Many of you who have followed my blog for a couple years know that in 2017, my parents, who were both raised in Montana, and then raised their family in the Pacific Northwest, bought a retirement home in Arizona. As a family, we knew nothing of the desert. But through mom and dad's experiences, and on our visits, we've been learning a lot about what seems like another world entirely! Plants, wildlife, climate... It's all so fascinating!
On our Monday and Friday phone calls, mom describes the animals she sees running through the yard as she sits on her covered back patio. She's traded squirrels for bunnies and crows for a family of quail that makes it their home in the spring every year. She loves watching them grow up, and she's also learned to love the many lizards that flee out of holes as she's watering. She doesn't scream at all anymore! The weird flying bugs and the scorpions (rare because the first service she hired was the pest control)? Not so much! She's got a nice collection of potted cactus going, and I get to see when they're flowering via FaceTime. They've got palm trees and date trees and have only killed two orange trees (so far) due to rookie ignorance! Dad got himself a fishing boat and is enjoying his adventures discovering all the honey spots in the rivers that lead into the lake. I just love hearing about it all, and wish I could spend more time there with them. Especially when it's 75 degrees this time of year with sunny skies!
Looking at homes in the southwest, their construction methods and the logic behind them, has really piqued my interest in that style of architecture. I've been craving a mini project where I could incorporate things like stucco, clay floor tile, vigas (wooden beams used in the traditional adobe architecture of the American Southwest), flat roofs, terra cotta "s" roofing tiles, heavy wooden doors with iron hardware, adobe fireplaces - you get the idea! But in researching the styles, I was shocked to learn that there are many! Spanish Mission, Hacienda, Pueblo, Santa Fe, and Territorial just to hit the highlights! Holy buckets what a gold mine! I love elements from all of them, so how to decide upon one? Lucky for me, this is miniatures! I am free to create whatever I can dream! I don't have to pick just one! I can combine all of my favorite elements and build a house which pays homage to them all!
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| Hacienda style |
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| Spanish Mission |
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| Pueblo Style |
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| Traditional Santa Fe |
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| Territorial |
Now you won't be surprised to learn that there just aren't a whole lot of miniature dollhouse kits out there to work from in this genre. There are a few kits on the market, featuring various SW styles, but all of them are over $200.00!
Can't afford a kit? It's not a problem - it's an opportunity! Because I am on a budget, and because I enjoy the challenge of making something from something else, I took a look at the kits I have on hand. I was pretty surprised when I looked at my Duracraft Linfield and began to see multiple ways I could bash it into the southwest mini home of my dreams!
I know what you're thinking... "How can a frilly, Victorian dollhouse kit even be a contender for a southwest style house?". Well, let me show you a couple things to convince you!
I know it's hard to imagine now, and I may be creating a nightmare for myself, but challenges are often the best fun! Once I crack open the kit I'll have a better idea of the possibilities. Or the impossibilities! But I do have to try, and I'm awfully excited at the prospect! Working in this genre may just help keep the winter blues (and grays!) away, too!
I hope that you'll join me on this exciting exploration, whenever I get to start on it. I am eager to hear your ideas and I hope you'll help fill in the multiple gaps to my desert home knowledge! This is going to be so much fun with your help!
But first... I really need to stop dreaming up new miniature projects and get my real life house in order!
For those of you in the US - I hope your Thanksgiving celebrations are chock full of things to be grateful for! For those of you elsewhere, my wish is the same. :O)
Back to work! See you soon!
xo xo,
Jodi
Oh this will be fun. For the adobe/stucco exterior, I highly recommend the method I used for the WQRC with paint and texture medium, (also what I used for the ceiling of the bookshop). You can add the medium to any color and voila, instant ability to add texture to your walls.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link to Glorious Twelfth's blog tutorial on it:
http://glorioustwelfth.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-plaster-half-timbered-tudor.html
Thanks Sheila! Sounds like a fun experiment and I will definitely check out the link! I have a jar of texture paste around here someplace - I wonder if they are similar?
DeleteOoooh yesss, I truly understand your excitement, Jodi, this will be so much fun if it would work for you!!! Regarding to this particular style of houses: I'm afraid I'm unfortunately not much of help for you, as I'm a Dutch girl and know nothing about this subject ;O.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm looking forward with what you'll come up with in the coming time.
We don't celebrate, but I wish for you and yours a great Thanksgiving!
Ilona
Thanks Ilona! We can learn about SW construction together!
DeleteThanksgiving was a lovely, long day!
