A couple weeks ago I did two posts about my visit with family in Arizona and the awesome architecture I found at the Greek monastery and the outlying chapel there. Here are some more fabulous things from Arizona that I thought could be really fun to make in mini!
First, we visited a winery near the monastery that had this really interesting chandelier:
I kind of want to make one of those in both full-size and in miniature! But then I'd have to learn wireworking in both sizes, which seems like a lot of work. Oh well--it's a good pipe dream (or wish list).
Another photo I wanted to share was of the corner of my great-aunt and great-uncle's house in the Queen Creek area. If you're building an Adobe or Southwest-style home, take a look at how the corners and roof meet up. I never would have pictured the curved tiles being stacked like that; in fact, if I'd seen it in mini, I wouldn't have realized it was authentic! So this was just a mental note to myself to really research any style before creating it. Also, I really like how the stucco looks on the outside of the building.
One day, my aunt, great-aunt, sister, brother-in-law, and I went to Schnepf Farms (whose website has gotten upgraded since I was there! Nice!), a neat little farm with all sorts of festivals and such throughout the year. We happened to be there during the Peach Blossom, so we got to see lots of beautiful blossoms on the trees. But I, personally, was more interested in the random unique structures and items they had all around that would be difficult but rewarding to do in mini. Here is...something....that I don't remember what its purpose was. I think it may be a machine for measuring something, but I can't remember if it's peanuts, or coffee beans, or one of any number of other things. Any info you guys have would be helpful :-)
I also really enjoyed their Steampunk-esque brick pathway, which I thought was pretty unique. It'd make a great base for any number of mini scenes.
And if you're making your own mini farm or winery or outdoorsy touristy scene, you can't forget the fun items, like this "How tall this fall?" measuring display!
And, of course, they have a store filled to the brim with preserves, homemade sauces, and a variety of other farm creations. Accoring to their website, "The Country Store evolved from a simple roadside stand to become a full service country store and bakery." Sorry for the bad photos, but I didn't realize how blurry they were on my phone!
So, that was Schnepf Farms. Finally, the day I left, my aunt and great-aunt took my sister, brother-in-law, and me to lunch at an Italian restaurant before I left for my flight home. So, if you're working on an Italian bistro or some such thing, here are a couple pieces that I thought were cute!
So, no, there wasn't anything life-changing or dramatic about the places I visited, and I didn't see any miniatures the whole time I was down there, but I still found plenty of inspiration! I don't know if I'll create any of these scenes in the future (bakery, restaurant, country store, Steampunk area, farm, Southwest house....that's so much!) but if I do, I'll now have a stash of photos ready! I've started organizing them on my computer, too, by what topic they are, so that if I DO find the time to create as many scenes as I want, then I'll be able to have references at my fingertips, just a couple clicks away. Feel free to keep these for yourself too if you're keeping photo stashes for reference!
Traci