Carla Sidwell -  Sunday Afternoon at the Lake

Commemorating Memories in Miniature

by Pam North

A Marx lithographed dollhouse, received as a present for Christmas in 1955, was what hooked Carla Sidwell on miniatures. Sidwell lives in Belton, Missouri, south of Kansas City, with her her husband, Richard, and their two cats, Silkie and Stormy. “Other than Stormy chewing the ends off a couple of pieces of molding, they ignore my dollhouses, thank goodness!” Sidwell remarked. “My husband is very supportive, and gives me his honest opinion on my creations. His hobby of woodworking also comes in very handy at times! Combining home life and miniature life for me means that the miniatures seem to take over the house at times, especially when I’m getting ready for a show, but otherwise, it works pretty well. My workplace is our spare bedroom, turned into a studio for me. It’s full of miniatures and tools, and now has a large castle in the middle! I am assembling a Tudor-style castle (the Nottingham, from Earth & Tree Miniatures). I’ve wired in over 60 lights, created six wood parquet floors, and there will be real slate flooring in the kitchen and wine cellar.”
She has completed several other houses. “My 1950s-style bungalow dollhouse is one creation I can’t bear to part with, as I decorate it for all the holidays. What I love most about miniatures is that I can produce a dollhouse or room box in any time-frame that I choose. I haven’t had any formal training in the miniature field beyond the fact that my mother taught me how to sew; the rest I picked up from magazines and kits. I love to put kits together!”
Her most valuable tool is her lighted magnifier. “I didn’t really use one until last year, and now  I wonder why I waited so long!” She finds the biggest difficulty involved with working in miniature is making things look as realistic as their life-sized counterparts. “Food and flowers are fun to create, and while realism isn’t easy, it’s very rewarding.”
For inspiration, Sidwell confessed to being a serious Pinterest addict. “I find many more ideas there than I’ll ever be able to use. I also read dollhouse magazines, and when we travel, we look for dollhouse stores or a miniature show to visit for ideas.” She also belongs to a local Kansas City club called L.O.S.T. (Lovers of Small Things), and the Miniature Museum of Greater St. Louis. She occasionally presents workshops for her local miniature club. She sells her products on eBay, and at a few shows per year. 
 Sidwell did a unique project for the 2016 Creatin’ Contest, called Sunday Afternoon at the Lake. “The house kit reminded me of a wonderful summer I spent with an aunt and uncle in a similar cabin in northern Maine, and also our annual family reunions that usually were spent lakeside. About three-quarters of the project were items I made. For example, my husband constructed a base that I built up, adding a lake, dock, and boats. I made all of the food, the brick barbecue grill, the coolers, Coleman stove, picnic table, lounge chairs, and loveseat with hand-knitted afghan. The flowers, farm set, and some of the furniture were started from kits. The extended ‘family’ were all Houseworks figures, and I also used other items that I had either collected or purchased. Several items (mousetrap, acorn birdhouse, fish net, fishing creel, fly swatter, hunting boots, cribbage board) were all made by Amy Robinson of All Through the House (Biddeford, Maine). The flowers evolved from kits from SDK Miniatures, and the toy farm set started as a kit from MiniEtchers. I also got ideas for the coolers, Coleman stove, and some of the food from older projects by Joanne Swanson.”
 “All kinds of materials were used: wood, MDF (composite wood), tape wiring, artificial water, paper, fabric, yarn, styrofoam, polymer clay, etc. I mostly followed the directions that came with items, and read articles on some of the parts I hadn't done before, such as the lake, which was the hardest part. To build it, I had to cut the styrofoam base, caulk the inner edges of the lake so it wouldn't leak everywhere, and then mix and pour the Deluxe Materials Solid Water. It took a lot more of the product than I expected, but it looks awesome. Then I had to add the boats, water lilies, fish, and other details.”
“The idea for this piece morphed over time. My cousins back in Maine shared some ideas about past camps there, which is why there is an upturned canoe by the dock, and the Coleman stove. I also wanted every little person to be doing something, such as the ladies playing cribbage and gossiping in the house, while one of the teens is sitting alone at the end of the dock, staring across the water. The final piece turned out even better than I had envisioned. The best part was the memories it created for me of my family all coming together for a Sunday afternoon.” She is keeping parts of it and selling some of the accessories that she made. “I also am looking  forward to entering the 2017 Creatin’ Contest!”
As for the future of miniatures, Sidwell expressed only one concern. “We always will have miniatures and miniature collectors, but I would love to see more young people become involved in the hobby and industry.”

Email: bouffardc@msn.com
Phone: 816-318-8164
Address: 812 Applewood Ln. Belton, MO 64012