Our theme for May 2024 was "Southwestern". Southwestern style is a vibrant, earth-toned design with a bit of an authentic Native American feel. This type of decoration has been around since Spanish settlers first arrived in America and used traditional building methods alongside local materials they found on site.
Our Challenge Sample came from Debbie Colombo:
Here is a Southwestern room in a margarita glass that I picked up in Cape Cod. Pretty sure it was a garage sale item! I thought it was very cleverly done.
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From Paula Sklodowski:
I lived in AZ for 8 years. I collected the tiny Indian jar and the pewter roadrunner and cactus separately, then found the perfect jar to display them. The jar is just over 2” tall.
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From Sue Krzysko:
This one is a 2023 houseparty helper I won at the Cape National.
This one was constructed at a TTS Fun day. The contents have been collected from many different artisans over the years.
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From Fran Sussmann:
This is an early piece I made in 1/120 scale in Southwest style — 20 years ago or so. It has a petit point rug and a flickering fireplace. The right hand room is a living room, the middle is an outdoor, covered eating area, and the left is a garden. All the furniture is handmade, scratch built.
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From April Sansom:
This was a kit by the O'Mearas / Benedicts from a class that they were teaching many years ago at Philadelphia Miniaturia. I had to miss the class and was intimated by trying to make it alone at home (even though the instructions were excellent), so it got relegated to the guest bedroom ... sad and in pieces. A couple of years ago, my stepdaughter was visiting, saw the kit, and encouraged me to finish it that weekend, offering her help. I had collected all the pottery and other items in the intervening years (including some gorgeous pieces from the O'Meara estate auction in 2016), and it was wonderful to finally have a place to show them off.
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From Pam Doran:
In the early 1990’s we took a vacation through Colorado down to 4 Corners. Southwest design was enjoying their moment at that time and southwest miniatures were everywhere. We stopped at little stores in Estes Park and elsewhere, art galleries, roadside stands and, of course, miniature shops. I fell in love with kachinas. I got this roombox at Norm’s in Colorado, but wasn’t sure if I would furnish it as a house or something else. After our trip, it became a store. I also bought another roombox that I made into a southwest living room. They both bring a smile whenever I look at them.
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From Sue Seiffert:
I made the basic scene at the 1988 Santa Clara Houseparty in a Madelyn Cook workshop. The furniture is from Syracuse Area Miniature Enthusiasts project for Craftsman Style furniture. Accessories were collected at the Houseparty and visits to the southwest.
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From Wanda Morris Simons:
The 1994 FSMC ( First State Mini Club) yearly project, with wooden box and vigas (beams) supplied by the club. I chose to do it as a kitchen with appliances from a kit. The rest was made by the exhibitor. The fireplace, copper sconces, and chile ristra were monthly projects from the club.
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From Helen Sparks:
My favorite “Southwestern” miniature is from NAME Day 2015. I filled the space with state symbols and other items that represent my new home of Arizona.
If I can have a second one, it’s this restaurant. The building was a class taught by Dan Zerkel.
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From Susan Sharratt:
Here is my "work in progress" southwestern house. There is not yet a front window and the furnishings are still in a box, but the exterior is finished. I made the tiles from FIMO and laid them on the patio, roof deck, and the bedroom deck. They took longer than making the house! We traveled to Arizona & New Mexico & brought back may items for our "big house", so I wanted to make this one in miniature.
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From Margaret Gordus:
Our Little Mini club Chico/Paradise State Day 1999. 1/12“ scale workshop for 50 people.
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From Judy Jazdzyk:
I started this roombox back in 2016. It is scratch built and decorated around the needlepoint rug in the main room. I've spent several years collecting pots, dishes, plants, furniture and kachina figures. It's probably one of my favorite builds!!
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From Marilyn Nielsen:
Make-your-own Tacos are being served in this 1/4”kitchen. Project design by Barb Engel.
