Meet Dazey...our vintage trailer!

Well, I'm hooked on glamping in our vintage trailer, Dazey. We had a little adventure in Southern Utah & found ourselves in a HUGE flood storm during our Fall Break...But, guess what? Dazey kept us nice & warm & dry. In fact...during the HUGE storm, we cozied up & popped Jiffy Pop popcorn on the stove, played games by the light of the chandelier & LOVED every moment!  But..I realized that I showed you some fun pix from our glamping adventure HERE...but haven't posted any pix of the inside yet!

Our vintage trailer, the Dazey, has been so fun! Now...Let me tell you...this vintage trailer refub is an on-going adventure. We are learning as we go & we are finding out what works & doesn't work! To keep us from going crazy...we chanted our mantra, 'It's just a trailer'...whenever we were tempted to go all 'perfectionist'. LOL! So...while it's not perfect, it's a trailer. A cute, cozy vintage trailer w/ a lot of character.  Here she is....

Dazey is a 1974 15ft. Rancho El Rae Trailer.  When you walk in...off the right is the long sofa that pulls out to be a bed that sleeps 2.  We had custom slipcovers made HERE & covered the cushions w/ red & white ticking. I love it!

And I'm a decorative pillow fanatic, so I made sure I've got plenty on there to add comfy, cozy, colorful FUN!

That top part above the sofa bed pulls down to reveal a bunk bed that sleeps 2.  We put a futon up there that easily folds in w/ the bunk. PERFECT! 

I love the little shelf here that becomes a reading nook. That cute little frame displays a cReative quote, (created w/ Rhonna Designs, of course) the alarm clock is from Ikea & the little vintage globe is one of my fave 'accessories! And, don't you LOVE that green daisy tin tray? So retro. So fun. Found this at  Fleology & my dear friend, Anna, bought it for a 'trailer warming' gift...then, she was thrifting & found MORE...for .75! Needless to say..I'm stocked w/ these cute trays!

So, right when you walk in, you look straight at the Kitchen nook. Dazey has a little sink, stove, oven & fridge. I love it!  The vintage accessories are too much fun! The fan, ruler & 'Coca-Cola' bottle opener are all from our old Minnesota home. **Full story is on my Instagram Feed...why we named her Dazey...I'll have to share it here sometime!**

The collander was a gift from my sweet sister, Amy...& I found the vintage picnic basket online.  I love the little pom-pom garland I made w/ the tiny bits of scrap fabric from the pillows & curtains.  **when you are decorating a trailer, you gotta think of things that will be hanging & how they will 'travel'...this is perfect!  The fridge is on that same wall & then the back has a little storage/potty closet w/ that mirror. It's a great little space to store things, hang clothes, towels, & even put the porta-potty in there IF we want...so far...we haven't wanted. *wink*

One of my fave things is the fridge. What a lifesaver! And, I wanted to put a chalkboard finish on it, so I used the chalkboard contact paper. Um....one word: it's difficult to chalk. It was GREAT putting right over the enamel appliance, but the surface has no tooth..so...like my 6 Chalkboards Tips talked about...I resorted to the Liquid Chalk Pens...perfect! The quote:

'A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.' 

perfect.

Off to the left of the trailer is the dinette.  It's so cute now...I just love it! **Note: That cute little 'The Dazey' decal is one of the inkjet window decals I just printed off. & below you can see the 'Dazey' decal on the mirror. I love it!**

So, this table flips down to make a bed that sleeps one. So...total: 5. Perfect for our family.

I am in LOVE with this vintage tablecloth I got at Fleology & the cute teapot & melmac dishware came in the vintage picnic basket...so perfect for Dazey!

Now...the chandelier was a MUST for me, but we had to try to figure out HOW we could hang one, have it work AND have it travel...

so: Jeff -my hero- rigged it so it just wires right on the original light fixture & we can bend the wires down to take it off whilst traveling.  Put it up when we are *glamping* & I'm a happy camper! *grin*

Closer look at JUST the chandy! Not too shabby, huh? I think he did a great job! I got this chandy from Ikea a few years ago & sadly, they don't make them anymore...it's so fab for Dazey!

