Wonderful idea! It looks great! I did this same type thing 15 years ago and made a pyramid. Then I completed a castle, varnished the cubes and then put a stone type paint over that. Today I have it as a center piece to a Lionel Model Train set. So, they can last over time.

[whorange]

are you kidding me with this fabulousness? my lord, darling. just found you through apartment therapy's homie award noms. love you already. xoxo

[lawrenceksrealestate]

Totally awesome! Best I have seen, I love it! I made one out of Gingerbread in 2007 for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County charity auction. You can see it here: http://www.searchlawrence.com/Gingerbread_Empire_State_Building.php

[Denisines]

Just curious, the sugar doesn't attract ants or anything?
(I live in a tropical country & we couldn't dream of leaving out even 1 sugar cube! ; )

[Carlos]

We don't have that ptoblem over here luckily!

[Mickey@EuroAmerican Home]

I had this bookmarked in the Christmas folder on my computer, from back in the pre-Pinterst days

I still think this is an amazing craft. Please link to it this year so more people can admire its awesomeness :)