This is a 1/144” party building, which contains a pool table, bar and corner table. Don’t remember who designed the kit, but love the result.
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From Toni Vanterpool:
This is a roombox I purchased years ago, and have since collected tons of items to go inside! The Tequila Sunrise tray is by Marilyn Taylor, the guitar came from a tiny gift shop I found while working for the Census, the coffee table is a real fossilized piece of stone with a fish skeleton in the center, the worry dolls and some of the tiny pottery were purchased in Mexico, the real fossil shells (and the table top) came from a collectibles shop where my son worked, the tiny Mariachi band and some of the tiny pottery came from Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles, the sombrero is also from Mexico and was a gift. So many other pieces, some from dollhouse shows, and more gifts! There's even a tiny Kachina from a shop in Phoenix when I flew in to view the Thorne Rooms at the Phoenix Art Museum!
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From Mae Karoli:
This 1/144” southwestern scene was gifted to me several years ago from one of my friends at work. I believe she purchased it at a long-gone miniature shop. It’s signed and dated “Gale ‘01” on the bottom.
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From Doreen Lindsay:
Kit by Karen Benson
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From Cindy Bottasso:
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From: Lois Lindeman
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From: Cindy Wingate
This is an adobe house made from a kit. I sent pictures of the front and porch view and the dining room view.
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From: Catherine Hawkins
I made the bookcase and decorated it with jewelry findings and foil paper. I also made the rocking burro. I painted the metal miniature pottery, cactus, coyote, and the wooden bowl. One of the vases is a bead. Two bowls are acorn caps. Two other containers are made from acorns.
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From: Marlene Kneidl
1/2 inch scale southwestern house
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From: Mary Myers
This a quarter scale from Michelle Faleshock. I love it.
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From: Ruth Goodger
These share a same display case. Karen Benson and Bruce Steinke. I think the other is a quarter connection? Kit. My one inch takes up too much space. These are quarter scale.
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From: Stephanie Cooley
This is my southwestern house - La Casa de Nuevo Mexico.
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From: Dee Cirilli
My Southwest Scene is done in a wooden cigar box. The trailer and outdoor furniture were kits purchased at a Houseparty. Some of the accessories were tote bag favors or purchases. The background is painted and scrapbook paper. The landscaping is from railroad findings and ballast. Hope you all enjoy!
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From: Diana DeWalt
Our mini club FSMC had this theme as a club project ions ago. Probably my last 1 inch scale project before switching to quarter scale. Electrified with little lamps on each table. Also printed little menus. Bar is on left, restaurant on right with outdoor sitting. Middle was reception area. Made all the dolls except pregnant Indian girl out front.
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From: Rusty Smith
I found some quarter scale Peruvian figures on the internet. Not terribly well made, not pretty but they made me smile. They were only a few cents each so they had to join me. I made a courtyard in one of my favourite Ferrer Roche boxes with 3 pieces of card, some surplus punched shapes and some plastic flowers from a fish tank. I painted 3D printed pottery from Desert Minis. I am pleased with the results and how well they went together.
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From: JoAnn Lesnett
My mother made this scene years ago and gave it to me.
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From: Ann Gee
Living in the southwest I have several southwestern mini scenes but this is one of my favorites. The table and chairs were made by my husband out of cholla wood and decorated by me. The bar stools were made by a friend, the painted cactus on the outside of the cantina were painted by another friend. I made the bar out of saguaro wood and it has a place behind it for glassware
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From: Elizabeth Lubera
I wove the small Southwest-style rug myself about 30 years ago from a pattern published in the Nutshell News. The article explained how to build a hand loom, what kind of thread and craft sewing needle to use and provided an authentic Southwest pattern, adapted for miniature scale. The weaving process was very difficult as I had to keep the pattern straight and I had to keep changing the thread (red, brown, and white) over and over. Later I used the same loom, thread and process to create a second, larger rug of my own design.
