Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water In Gingerbread for 2010!

Fellow blogger Melodie blew me away with her version of Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Fallingwater home reproduced in gingerbread. Given that she graduated from BYU in Landscape Management a few years ago and more recently from MATC's Culinary School, it does give her the perfect credentials for such a feat.





Melodie began the blog Garden Melodies because she adores flowers and is hoping to expand into cake baking and catering. From the looks of this masterpiece - created with her friend Brenton for entry in the 2010 Gingerbread Festival in Orem, Utah - many people will be hoping she starts her cake business soon!






all images courtesy of Garden Melodies

Model Statistics:
• It took over 12 hours to design
• It took Brenton and Melodie around 40 hours to build and decorate
• There are around 164 different pieces of gingerbread
• It took roughly 12 square feet of gingerbread dough (that’s four large batches) to make all the walls, floors and roof
• Over 8 bags of powdered sugar were used to make all the frosting
• It took over 40 sleeves of large Smarties which are used to simulate dry stack stone on the building exterior
• The river and water fall are made up of three batches of hard candy

Best gingerbread house cookie recipe (according to Melodie):
2 Cups light corn syrup
1 1/2 Cups packed brown sugar
1 1/4 Cups margarine
1 teaspoon salt
9 Cups flour

Melt together the corn syrup, brown sugar, and margarine. Mix till smooth then add in flour and salt. Bake for 15 to 20 min at 350 degrees.


Unfortunately Melodie lost out to the entry Candyland (below) at this years' Gingerbread House Festival:

above image courtesy of the Grierson Family blog

Want some pretty flowers or a fabulous cake? Or simply to congratulate her on this masterpiece? Melodie can be reached at garden.melodies@gmail.com.

Mod Miniatures & Videos for Chillout Sessions XI & XII

above: An homage to Frank Lloyd Wright & Neutra in miniature graced the Chillout Sessions XII CD and a California style hotel with a lagoon graced the cover of the Chillout Sessions XI CD

Designer Andrew van der Westhuyzen of Collider has created album/CD covers and designs for Australia's Ministry of Sound for years.

For music compilations, Chillout Sessions XI and XII, he combined several of my favorite things - music, architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, Swimming pools, and miniatures. The results are little worlds of escapism that when photographed and filmed up close have a tilt-shift look.

The models were shot close-up along with supers pointing at the figurines naming various artists on the albums for tv promos (shown later in this post).

Chillout Sessions XII:







video promo:

stills from a longer video promo:








Chillout Sessions XI:




The video promo:

Chillout Sessions XI photography by Sarah Nguyen and cinematography by Brycen Horne

You can see Andrew van der Westhuyzen's previous designs for Chillout Sessions 7 here. and his design for their Ministry of Sound Annual 2006 here.

Lucky Dog! Moxie, The Dachshund Of Fallingwater

Moxie, The Dachshund of Fallingwater was written by Cara Armstrong, Curator of Education at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.

Product Description (from Amazon):
Children experience the renowned Frank Lloyd Wright house that boldly cantilevers over a waterfall in the western Pennsylvania mountains through the eyes of the Kaufmann family’s most beloved dog in residence.



Beginning with the initial site survey, the loveable dachshund reflects on the myriad details that make the “Big House” so special. Moxie and her siblings’ preferred picnic site, the rock, becomes the foundation that supports the residence’s dramatic design, and the grand fireplace built around the big rock provides a warm stone where the dogs nap whenever they want.



A table that can be stretched out so that as many as 18 of their friends, such as artist Peter Blume and his German shepherd Manfred, can sit down with the K’s to eat dinner is so portable it can be moved to wherever they'd like. The dachshund's long, straight backs are reflected in the horizontal lines of the house—long, low tables; shelves; bands of glass in the windows—and built-in desks hang out from the walls like a diving board just as Moxie’s tail extends from her body.




Fallingwater's steep, cascading staircase mimics the waterfall and parallels the house’s dramatic descent down the hillside, and the plunge pool built into the stream is just right for a brisk, refreshing swim. A handy glossary features both images and text to explain key architectural terms.

About the Author

Cara Armstrong is the curator of education at Fallingwater, the one-time vacation residence of the Edgar J. Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh that was donated to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. She lives in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

special thanks to Inside Laurel Highlands for additional images.

Pre- Order The book here

Restoration Rocks: Fragments of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Become Jewelry

The Guggenheim Museum announces the release of Restoration Rocks, a special edition jewelry line -- made with Gunite remnants of the Frank Lloyd Wright building - and distributed exclusively at the Guggenheim Museum's retail store and on its website.


Above: Five-Piece Necklace,RJ03$395.00

Designed and fabricated by California-based jewelry artist, Cara Tilker, the collection features nine different designs including earrings, pendants, bracelets, a ring, and cuff links.


Above: Two-Piece Necklace, RJ14$350.00

Each piece incorporates actual historic fragments of Frank Lloyd Wright's landmark Guggenheim Museum, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2009. Lightweight concrete and Gunite remnants, set aside during the 2007 restoration process* from the building's walls, are presented in resin and sterling silver settings.


Above: Hoop Earrings, RJ32$175.00


Above: Bezel Earrings, RJ27$195.00

Tilker makes each jewelry piece through a labor-intensive process. Resin is poured into a handmade silicone rubber mold, then individual building fragments are placed in the resin, covered with a second layer of resin and allowed to set. After the resin pieces are released from the mold, they are hand-shaped and sanded, and finally set in sterling silver settings.


Above: Cuff Links, RJ04$300.00

Above: Large Cuff Bracelet, RJ21$350.00
Small Cuff Bracelet , RJ18$325.00

A minimal amount of Gunite--a mixture of cement and sand aggregate, and the jewelry's featured component--was removed from the building as was deemed necessary for its restoration, and saved. The material, which comes from the interior and exterior of the building, was removed in order to gain access to reinforce points of the exterior wall to preserve its structural integrity. Material was also removed from damaged sections of the exterior in order to replace it with more stable material.


Above: RingOne size, adjustable, RJ34$250.00

Restoration Rocks is a component of the planned 2009 50th Anniversary celebration. The building is judged by many to be one of the architectural wonders of the world.


Above: Pendant Necklace, RJ08$275.00

The Restoration Rocks jewelry will be limited in quantity with retail prices starting at $125.00. Several select designs from the line will be also available in 14-karat gold, by commission. The prices on those, however, are significantly higher than the ones shown above.



*about the restoration:

As the original landmark building of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum—designed by America's supreme architect, Frank Lloyd Wright—approaches its fiftieth anniversary in 2009, aspects of its facade and rotunda structure require restoration. This exhibition explores in depth the restoration team's work, which has included a systematic evaluation and documentation of the building, an unprecedented analysis of the rotunda structure, laboratory and field investigation of repair materials, and detailed environmental analysis to propose adequate repair methods.
Photographs, drawings, and videos document the components of the current restoration, including reinforcement of the upper ramp walls, installation of a corrosion protection system, replacement of skylights and windows, repair of the cracking curved exterior walls, and application of a new exterior coating. The exhibition surveys all these efforts to restore the exterior to its original splendor and to maintain the building's unique environment for both the art and the visitor.
—Monica Ramirez-Montagut

shop for the jewelry here.