This weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 11 to 4, you won't want to miss the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association's Annual Gingerbread Walk. Fifteen shops will be displaying Gingerbread Houses made by local residents, Santa Clause will be at the Plaza, and there will be free gift wrapping for your downtown purchases. Good times!
Twenty years ago this month, I made my first Gingerbread house. Such fun, I was hooked! For the next decade, I was into elaborate creations, entering contests, winning awards and earning the nickname of The Gingerbread Queen! I built and sold custom Gingerbread Houses to businesses and individuals, elaborate, and 100% edible. This past decade, I was less into competing and more into teaching and enjoying the delight that people, young and old, experience when they realize that they CAN do it! I transitioned into doing workshops, gifting, making Gingerbread Houses for friends, my real estate clients, and local charities.
This year, my first Christmas back in Coeur d'Alene, my 15 year old son, Derek, and I decided to create houses for the Gingerbread Walk. What a challenge that was because, for the first time EVER, I was required to use a kit and the flimsy plastic base that came with it! That presented huge design and creativity challenges for me. No dormers, turrets, cantilevers, candy glass windows or front door ajar welcoming you to step inside. Hmmmm. Derek, a cross country runner at CHS, illustrated the creativity that teenage boys have, by building a running track around his house. I decided to make the best of my challenge and installed "log" siding on my modest, prefab, modular Gingerbread tract house. I sited my house on my postage stamp sized lot the best I could to allow for good landscape design, and topped it off with three snowmen chilling in the pond in the side yard and a little squirrel playing on top of the woodpile. You can see my humble house on display at Christmas at the Lake, and Derek's at Fleet Feet.
Last week, I helped my darling 2 year old namesake granddaughter, Rileigh Janna, build her first "Ginger House." What a heartwarming and appropriate way to celebrate my 20th Gingerbread Anniversary, ushering in a new generation of Scharf homebuilders, and the launching of the future Gingerbread Queen! Merry Christmas!
Janna Rankin Scharf, AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS, provides a superior level of real estate services to home buyers and sellers in Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County, Idaho. Visit www.JannaScharf.com to search for homes in the Coeur d'Alene MLS for anywhere in spectacular North Idaho.
Janna Rankin Scharf, 208.651.9700 NorthIdahoJanna@gmail.com
Janna Rankin Scharf provides a superior level of real estate services to home buyers and sellers in Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County, Idaho. Visit www.JannaScharf.com to search for homes in the Coeur d'Alene MLS for anywhere in spectacular North Idaho.
No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!
Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700
HOW Cute! You do gorgeous work, Janna! I have to say, you should add this to the new group, AREA EVENTS! You can join here: http://activerain.com/groups/AreaEvents
Thnaks for the kind words, Debe. I just joined the group and sent this post over. Thanks for the invitation! So many groups, so little time....
Oh I remember when.....
Three years ago, I was an adult student of Mrs. Scharfs' Gingerbread fantasies and watching the creativity flow, supplies in 10's of pounds with not a candy or pretzel/cookie missing, she and her assistants were ready to demonstrate! In my 40's and never having made a Gingerbread house, Janna has earned her title as Queen.
Imagine if she's this good at marketing edible homes, her creativity and finese for the real ones is untouchable! Thanks Janna for always making our holidays that much brighter.
Happy Holidays to you and your growing family.
Hi Janna! Welcome to the group and thanks for joining! Best of luck with the boost in Google juice!
Janna, This is what I would like to see on the nightly news. Good wholesome news for a change...
Janna - what a great addition to the group! I envy ANYONE who can put a gingerbread house together. I tried one once and it was the gingerbread shed when I was through with it! BTW - your little one is gorgeous!
Janna, this is a great tradition! I've never even tried to make one of these. Maybe my grandchildren will teach me how. These are so cute...and such a great event in your area. ;-)
Awesome work Janna! I love this kind of stuff. Food Network anyone! Best wishes.
Morning Janna,
We have always enjoyed the creativity of others but never joined in. Now that I read your post I must admit, we missed out on a lot of fun.
Thanks for sharing. It is aways nice to know we associate with Royalty, Queen Janna. Wink! Happy Holidays!
This is something I've always appreciated and wanted to try, but haven't. I'm so glad you have such a cutie to pass your talent down to. These are the times that the best memories are made of. She is a very lucky little girl!
That's pretty cool, although I will admit that I've never tasted gingerbread. I notice that "Santa Clause" will be at the Plaza. He visits here, too, which might explain why I never get any presents from "Santa Claus" who always seems to skip right over my house. LOL (Sorry, Janna, I couldn't resist -- your fifth line.) Happy Holidays!
Gingerbread houses are waaaay fun! I would advise anyone, especially with kids, to make a gingerbread house for the holiday season. We do every year and my daughters (5 & 7 yrs. old) love it! maybe as much as me...
Those houses on display at CDA are great - it's amazing to see the creativity on display.