Bill, from A Bigger Voice, recently sent photos of his annual gingerbread house that he creates with his kids. It’s been a tradition in his household for 14 years. This year’s “house” is a small town gas station, circa 1940, complete with a pickup truck, stacked tires, and vintage gas pumps.

I was surprised to see the process that Bill uses for this project—starting with sketches of a new design for that year’s creation and progressing through the different stages of construction to the final, fully adorned structure. It’s a wonderful example of transforming imagination into reality.

It also fits with who I know Bill to be—an architect of future visions, intent on first coming up with a clear destination before designing the means to get there.

When I talked with Bill about his process, he provided these observations:

• Things never go as planned.
• The finishing touches always include a measure of creativity and whimsy. 
• The process is collaborative, as parts of the design emerge from suggestions by different members of his family, and one person riffing off of another person’s idea. 
• The question, “When are we done?” is ever present.

How is this the same or different from your own experiences with moving dreams into reality? Do tell.