Un proyecto fantástico, cualquier estilo que elijas seguro que lo lograrás y como dices es para soñar.Feliz día de Acción de Gracias:-)
ReplyDeleteGracias rosa maria! ¡Estoy emocionado de jugar con las posibilidades! ¡Espero poder comenzar con esto!
Delete¡Me encanta ese estilo de viviendas!Harás un bonito desarrollo, seguro.
ReplyDeleteGracias isabel ¡Será muy divertido elegir las características y los colores! ¡No puedo esperar para comenzar!
DeleteFrilly Victorian to sturdy adobe; this is going to be fun to watch. I just happen to be in Arizona as I type, but I am farther north. Javalinas roam free here. I love the colors of the Southwest, the sages, sandy beige and terra cotta against a clear blue sky. It’s so different from the Northwest, you are going to have lots of fun. Also, I’m excited to see your secret project.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sherrill! It is like living on another planet to be there, isn't it? Reminds us how big the world really is and that many folks live in different ways!
DeleteI think one of the biggest challenges I am going to face with the project is how to thicken up the walls without losing all of the usable space. Hopefully, I can lay it out well enough to include all of the essentials!
So exciting! Looking forward to seeing it. There are so many fun things you can do with Southwest architecture. And don't forget that corrugated cardboard makes great tile roofs! 😊 Cheap and easy!
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb! I hope I can come up with creative ways to make the kit look SW enough! And cheap and easy sound like music to my ears! I believe I have some corrugated scrapbook paper around here someplace! Can't wait to play!
DeleteI so share your sentiment about winter, Jodi and wish this new adventure will bring you lots enjoyment during the winter months. I am afraid, I won't be much help when it comes the the style of building, but I am certainly looking forward to following along and am sure I will learn a thing or two from you along the way.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Anna
I am glad you're here to follow along on the adventure, Anna! We'll learn together! It has been soooo cold here the past few days, but I am really at peace with the temperatures as long as I get to see the sunlight! I hope you'll get to enjoy many sunny and perfectly warm days, too!
DeleteFrom your examples I am now a huge Pueblo fan which is a dangerous thing to be when you like making miniatures. I may rue the day I read this post. Have a great adventure.....
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Well, Marilyn - you could always get out the foam core boards and have a play with the Pueblo style, just for fun and no pressure to finish! A room box with a patio, perhaps? I hope you let the ideas carry you away!
DeleteThe Southwest is a whole new world. We took a road trip years ago to Mesa, AZ where my sister lived. We traveled on Memorial Day weekend when the desert was in bloom and it was beautiful. We are a long day's drive north of Santa Fe when my daughter and her family go every year. Here with 8 inches of snow on the ground and more to come tomorrow, Arizona looks really good this time of year. It's a great place for your parents to be. I am now left pondering how you will turn that lovely Victorian into a hacienda. This will be an exciting, interesting journey and we will be there to watch the creativity flow. Happy Thanksgiving, Jodi and thank you for your support all year.
ReplyDeleteHi Ann! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the family!
DeleteIt is a whole new world, isn't it?!? I remember the first time Russ and I drove through Arizona. We had just left Kingman and were heading to Glendale. It was early March and the rains were torrential. It was an incredible sight I'll never forget - hundreds of Saguaro cactus in the pouring rain. In a weird way it was magical, and I loved Arizona instantly. Later in the trip, having gotten to travel to Sedona to see all the red rock and Flagstaff with it's gorgeous forest of trees, it made me want to explore every inch of the state! I'd love to explore New Mexico, too! You are lucky to be that close and with all that snow in Colorado, I'd be planning a road trip, lol!
Oooh Jodi this looks like so much fun!!! Talk about a real kit bash :D I think doing stucco and tile will be really cool to do too. I think adding warm lights will really give it that cozy desert at dusk look... bliss. I pretty much missed out on the fall store build but I can't wait to follow along with this build. Hope the secret project is coming along!! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Kristine! It's awesome to have you back and I hope you can follow along and offer your incredible insights on the construction and design ideas! The secret projects are on their way and I hope the recipients will decide to open them before Christmas, lol! Then, I can share!
DeleteOh, what a wonderful post! ;O) Giving me the promise and prospect of seeing a stunning new building process of yours very soon. Hooray! Although I'm (surprise!) not familiar with this sort of buildings I really like this style - also of the "garden" which is in my North-European eyes more vegetation than a garden. *grin* And having your relation to this in mind due to your family history will make this project extra special for sure.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that you've seen a hacienda in this kit - but if you can see it it will easily take the step from dreaming to becoming true. I'll be here to enjoy it. ;O)
Happy Thanksgiving to you und yours!
