2013 Holiday Gingerbread Contest

Peoples Choice

Jen Block - A Christmas Story Gingerbread House

My dad and I always loved this movie so I knew from the start I wanted to make this iconic house. Who doesn't love a cult classic? Am I right? I studied online photos of the house and made a template based on them. The entire structure is home made gingerbread cut from the template. The siding, roofs shingles and trim are royal icing. The windows are crushed butterscotch candies. I piped a leg lamp on the inside of the front window so you can see it from the 'street' when the house is lit up. The pines trees are upside down sugar cones with royal icing piped on. The hedges in the front are the bottom halves of regular ice cream cones with piped royal icing. The 'Fra-gee-lay' crate is a rice krispy treat covered in milk chocolate as is the family car. There is an ice cream cone covered in chocolate as a trash can in the back of the house with a pink marshmallow bunny suit in it. We all know that Ralphie was throwing that away the first chance he got! The entire house and landscape were dusted with powdered sugar for snow. I really loved working on this house! It was so much fun. There are more pictures on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/bimpysbakery...be sure to check them out!!.

Best Use of Candy

Charlotte Biercevicz - Santa's workshop

I was inspired by a photograph I saw and then added all 'toys' that meant something to my family. Twins in a wagon for our newest family twins, fire chief hat  in honor of my dad, Hockey for my grandson, ETC.....used gingerbread, gum paste, chocolate, fondant, royal icing, edible dough, and various candies...took 3 months to create from graph paper to finished product

Best Holiday Theme

Maria Spratford - Gingerbread Festivals Remembered

I've had an entry in the Conner Prairie Gingerbread Festival for the past fifteen or so years. This will be my final entry, and is a compilation, in miniature, of memories from past festivals.  The little firehouse in the back is a replica of one that I did in 2001 to honor the firefighters who served in the 9/11 rescue operations.  The little farm was also one of my favorites.  The figures are all made of fondant and/or gumpaste. 

Best Holiday Theme (Non-Structure)

Cheryl Waterhouse-Barnhart - All Aboard The Polar Express

The inspiration was my favorite Christmas story.  Candy cigarettes for the wheel rods, licorice tracks, peanut butter bars for the stone work on the tunnel, plan ice cream cone covered in fondant for the smoke stack, big sprinkles inside fondant as the rivets to hold the train together, shoestring licorice for the tubes, fondant bell, and chopped cinnamon chips for the gravel between the tracks. The train was made 2 inches taller than it appears as it needed to be frosted to the board for stability.  The snow around the train is icing with coconut flakes covering rice krispie treats to build the foundation up.  The train is actually traveling out of the back of the Polar Express storybook with the bell and note from Mr. C. on the opposite side of the tunnel. The train comes out of a tunnel from the back of the book.  This is the front cover of 'The Polar Express' book.  The painting was done on fondant using food coloring and vodka.  The vodka evaporates quickly allowing the food coloring to dry.  The bell is made of a dark chocolate Lindt candy wrapped in fondant to appear as bell, then sprayed with silver food coloring.  The note is fondant using a food coloring pen to write. The green is a Christmas tree skirt made of fondant with gold dust.

Best Landmark

 Alison Corbrey -  Gingerbread Fire House

This Gingerbread Fire House was for the Festival of Gingerbread in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Each year the History Center of Fort Wayne, Indiana hosts a competition featuring historic landmarks in and around Fort Wayne. Fire Station #3 was built in 1893 and now serves as the Firefighter's Museum in Fort Wayne.  I used Gingerbread for the brick walls and all of the signs and I painted the signs with food coloring. I used Royal Icing for the windows and also for the architectural details on the front facing and the Christmas greenery. The roof is covered in poppy seeds and the Christmas lights on the roof are chocolate covered sunflower seeds. I've been inspired by so many artists out there, but most especially with the entries to the National Gingerbread competition in NC..

Most Creative Use of Gingerbread

Sharon Buckwell - The Guardian

The gingerbread dragon guards his treasure. His gingerbread core is covered in ginger clay he was then painted with food colorings. His wings are made from gelatin. The chest is gingerbread with pastillage adornments. The coins and shells are also pastillage. The boulders are gingerbread and the sand is ground vanilla cookies. 

Best entry using an Ultimate Gingerbread pattern

Sharon Wasik - Effingham House pattern

The house lights up; the windows are crushed and melted hard candies, the roof is sour belts cut into shingles, the porch railing is frosted spaghetti, the children and dog are marzipan, the snowman is pastillage and the snow fort is sugar cubes. The trees are frosted ice cream cones and the shrubs are frosted marshmallows. It took me two weeks to complete.

