"Out My Window" NYC Gingerbread house

 

"Woodbine Street" is a couple of NYC theme Gingerbread buildings complete with a gingerbread train on an elevated platform we just did for the NewYork Botanical Garden. 
It was photographed by Gail Albert Halaban. Gail recently published a photography book called Out My Window.  The amazing images in the book are shot from one neighbor's window into another neighbor's window, and we thought it would be fun to do some gingerbread houses from the same perspective.

*See information at the end of this post for a MasterCard® Budding 

Masters Gingerbread House Workshop we're having on Sat. 12/8 and 12/15

This house is very personal to me because its based on the Brooklyn and Queens flats I grew up in.  We hung our laundry out to dry on lines outside our windows that led to our neighbor's windows across the way, and everyone looked into everyone else's windows.
There was an elevated train platform outside my aunt's building a few blocks away from us, and people on the trains looked in the windows too. 

Through the windows in our gingerbread houses people are sending each other presents, gifts of love and good wishes, and lights and joy.  There will be a train in the foreground as a little remembrance of that train platform that I grew up with.  

Its also designed in part to reflect the big windows we have now in New York City.

The hand made figures are close to my heart as well. Above is the real version of the boy in the window, in front of a shop window, and both of this kids looking out a window in Paris.  (From here on out the photos are by me of details and delivery.)

  
Papabubble (at 380 Broome Street @ Mulberry Street) factored large in our building this year.  I'm a huge fan of of their custom hard sugar candies. They are jewels of brilliant color, patterns, messages and wit. 
Papabubble also generously contributed some of their amazing candy for an upcoming Kids Gingerbread workshop in support the New York Botanical Garden (details below). 

While the Herman Miller Marshmallow sofa kind of cries out to be make out of... marshmallows, this little mini is made out of hard candies. These candies come from Japan and with a design referencing the work of the artist, KAWS, who kids might remember from the Thanksgiving Day Parade this year.

We start with is and idea, a dream or a memory for the house. The next step is to plan, first with a sketch, then with a 3 dimensional dummy display of the house we want to make out of cardboard in the size that I'd like to make the house.

Out of that model we create templates.   The templates are pieces of paper in exactly the shapes and sizes of the houses to use to cut out our shapes of rolled out gingerbread.  We number everything, so that we can fit it together later. 

The next step is figuring out our colors and decorations, this year I wanted to have some people, furniture and lights on the inside of the houses so that there's a warmth and a loving glow from within. Then we figure out the details...
 

*Gingerbread workshop: During an exclusive MasterCard Budding Masters workshop, kids ages 8–12 will have a chance to make their very own gingerbread house with me and it will then go on display with the professional bakeries Gingerbread houses.
Dec. 8 & Dec. 15th Workshop time: 2-4 p.m. Ticket also includes All-Garden Pass access for participant (ages 8 - 12) and one Adult to enjoy all of the Garden's offerings, including The Holiday Train Show.

Thanks for taking a look! I hope we see you at the gardens.