I know that a lot of people have been anxiously awaiting the announcement of the winners for this fun shoe decorating contest. There were some wonderful entries, and I truly feel that anyone who took the time and effort to participate was a winner. There were 6 independent judges, and it was fun for me to watch the reactions of the judges as they went through the entries. They honestly had a difficult time choosing between many of the entries. At one point I was afraid that we would just have to declare everyone a winner, but I couldn’t give up that many dolls. Finally, we came to a solution that we felt reflected the judges decisions well and fairly.
Not only have we awarded the three prizes we promised up front, but for an extra superior job of not one, but seven entries, we have chosen to give an extra sweepstakes award to Robin and Daughters of Florida.
The prize for the most creative decoration goes to Larysa in the Ukraine for her uniquely beaded shoes.
This pair of shoes is a good example of thinking “outside the box”.
These shoes, once simple, have been made elaborate with wire beading.
The prize for the best outfit match goes to Jena of So. Carolina.
The judges felt that her work mirrored the outfit she chose to copy best. 
Here is a picture of her shoes. Look closely as they rest on the outfit she matched.
The prize for the cutest shoes goes to Patty of Minnesota. Although each of the judges had other favorites, several of them kept coming back to this pair of shoes with their attention to small detail. 
The whole next section of pictures is devoted to the seven entries of Robin and Daughters. As you see these creations, we think that you will agree that they merit a special sweepstakes award.
* Robin has generously offered the cute dress pattern she created for her first two entries as a special gift for other Ginger Brook Hollow collectors. You can watch for it in the orphanage under ideas where you can download it free.
Their first entry:
Louisa looks picture perfect in her new blue outfit.
We picked a blue dress and shoes for Louisa to match her eyes- she thinks this outfit is perfect for walking the neighbors dog, Pippin. On her walk she has picked some cornflower blue posies to take home as a gift for Kathryn’s birthday. She is dreaming of having a puppy dog of her own someday!!! Robin and daughters
The Perfect Birthday Gift from Louisa
These blue and yellow shoes add the perfect finishing touch to the outfit.
Their second entry:
Susannah wanted to make a special gift for Louisa. She had helped the local seamstress one afternoon, and to her surprise and joy, the seamstress gave her a whole basket of fabric scraps!! Using an old quilt pattern, Susannah cut the fabric scraps into circles and gathered each circle into a yo-yo. She sewed the yo-yos with buttons (from the button jar of course) onto the bottom of a dress for Louisa- there were so many left that she had enough to decorate her own dress!! There were still lots of fabric circles. She wondered what to do, and then she thought of an idea! She strung the yo-yos together and added a fabric head, and had a clown toy for Louisa’s gift!
These shoes would match either dress. Maybe Suzannah will share.
My daughters thought we should use buttons to make a dress and matching shoes- like the theme from the newsletter- we have read it over and over again! so I made the pink dress, made the yo-yos, and made the clown- then decorated the shoes with tiny fabric circles and button flowers. When the dress was finished, my daughter Cory wanted one for her Louisa doll too (cory gets to keep the clown doll too in her trunk with Louisa)- so I made the second dress while we were waiting for the shoes to arrive. So there are two dresses to match the shoes!
This clown is a perfect gift. She will love it!
Shoes that are both fun and pretty are every girl's dream.
Their third entry:
“I chose this dress fabric because it says “a cup of kindness”. I loved the sentiment and thought it fit well with the Gingerbrook girls philosophy of life. and I love organdy Tea Aprons!
April offers to share her strawberry shortcake for tea.
I like red on April- it brings out her lovely colouring. The dress has cherries and black and white polka dots all over it so the shoes have cherries and polka dots too!
"I feel pretty, oh so pretty!"
April wore it on Friday for our royal Tea Party when we watched the wedding of the new Princess- we made scones for the occasion and had mint tea- April and the other dolls had strawberry shortcake! “
April's shoes are pretty with cherries on top.
Their fourth entry:
We are very big on celebrating the USA- Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day, Voting day- etc- so we thought the dolls should have a pair of USA shoes!
Perfect for a Summer of Patriotic Celebration
Their fifth entry:
Thank you, puppy!
We thought the dolls would need a pair of Christmas shoes- so I painted one pair of shoes black and then painted holly and berries on the sides-
then I thought it would be fun to make them convertible shoes-
so I made some plaid straps for the shoes- Susanna’s puppy dog is helping her try them on- or maybe he is stealing one of them for a game of chase!
They can be removed and replaced with the green ribbons- I painted red dots on the ribbons and made some striped socks for her to wear with them
These shoes say, "ready for fun."
If the weather gets cold, she can remove the ribbons and replace them with her gaiters- the red gaiters are trimmed in black with buttons for an early 1900′s look. I read in a 1900′s children’s fashion book that gaiters were very fashionable and economical- instead of boots.
Or she can take the red gaiters off and replace them with the green gaiters- trimmed in plaid with tiny black tassels!
Cute Shoes and Warm Legs
I made a pair of red socks to go with the shoes.
Or- she can replace them with leather black gaiters, trimmed in red with fur on the tops to keep her toasty warm!
Smart Black Gators with a matching muff!
I had to add the fur and red muff so her hands will be toasty too!
Or she can wear the shoes by themselves with her red socks!
One Pair of Versitile shoes!
So she has one pair of shoes to wear 6 different ways.
Merry Christmas in May!?
The sixth entry: Buzz-Bee Shoes
Shoes as Sweet as Honey
I think these shoes should belong to Meg- she could wear them when she collects honey to make all those wonderful cookies!
The seventh and last entry by Robin and her daughters is special to Ginger Brook Hollow. If you are familiar with our doll and dress boxes you will immediately know why. Here it is: The Bluebird Outfit and Shoes
Since it is Katherine’s birthday this month, I made it for her.
Songbirds for "The Songbird"
On a spring day, she was out for a walk to see the wildflowers and found a baby blue bird who could not fly yet. She carefully cuddled it in her pinafore and carried it home. For weeks she and Grandma Sunday fed it and cared for it- and finally the day arrived when she took it out of the cage and set it free.
She held her breath in suspense, but after a few hops, the bluebird flew!!! She was sad to see it go but so happy to see it flying in the blue sky!
On her way back, she picked some wildflowers and tucked them into her pocket as a gift for Grandma Sunday.
Things to Sing About
She was a bit lonely as she went back to the house, singing a little song softly to herself- and there waiting on the porch was Creampuff. Katherine scooped him up and he cuddled in and started purring as if he was singing along with her. She wasn’t lonely for the bluebird anymore and she was filled with joy!
I made this outfit as a tribute to you and the joy you have brought to our home this year. The dress has cherries on it- the pinafore is striped just like the surprise boxes that come to our house, the pocket has a little bird and blue flowers, just like the tote bag, and I painted black stripes on the shoes and birds too.
Just right for Kathryn's Dress
The Rest of the Entries!
Jenna's Shoes
There are many other cute entries that we think everyone would love to see. The rest of this post will devoted to the many other marvelous shoe entries for this contest.
Here they are:
Aileen's Shoes
Brooke's Shoes
Aileen's Shoes
Sandy's Shoes
Jen's Shoes
Heather's Shoes
Katie's Shoes
Holly's Shoes
Aynslia's Shoes
Brenda's Shoes
Ellen's Shoes
Jessica's Shoes
Quinlyn's Shoes
Meredith's Shoes
Melissa's Shoes
Makayla's Shoes
Carolyn's Shoes