Best Crash-and-Fall

Michelle Maple -  "I came in like a wrecking ball"

What else is there to say about this entry......

Honorable Mentions

Stephanie Pearson - Peppermint Farmhouse

Snow hit the midwest, I couldn't leave my house, and this Peppermint Farmhouse is the result.  I wanted to go with a theme when creating it, so I used mostly peppermint for decorations.  The windows match the color decor.  A little bit of Christmas green spread throughout (and on the ice cream cone tree barely visible in the house window) to round it all off.  The siding is piped, the path is peppermint crushed in my blender.  I added some dollops of snow and icicles for whimsy.  It's a gingerbread house, after all.

Andrew Forman - Patterson House

A very difficult pattern compared to years past, but we prevailed.

 

 Sharon Buckwell - Cape Lookout Lighthouse

This is my replica of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse in NC. It is approximately 1/52 scale.  The lighthouse is solid gingerbread (baked in 2 pieces) covered in pastillage. The house is gingerbread with pastillage bricks. The roof is covered with black icing and black sugars. All the rocks are gingerbread tossed in food colorings. The water is isomalt, the waves were created by pulling the sugar as it cooled. The sand consists of cookie crumbs and the sea oats were made with rice paper painted green. 

Krista Mulcahy - A replica of the Leif Erikson viking ship

Everything is edible - from the gingerbread oars to the fondant vikings and even the sugar sheet sail.

Patricia Balat - Waiting for Christmas

This house was constructed of gingerbread & Royal Icing. The gazebo posts are candy canes. The windows are made from melted candy. The fencing & embroidery decorations are royal icing. It has a set of lights to light the house up. The roof has crackers covered with icing & sparkle sprinkles. The trees are formed from ice cream cone covered with icing,

Brad Cerenzia - A Very Psycho Holiday - Christmas with the Bates Family

In my art, I'm interested in finding new ways of telling old stories.  What was Christmas like at the Bates house?  Did they have a tree?  Did Mother decorate it?  Did she string popcorn on thread as garland?  Did Norman hang lights and set up a nativity in the yard?  We'll never know, but we can imagine how they spent Christmas Eve with this decorative holiday accent.\n\nMade of gingerbread, fondant, gelatin sheets for windows, chocolate, and royal icing, and textures added with a plastic pattern mold that I pressed into the fondant.  The iron railings around the roof are made out of chocolate that I melted and drew onto a wax sheet, then fused onto the roof with more chocolate.  The house itself is 100% edible.  This is my first gingerbread house.  I used a model schematic/floor plan that I blew up to 180% size, then cut and pieced together about 150 individual edible parts to make the gingerbread house come to life. The 'making of' steps are located here

Sarah Cummings - Wizard's Keep Castle

This castle is 100% edible. A gingerbread structure with gelatin orbs. The gates are pasta and the pastillage dragons and wizard complete the look.... 

Sarah Cummings - The Hideaway Inn

The Hideaway Inn - nestled between a waterfall and a quiet woods, the Hideaway Inn and it's attached waterwheel is sure to be the getaway of someone's dreams.  The inn and water wheel are gingerbread. the water is isomalt. The thatched roof is shredded wheat. The trees are a combination of pretzels, spaghetti, and rosemary, glued with isomalt.

Debra Wolford - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause

The Festival of Trees 2013 theme was Songs of Christmas.  My daughter and I wanted to continue with our theme of having a scene inside the house. Again, everything edible except base and lights as per the rules.  House gingerbread, royal icing, melted crushed candies for windows and figures are fondant and sugarpaste. Really important less of 2012 - create the scene first and then build around it! Its a nightmare to place all those figures after the room is built...take it from us!  

Debra Wolford - SugarSugar Bakery - Children' s Delight

We wanted to do a gingerbread house with a scene inside. What better than a bakery with little mini gingerbread houses, cookies and other delicious baking inside. We included a baking table with rolled out cookie dough and cookies, pantry with assorted supplies and a fireplace inside..along with lights so you can see the scene.  Jenna had to add a stained glass cupcake design on the door, of course and it was made with crushed candy melted into the gingerbread.  We made all the rest of the decorations with gingerbread, rice krispie treats (just to reinforce the inside construction) fondant, sugarpaste and royal icing.  The entire thing is completely edible except for the lights and acetate front windows (using edible glass was not clear enough to see all the details inside)  We won People's Choice at the Saskatoon Festival of Trees in 2011 with this display.