I a.DORE these vintage letters my sweet friend & cReative Team member, Nancy, sent me a while back.  LOVE letters are perfect for Dazey.  I've got them in the window here, but when we take them w/ us...it's so fun to hang them in the trees as shown on THIS *glamping* trip!

And, with *glamping*...it's all about the details, right?

I'm not a seamstress, so I used my NO-SEW Ruffle technique shown HERE to create my curtains & pillows! 

I just took the hot-glued ruffles & added them to the bottom of the curtains & then glued them onto the pillows....seriously...so easy. So fast. So fab. I also did a little DIY w/ this cute yarn wreath. I wanted a bright, simply & cute wreath to hang on the wall or take down & hang in trees, our chalkboard door or wherever I find that inspires me whilst *glamping*! 

I simply wrapped a styrofoam wreath w/ the yellow yard, then the turquoise yarn.  Topped it off w/ a huge bow created from the same polka dot fabric used in my No-sew Buntings & the polka dot edge shown above.  LOVE the stripes, chevron, floral, ticking & polka dots all mixed & matched in the pillows, curtains, bunting & slipcovers...eclectic. and fun.

The No-Sew Buntings are created w/ Fabric Glue & bias tape. Super easy. Love hanging these inside Dazey, but then out in the trees on our adventures!

Now...a word about our flooring. The BEFORE wasn't that bad..I actually liked the tile, but it had a huge rust stain on it & I knew I could just put in the super cheap self-adhesive tile pretty easily.

It's not a perfect tile job...But, I think it turned out pretty good...after all...'It's just a trailer."

So...that's Dazey's inside...ain't she purdy? I just love her. And now...I am actually excited to go camping w the glam! *glamping all the way, baby!*

So...I'll have a Before /After share on Wednesday...tomorrow is our last Creative Team Tuesday before Halloween & we've got some fun things cooked up!

So now...go! cReate something today!

Our latest creative travels: glamping!

Summer has come to an end here in the U.S. and we spent the last month of our summer on a creative adventure....fixing up a vintage trailer for our glamping travels.  Glam + camping =glamping. If you've been following me on Instagram, my blog, facebook  and Pinterest, you're familiar with our journey of the Vintage Trailer Refurb! We first named her Daisy...she's a beaut. We painted her aqua, white and bright yellow. And, during the process of collecting retro *accessories*, we found an old can opener with the name....Dazey! We immediately decided that was just how we'd spell the name of our glamper!

Over Labor Day Weekend, we took her out for her Maiden Voyage and had such a marvelous time traveling! But, of course...as with any road trip, there were some mishaps. We lost her aqua hubcap, forgot a few major things for the 'glam' part, but other than that had a lovely time! I learned what my Glamping Essentials are and wanted to share!

Jeff is a camper at heart and so he was in charge of the camping basics. I am a glam girl at heart, so I was in charge of the glam basics.  And of course, glamping is all about the details.

1. Glam up the kitchen.

I found some vintage goodies that made it all so fun. This cute enamel teapot, a retro TV tray and then, mixed it up with the white metal tins from Ikea- filled them with our colorful forks, straws and made a little leaf arrangement! Perfectly lovely!

I scored at the Fleaology Market with that vintage Thermos Cooler! I loved it...we packed goodies for s'mores and such...then, had it sitting in our vignettes for added 'ambiance'. 

2. Glamp up the surroundings!

We camped up a canyon that had trees. LOTS of them. And we added buntings I'd made with fabrics that coordinate with our pillows inside Dazey.  I just cut them out, sewed them together and then hung them in the trees. I had some ruffled strips leftover from my curtains and pillows, so I wrapped them on the tree! So fun! And, I had the matching tin hanging vase from Ikea that we filled with golden leaves, too! 

3. Glamp up with vignettes.

Creating comfortable and glammed up vignettes make it fun to sit and relax.  Although our son thought it was ridiculous that I was decorating our campsite....I found him sitting in our vintage chaise reading! Ahhh...success!

One of my favorite things about this was our LOVE letters! One of my Creative Team Members, Nancy, sent me these vintage plastic letters a while back and I've been waiting to use them on JUST the perfect project! This was it! My daughter covered the "L" with vintage map pages. and the 'E" with vintage book paper. I painted the 'V' with chalkboard paint and meant to write on it, but never got around to it...as you can see in the pictures...the 'V' got lost, so I will have fun writing on it for next time!