The pottery bowl and sterling silver pitcher, purchased by my daughter during a recent trip to Santa Fe, were made – in miniature scale - by artists indigenous to New Mexico (they are even signed on the bottom “KD” and “WKW"). The design by the potter, Kimo de Cora, was inspired by bird motifs in traditional Southwest art.
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From: Grace Mlynowski
Here's some pictures of the southwest kit I made. If anyone can remember the maker, I sure would be grateful. I didn't even remember to sign and date this one, so I have no idea of its origin.
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From: Meredith Weston-Band
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From Jackie Williams:
Closest to a South western home I have 144 scale
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From Diane Fisher:
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From: Patricia Diefenbach
The Crazy Coyote Gallery is my interpretation of a Gallery/Gift shop that might exist anywhere in the Sonora Desert area but was inspired by Sedona, AZ. The original kit is by Mary Banner. I added the walled patio and the vigas (beams used in adobe style architecture.)
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From: Kathryn Asbahr
Casa del Patio started out as a HO kit that I traced the pieces of before it was built and then enlarged the drawings to quarter scale/O scale. In doing research I came across a poster of Weber BBQ's through the years and a Partio from GE that was half BBQ and half oven. I challenged myself to create the Traeger Pig BBQ. Of course I had to build as many as I could. My BBF's husband has a collection of Webers so this is his store.
The mine car scene was based on a scene that used to be on a corner about a mile from home. It was dismantled when the road was widened so am glad I created it. Of course Saguaro will not grow in Idaho but in my mini world they do. We took the long way home today and we think we spied the mine car in front of another house. So glad it was scrapped.
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From: Marlene Prickett
Here’s a 1:48 scale “Southwest Adobe and Courtyard” from a class by Mary Banner that I attended at the 2021 DMMDT Fall Show in Denver. I added a few extra bits.
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From: Kirsten Smolensky
I purchased this room box unfinished and did all of the brickwork and stucco myself. The shop is filled with 95% original Native American items that I have collected over 15 years. The items come from many different tribes. It’s one of my favorite treasures.
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From: Debby Albert
Not sure what year but it is my favorite.
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From: Kathy Koons
This project is old! It was the 1995-1996 Miniature World of Central Florida club project designed by Ron Mummert and has a built-in turntable. By luck, my husband had a clarinet conference in Arizona in July, 1995, which let me pick up some wonderful things for the project- the black and white basket on the fireplace (at the Grand Canyon, no less), the beautiful black and white Zuni bowl, the kits for the loveseat and table, the lamp outside and the hanging bells, as well as the steer skull and some petrified wood pieces and other small items. At meetings, we learned to do the tile floor, the blanket chest, the door, the exterior tiles, stucco, cactus, etc.I carved my fireplace with a special niche to hold the kachina doll by Rainbow Hand.
I call the project "Sedona" after the long picture in the pink frame.
This was the first big miniature project that I did that came out the way I saw it in my head. It is still my favorite.
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From: Connie Smith
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From: Vicki Scidmore
The shop holds all the things I bought on trips around the southwest. The saddle on the left was bought in Tijuana when I was a child (a long time ago!) and the leopard picture in Brazil. The front counter fits in the cover when closed. The two left small scenes were from conventions and the scene on the right was made to hold the table and stools (the fence was “recycled” from a scene made long ago).
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From: Carole Ann Davis
I created this roombox for a dear friend about 25 years ago, (always with my husband's help!) and it is still one of my most favorites!
The room is made from refrigerator foam packing, with other styrofoam pieces molded in. I made the chairs and table, but the best
part is the authentic Two-Grey Hills rug on the wall that I found on a trip to Arizona and New Mexico! My friend collected the full-size
versions of those rugs.
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From: Suzie Aguilar
The closest I come to having a southwest-themed mini is my latest vacation memory box for a road trip to the Grand Canyon and various other stops in Arizona.
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