Christa Dunn - North Pole Welcome Center

Inspired by a porcelain Christmas display house. 100% edible. Structure is gingerbread with gum paste accents. Front window is gelatin with a hand-crafted gum paste Santa figure inside. Holly tree is a candy base with holly-shaped sprinkles. Walkway is gum paste with a brick impression. Flags are spaghetti, royal icing and gum paste. Snow is Royal Icing dusted with lustre dust. Ice sculptures are Isomalt. Cookie men are gingerbread.

Melissa Thomas - Holiday Garden

Gingerbread A-frame with deck and carillon clock tower set in a garden of green royal frosting with crushed Oreo mulched landscaping edged with chocolate rocks, shrubs and trees made from Cheerios, sugar cones and gumdrops and a Necco Wafer 'flagstone' path.  The garden also features a gingerbread pergola with green Rice Krispies treats 'foliage,' gingerbread park benches and a blue Twizzler fountain.  Red and white candy-coated sunflower kernels adorn the buildings and Fruit Roll-up 'flags' hoisted on frosting-covered spaghetti flagpoles wave from the rooftops.

Elizabeth Armijo - Replica of The Chase Towers In Phoenix Az

Here is a replica of The Chase Towers In Phoenix Az. It is the tallest building in Phoenix. This was made for an auction for charity and wont the best landmark award and the highest bid. This was my first ever gingerbread house.  For this project i used and egg-less gingerbread recipe, Foam core for the base. I used sour candy strips to mimic the blue windows on the real Chase towers. I also used cookies N/ Cream chocolate candy bars to mimic the panels on the spine of the original chase tower. I made Christmas trees using Waffle cones and royal icing and used multi color dragees for the tree bulbs. I used sanding sugar to make snow (no it does not snow in phoenix) i used M&M's for the plants along with royal icing. for the concrete i used wafer cookies and used them to make the steps as well. I used Fondant to make the entrances to the buildings. There is a strand of LED nights to highlight HAPPY HOLIDAYS and used the gumdrops to cover the LED to make different color lights. for the trees through out i used tree shaped pretzels and decorated with green royal icing. for the lights i used licorice straws and button candy for th tops. for the seating i cut up yellow starbursts.

Shirley Camic - Santa's boat

Santa's boat, The Jingle Belle, is out to trap some lobsters for Christmas.  I made a lighthouse last year, that survived the year, so I decided to expand the scene with a lobster boat.  I looked online, and couldn't find anything like I had in mind, so I drew up the plans, made a construction paper prototype, and winged it.. The traps are made with pretzels, the buoys are red, white and green gumdrops.  The paint is candy melting wafers, as are the wreathes and holly.  The lights are candied sunflower seeds and the ships wheel inside is royal icing.

Michelle Maple -  Holiday House

This is one of 2 contest houses I am building this year. It was submitted to Discover Portsmouth (NH) for their Victorian Gingerbread House Contest. Judges will determine a winner on display for the month of December.  The pattern is for a haunted house, but I liked the style. I used candy canes for the columns, peppermint bark for the windows and gumpast for the room and pumpkin.  I veered from my original vision for this house, but am very happy with the outcome! I love the snowman and peppermint sticks used on the porch the best. I used molded gumpaste for the roof tiles and the snowman is gumpaste and fondant. My favorite tools for construction are an exacto knife and tweezers!

Tammy Graf - Tammy' 2013 Gingerbread House

Note: I'm an amateur not expert. If you can see by the pictures the 2 front lights light up and I put a light bulb on the inside of the house to illuminate the windows. I put Santa and his reindeer's on the roof with the notion that he just dropped off presents and put them under the tree in the front yard. Ingredients: Roof: Blueberry shredded wheat; Awnings, Front and side steps: Grape nuts cereal; Front Walk way : nickle wafers; House Wall, chimney and the Fence: Chocolate Rock candy.  Died Royal icing brown for the house walls . Kept the royal icing white for the outside border fence and the grounds for snow, and the chimney.

Steve Taylor - Griswold Christmas Vacation

This was simply inspired by Christmas vacation. Pull apart twizzlers are the light strands, a fondant man for Clark Griswold. Santa has been kicked in the bushes, and an AWFUL RV sits in the driveway. The tree was 'a little full' and has shattered the bay window. 

