This is gingerbread art – spiced “bread” baked into all sorts of shapes, including, of course, a little gingerbread house.

Architect-turned-baker Karen Sharman bakes more than 150 gingerbread cookie characters, carrying on a tradition that dates back to the “honey craft” of the Middle Ages when spiced bread was baked on special wooden moulds to represent different motifs and characters.

Karen's customised and special design metal cutters are handcrafted by the tinsmith at SOHO Foundry in Ballarat.