Birgit
Thanks Birgit! I am really looking forward to learning about and attempting to make native SW plants and flowers for the walled yard and I know this part will interest you, too! Fingers crossed I can find a way to make the kit work! If I can ever get my real life chores finished, I can begin!
DeleteIf ANYBODY could transform a Victorian into Pueblo gold, it will be YOU!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing how you make it all happen- and soon!
Happy Thanksgiving Jodi! :D
elizabeth
Thanks for your encouraging vote of confidence, Elizabeth! 💗
DeleteI am also looking forward to how I'm gonna make it all happen! I may be in a pickle before too long and wonder what I was thinking!!! But still, though folly threatens, I am anxious to start on it soon!
Oh! que proyecto tan interesante y además bonito! Mi madre nació en una casa de adobe y en su pequeño pueblo la casa familiar es de éste material,aunque ahora tienden a recubrirlo de ladrillo,una pena,me encantan las casas de adobe!
ReplyDeleteVa a ser muy emocionante seguirte en este nuevo sueño,ahí estaré!!!
Feliz día de Acción de Gracias.
Besos.
Gracias Pilar! ¡Estoy muy feliz de tener tu presencia y cualquier consejo que puedas ofrecer!
Delete¿Llegaste a ver dentro de la casa donde nació tu mamá? ¿Los cubren con ladrillos para preservarlos? ¡Es fascinante pensar y aprender la historia de nuestros antepasados!
El Día de Acción de Gracias fue tan encantador: ¡mi hija hizo un trabajo maravilloso e hizo una comida deliciosa!
I am already following this project, no matter when and how you start it. Sounds like fun. Some of the mansions in your photos could be done with styrofoam boards.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pleasant place to settle in after retirement for your parents.
Hugs, Drora
I'm so happy that you are excited with me, Drora! And styrofoam is a fantastic idea to use for new and thicker walls! It will be a challenge for sure, but one I look forward to meeting with enthusiasm!
DeleteA great project! I will follow your progress. Good fun!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Faby! I am happy to have you along on this new adventure!
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving Jodi.
ReplyDeleteI just returned from driving to Texas from Las Vegas...unfortunately I saw a lot of tumble weed and interstate. I'm not a big pueblo/ hacienda style but I do love the Spanish revival that you see throughout Southern California.
https://www.pinterest.com/teamlisanicole/california-spanish-homes/
No matter what you do, I am excited to see how you transform the Newburg. I love the interior stairs from the tv show Three and a Half men!
I meant, not a big fan of the exterior style of pueblo/hacienda....
DeleteOh Carrie I know what you mean! I love the California style, too! And the tiled staircases with iron spindles - Yes!
DeleteI think it was US 93 we took from Kingman to Glendale, going past Wickenburg? There were so many awesome cactus to see on that drive! A friend is building a home south of Sedona, and they have to have a licensed company come to relocate any cactus on the endangered list. Very expensive but a good thing.
I just hope this project turns out to be a dream rather than a nightmare!!!
Oh, I can't wait to see how you transform this! It will be brilliant! At the mini show in Colorado several years ago, they were selling a pueblo roombox for around $50 (or even less) and I was so tempted to buy it and figure out how to ship it, but I had to restrain myself. I think it was made of styrofoam, but I can't recall the techniques used. It had been a NAME club project. Anyway, this is going to be so much fun!
ReplyDeleteMe too, Kathy! I won't really know what I'm in for until I crack the kit open and look at the pieces and construction method. But, finally, maybe today I can do that! House stuff is finished (mostly) and I can mini again!!! Yippee!
DeleteI hate that regret we feel when we let some cool mini thing pass us by! But maybe you'll get another chance to do a SW kit in the future! I have let so much slip by me this past year that it feels like I am in training for a Super Frugal award!!! 😊
Hi Jodi, your new mini project sounds dreamy. How lovely to move to something completely different. You're going to learn a ton of new architectural terms, and make us clever by talking about it on your blog.
ReplyDeleteHere in South Africa, scorpions are common. I always thought that if you got stung by one, it's straight off to hospital and you would be lucky to come out of there alive so whenever I find one in the house I whack it with a heavy shoe and use a dustpan to convey it to the incinerator. After we had rain recently, I found several scorpions in the house in one go and thought I had better read up on the internet to find out if they have a nest somewhere and I should call an exterminator. What I discovered was fascinating. South African scorpions are mostly harmless, the sting is about equivalent to a bee and humans rarely get stung. They won't attack you so if you don't mess with them you're safe. They eat insects, which is always useful since we have an oversuplly of that. They are solitary creatures who don't have a nest and will shelter under any protected area such as a rock or under furniture. They have two to thirty babies at a time and the mother carries them around on her back until they're big enough to fend for themselves, then they go off and live a useful life all on their own.