Laura Rose - My house and its gingerbread form

I was inspired to make this house from the house I grew up in.  The truck was also created because my brother started his business in the garage. Everything is 100% edible. \n\nI created the red house by putting fondant over the gingerbread and used royal icing for the windows,door, and garage door. The roof is made from 100 calorie pack Oreos. I used crumbled oreos for the roof and dirt. The chimney is made from a rice krispy treat, icing, and Dentyne Ice gum. The stairs are made from rice krispy treats and icing. The bushes are made from spearmint candies along with the tops of ice creams which were covered in icing and sprinkles to represent the lights we put on for Christmas time.  The walkway is made from Necco Wafers. Both of the wreaths were made from Wilton holly sprinkles and colored nonpareils. I put green frosting on the board to make it look like grass then I layered cotton candy on top to make snow. The truck was made with a graham cracker base, rice krispy treats to form the body, and icing. The plow is made from a twizzler. The lights are made from gummy candies and the tires are made from chocolate covered pretzels.  

Rachel McClary - Gingerbread Manor

I used clear rock candy for ice and gate...peppermints, tiny gold balls, chocolate rocks for walkway, ribbon and peppermint gingy trees

Barb Amabile - Jingle Birds Rock!

We cut down a gingerbread tree, built a bird house, decorated it for the holidays and invited some famous feathered friends to have a party!  Our traditional little bear is also there decked out in a clever bird disguise!

Arneta L Jackson Smith - 2013 Gingerbread House

I used ice cream cones for the trees piped with royal icing.  Candy canes for the columns.  Gingerbread crumbs for the garden box.  I melted sugar for the windows and made rock candy with a candy form for the front bottom of the porch.  All decorations were made with homemade royal icing and set out for 3 days to harden.  The inside also has one string of lights so it can glow.  I got the idea from looking at the photos on this site and it inspired me.  I got my inspiration when I accidentally found the Ultimate Gingerbread site and wondered if I could do this.  This is my 3 one and it gets better every time.  The only candy I used were the candy canes for the columns and the remaining decorations were made with royal icing.  It can't be seen from the photo, but on the side it is a raised garden with royal icing cabbages and lettuce.  

Rebecca Davis - Southern Snow

Everything is edible, gingerbread, royal icing, candy canes, waffle-cone trees, juju beans (porch), mini salteen crackers (roof), gum (sidewalks), edible mini snowflakes, gingerbread men, candy canes. It measures 18'W x 26'L x 12'H. I love doing this every year, it is a great time and really puts me in the Christmas spirit.  

Lynne Schuyler - Gingerbread Candy Factory

The roof and circles on the candy factory are fondant that I colored and cut into circles. I came across suckers in the neon colors and had to add them as well. I stenciled the white patterns with white royal icing and added the colored dots with icing. This year I discovered Starburst Minis and used them for the fence top and on the house.  The bricks on the wall and chimney are gum.   I colored sugar in the same colors used for the fondant , to make the smoke and marshmallow trees.   I also love the mini graham crackers used for the ground cover.  They make great bricks on houses too.  The little ΓÇ£dog houseΓÇ¥ in the back corner is actually the electrical room as it houses the battery pack that runs the lights.  The wall post lights, front door sconces, front shops and clock light up.\n

Cindy Mackey - Cindy's Castle

I tired my own take on Cinderella's Castle as I am a huge Disney fan and I also live right here in Orlando, Florida.  The upper and lower is all gingerbread covered in royal icing.  The shrubs and stairways are rice krispie treats.  The turret tops and the carriage is hand piped royal icing.   

Nicole Laine - Mansion Gingerbread House

Mansion Gingerbread House - Made by a 13 year old and her mother for there first time making one out of scratch and decorating one. 2013.  We were thinking that this was Santa and Mrs. Clause's house, and that the reindeer got away and decided to stay on there roof. The roof is made of the chocolate candy melts and the chimney is made with a piece of candy ribbon sticking out of it like fire. The house we sprayed it with edible food coloring so that it had some other color to it. We used candy ribbon for the fence. We used coconut for snow. We made trees with ice cream cones and royal icing. We put white chocolate covered pretzels in the corners of the house. We used candy canes to help hold up the pitches of the roofs. and for the cover over there door. We used royal icing candy canes in the windows and for the lights hanging from the roofs. We used royal icing snowman all over the area and we put Santa and Mrs. Clause in front of there house. We used royal icing all over. This was the first time we had ever even tried to do this and baking it from scratch on our own (not a pre-baked  or prepackaged one) I think we did really good for our first time.