ginger 2012 – group 5
UPDATE: WINNER DECLARED! Kate & Ellen’s Candy Cobblestones in Paris will be moving on to the Ginger 2012 Finals! Congrats, Kate & Ellen! And thanks to all of the Group 5 competitors – you’ve made this holiday season just a little bit sweeter…
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Here is your fifth grouping of Ginger 2012 competitors – cast your vote at the bottom of the page!
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cassie & dan’s house avec dinosaure
You may remember Cassie and Dan from Ginger 2011. They didn’t win, so they’re back for a little ginger redemption. They sent the following note with their entry:
Hello Movita,
While visiting our gingerbread house walk down candy-cane lane, sip hot cocoa by the fire, and go for a sleigh ride; just make sure to watch out for the dinosaur!
Warm winter wishes,
Cassie & Dan
Yup. There’s a random dinosaur in there – and it’s smaller than the reindeer. But don’t let that distract you – there’s a feast awaiting your eyes/belly. Did you notice how much royal icing is dripping from the roof? I want to break a piece off and chomp on it. Look at that massive gumdrop wreath! The impressive chimney, the adorable camp fire, and the pathway that leads to… no where? The fire? Whatever. Also, I’m assuming that walk-out balcony comes off the master bedroom. Why wouldn’t it? That’s ginger real estate at its best.
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lena’s thornfield on fire!
Lena is one of my sister’s dear friends. She writes and stuff, just like Haddy. Being a writer means that Lena is probably into obscure art references and drinking hooch in her morning coffee. Being a writer also means – nerd alert – that Lena has actually read crap like Jane Eyre.
Lena sent the following note with her entry:
Thornfield ON FIRE!
by Lena Coakley (with Clare Lawlor, pyrotechnics consultant)
Dear Movita,
I would like to submit my gingerbread creation, Thornfield ON FIRE!, to your competition. This thrilling gingerbread tableau depicts the scene in the novel Jane Eyre where the great mansion, Thornfield, is destroyed. Mr. Rochester has lost his hand in the fire, while his mad wife, Bertha, is being consumed by gummy-fish flames.
Lena
Let’s begin by discussing the use of fire in this entry. THERE IS USE OF FIRE IN THIS ENTRY! Also, Lena employed a pyrotechnics expert – because Canadian writers are very, very rich. Most importantly, Lena is the first Ginger competitor (ever) to use stop motion. See? In the first photo Mr. Rochester is at the front of the house. In the second photo, Mr. Rochester is running away from the house. That’s what happens when you READ, people. You get all smart like.
Want to find out what other stuff Lena is up to? Check out her website – she’s a young adult fantasy writer. Don’t get too excited – it isn’t as dirty as it sounds.
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kate & ellen’s candy cobblestones in paris
Kate and Ellen are former my former students. Kate was a finalist in Ginger 2011 and won Ginger 2010. She also leads an annual gnome/knome making workshop for me. Ellen plays the harp. How many people do you know who can wail on the harp? That’s what I thought.
Kate and Ellen sent the following note with their entry:
(listen to ellen play harp whilst you enjoy her ginger creation)
Hi Ms Dyer!!!
Here is Ellen’s and my Ginger entry, we are calling it “Candy Cobblestones in Paris”. We hope you like it! Several weeks of planning and 3 days of pattern designing, baking, building and decorating went into this completely edible creation. It is a creative interpretation of Paris (aka not at all to scale) featuring five Parisian townhouses and the Eiffel Tower. All the houses and lamp posts feature real candy glass windows. The skating pond also made of a single large piece of candy glass and was designed to reflect the light from the windows. The subtle spiral patterns of the cobblestones mimic the spiral patterns on the tower. To finish of this wintery scene we have created a Narnia-esque forest complete with lamp post.
~ Kate and Ellen
This ginger creation makes me feel like I’m right in Paris again. (Or Narnia.) The Eiffel Tower is wicked awesome, the cobblestones are a delight, and I’d move into one of those townhouses in a heartbeat. Did you see the scroll work on the tower? The little window boxes on the townhouses? Don’t you want to touch that skating pond with your grubby fingers? OR LICK IT? This is epic gingering. Epic!