Arizona scorpions might be more poisonous than the ones we have here, but their habits are probably much the same. Tell your mother to read up about them, she might be more tolerant once she realizes that they're not a menace. From now on, I'm going to just move mine into the garden and not kill them.
Thanks Megan! The research is a big part of the fun! I just hope I can incorporate some of the really neat things I learn!
DeleteGreat information on the Scorpions! One of my favorite bands in high school, btw! 😜
My mom has always had a near phobia when it comes to creepy crawleys. I am so surprised that she even enjoys lizards now! But her scorpions are definitely the poisonous kind, and in spite of monthly sprayings to keep them out, my dad still walks around the house periodically at night with his blacklight flashlight. I am with you - capture and release all critters I encounter in the house. Mom is just not willing to be that enlightened yet, lol!
Hi, Jodi - Oh, I am so excited about your plans to build a southwest adobe house! When I moved to Nebraska from Albuquerque, New Mexico, many years ago, I missed my little adobe house so much that I decided to build one in miniature - my first miniature build! I built the house nearly 30 years ago, but only blogged about it in 2015 - one of my first blog posts. Mine is a mix of Pueblo and Santa Fe styles, and was a joy to build, using styrofoam, of course. I'm intrigued by your plans to bash the Victorian house into a southwest-styled one! What ambition! But I know it'll be a fascinating build to watch, and I can't wait for you to begin. So much fun ahead!
ReplyDeleteMarjorie
Thank you, Marjorie! I am on my way to re-read that post this morning! I am so excited to someday visit New Mexico, although Russ and I did make it to Shiprock briefly on our SW adventure a couple years ago. I hear they have some amazing missions to see! Making a mini replica is such a great way to keep part of a place that you miss with you!
DeleteHi Jodi! I am even Later than you to get to the comments... but am Snowed in at home today so here I am! I think the SW style is very novel and fun for minis... even though I have no real experience with it! The use of styrofoam... builder's insulation could make your walls easy-peasy as so many have already suggested. My Mom lives in a 50's ranch style home in the Way SW corner of New Mexico... Silver City to be precise. It has a "smorgasbord" of architectural styles there, but most of the older buildings are Victorian era and not really what you think of when you think of the Southwest. I really look forward to seeing which style you settle on.... and watching the walls come down... or up will be fun for sure! Yay for new projects to brighten the Winter Blues!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Betsy! Weren't we just enjoying warm summer evenings and chasing flies out of the house?!? I'm sorry for the snow-in, but hey - any opportunity to stay home longer and work on our projects is a treat isn't it!
DeleteIt'll be fun to play with all these elements for the SW house, but believe it or not something else is carrying me away again! I'll share more in a post soon! Hugs! Enjoy the snow days!
Hi Jodi! I know well that moment when a new idea passes through our mind like lightning and suddenly opens up a world of possibilities!
ReplyDeleteAnd the search for data and images begins, while an idea slowly begins to form ... It's a super fun moment, in which creativity is at its best! I can't wait to see how you can adapt this kit to your project, I'm very curious!
That is the best feeling to be caught up in, isn't it Elenè? The ideas for many new projects are flying around here and I am so excited to finally get the chance to start on one (or three!)! I'm so glad you'll be coming along and happy to have you to share it with!
DeleteHi Jodi! Being from the UK I really know very little about the style of houses that are the inspiration for your new project, but wonder if perhaps a tin foil core, would allow you to shape your structure exactly as you wish? Cover it in masking tape then maybe use air drying clay over the top of that which would be easy to paint and give the structure solidity? Anyway, looking forward to watching your progress with interest!
ReplyDeleteOr paper mache rather than air drying clay.......see how you've got my brain working overtime already!
DeleteOh I love the ideas you're sharing and both the tape/tin foil and paper mache sound like a fabulous medium to play with! Thank you! I will file them away in the back of my mind but first - I have been pulled in another direction entirely! I'll share what's got hold of me soon!
DeleteGreat new project Jodi! Having had very little to do with the style, I would be very excited to see how this goes. I did read a book on the 1930s Spanish mission style homes in Australia though, sometime last year, and would love to do something like it at some stage. Lots of fun elements.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shannon! I am so excited to see what you do with this style of house! And having an historic Australian twist on it will be really cool!
DeleteI got the chance last weekend to get the kit out for a first look. What I discovered has pushed me onto a totally different project. I'll share more in my next post...