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holly f.’s structurally sound ginger birdhouse
Holly F. sent the following note with her entry:
Oh, hey there *wipes royal icing from eyebrow.* We’re getting down to the midnight-deadline wire, so I figured I should probably send in my ginger creation.
I’ll keep this short and sweet: This is the first time I’ve ever made a gingerbread house, so when I saw Movita’s Ginger 2012 competition, I reluctantly decided to try my hand at the custom gingerbread house construction business. I say reluctantly because I’ve seen the caliber of creations that these competitions normally yield (*gulp*).
I decided a ginger birdhouse would be kinda cute, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Of course, I had help in the structural department from my boyfriend (a carpenter — there are reinforced beams inside, to keep that pretzel roof from sliding clean off).
Frankly, it’s kind of a Christmas miracle that the damn thing is still in one piece.
Anyways, I hope you like!
I need a drink.
xo Holly
Holly? You should know that 2.0 and I are obsessed with birds. We even have a heated birdbath in our yard. So this birdhouse is right up our ally. I loves it. And I’m so glad that you made it structurally sound – I mean, what if a pigeon tried to land on it? That’s what happens at our house – pigeons try to land on little perches that were made for chickadees. It’s way dangerous for everyone involved. Also, those pretzels are making me extremely hungry. Pretzels + royal icing? I think we’ve got 2013’s biggest snack trend nailed down…
Wanna hang out with Holly some more? Visit her here!
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holly b.’s couples therapy retreat
Holly B. goes to school with me. She’s been sweating and freaking out in the kitchen with me for weeks. Holly sent the following information with her entry:
All you need to know about this is that 1. Building a gingerbread house with your spouse should be a part of couples therapy retreats, it really gets everything out there…. AND 2. I nearly went into a coma and took at least four and half years off my life when neon pink icing literally exploded out of the piping bag onto the house. Holy frig.
Did we learn how to make gingerbread awesomeness at baking school this term? Yes. Did we learn how to fill piping bags properly so they won’t explode? Probably. Did we learn how to craft miniature Christmas trees? You betcha. Did we learn how to sculpt figurines? Yup. Did we learn how to shape shrubbery, icicles, and wreaths from royal icing? Of course. Did I utilize any of those skills in my own ginger creation? No. But Holly did! Did you see the little axe on the tree stump? And don’t you just love the expressions on those wee faces? Wait… what are they looking at? What’s that up in the sky? Santa? An asteroid? Whatever. A vote for this house is a vote for baking school. And anxiety. And maybe asteroids.
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There you have it – cast your vote below! And feel free to leave a festive shout-out for your favourite entry in the comments section below…
The winner from this grouping will go on to compete in the finals on Friday, December 21st. For more information on how the voting will go down, click here. Don’t forget to cast your votes for Group 4 and Group 6!
[…] the other entries in this year’s competition, but if you love it anyways, you really should vote for me on Movita’s blog on Thursday (there may be a gingerbread cookie or two in it for […]
Here you go again, making it all difficult. As a therapist, I totally wanted to vote for the couple’s therapy retreat. However, once I saw that AWESOME Eiffel tower, it was all over!!!
Oh yeah– and the fired-up Jane Eyre reference? Brilliant!!
Fire…fire…freaking fire. Absolute brilliance.
Ginger Eiffel Tower FTW! (For The Win)
of course kim likes the one that’s on fire. OF. COURSE.
this one is the TOUGHEST group of all for me. I’m torn. I don’t know who to vote for.
What i do know is that i’ll need Holly B to make a few of those awesome little snow-people and send them to me; they have the best faces and expressions i’ve ever seen crafted from food. I’m also making a note of Holly F’s choice of shingle, as it is an inspired choice (very ‘wheat-y’ – i love it). The paris scene? Hardcore.
i can’t vote yet. I need to think it over.
Comments on this post are now closed as it was published in December 2012.