I simply tied them around the tree trunk w/ jute twine. It really added to the entire vignette! And...yes, a bunting DOES make everything better. *wink*

So, here's Dazey all glammed up! I think she likey! *wink* I have big plans for my chalkboard door, but haven't had a chance to decorate it yet. I will do that on our next trip in a month! *yup- already have another road trip planned!*

4. Glam up with lights!

A campfire is a must. Glow sticks are a must. And for glamping...stringing lights in the trees is a must. Now, THIS is what I forgot...a long extension cord! aarrghh! So, you'll notice that we strung the lights through the screen door of Dazey! LOL....hey, it worked! And I have to say...even our skeptical son was loving the night glow of the lights in our campsite! sooo magical. so glam!

Love was in the air!

and we had so much fun!  Now....I was totally inspired by the whole retro/vintage vibe of our glamping experience....from the decorating, to our collecting...I just HAD to create a kit for our pictures, decorating and even our props!

So, I whipped up Insta Travels. Yes, this does have a few 'glamping' references, but there are fun things for road trips, air travel and general adventure!

It is just like the other Insta Lovin' kits in that it includes a .TTF font (ding bats), ABR brush files (digital stamps) & black PNG files so you can use as clip art or cut on your Silhouette Cameo.

Can't you just see some of these fun images ironed on tea towels, buntings and pillows? I think I'll even send the PNG file through my Silhouette to cut out some vinyl and adhere it onto Dazey somewhere...like the 'I'd rather be glamping'? or 'Happy Camper'? What do you think?

Ok...so, after all of that ...I hope you are uplifted and inspired to get creative with YOUR travels...whatever it may be, where ever you may go...get creative!

And, you'll be able to create with the Insta Travels kit! 

and continue to create!

vintage tRailer Refurb: Inside>>During

Between surprise road trips, Disneyland & first week of school, poor Daisy has been slow going. But, never fear! Her Maiden Voyage will be this weekend! So...this week is crazy busy...with Rhonna Designs turning ONE year, saying goodbye to my amazing 2011-2012 Creative Team AND saying HELLO to my new 2012-2013 Creative Team...whew....I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

The inside was a big thing this weekend...we re-built & re-installed the top bunk! oy vey! But, she's coming along nicely...I think Daisy loves her makeover so far...don't you?

She's matching her exterior a little more with the aqua walls & cabinets. LOVE! And...we put the aluminum strip on the edges of the cracked, old green countertop edges. looks lovely!

Ok...off to paint the bunk now! whew...no rest for the weary! Tomorrow is our last Creative Team Tuesday w/ this fantastic team...so, don't miss it! 

Happy Monday! 

Create something today!

Vintage Trailer Refurb: Outside BEFORE & AFTER

A Glamping we will go.

Taking the plunge & buying a vintage trailer to refurbish so we can go Glamping is a big thing. huge. I didn't realize how big!

But, we are in the process *enjoying it* & I wanted to share the Before & After pictures of our lil vintage beaut!

**all images: brushes & frames>>> Insta Lovin' Kits by Rhonna Designs**

Before.

I have learned a lot about this whole process & am still learning. And have had SO many questions about things...I thought I'd blog the detes here.  

No. 1: Know what you want.  

THIS lil questionaire helped me a lot. So, we prepared & knew just what we wanted.  

We looked on our local classifieds: KSL & we were wowed at how many trailers are put on classifieds. by the hour. seriously. We REALLY wanted a vintage Shasta, (we LOVED Enjoy Cupcakes' cute lil dream boats) but...figured since this is our first lil venture...we should start out small. We knew we didn't want to have to drive very far to pick up our new baby...so, we looked, were patient & then found HER!

Only about 15 minutes away from us. She was everything we wanted.

Size: under 14' so we could keep her in our driveway. She's 13'! Perf!

Age: She was vintage enough for us to start with. 1974 

Brand: As noted above, a Shasta would have been fab...but, we got an El Rae. Adorable. Fell in love with the lines, angles...she's got charactah.

Refurbish: We knew we didn't want to restore the whole thing, but wanted to put our own personality into her..so, Refurb was what we picked.  And, boy, are we having FUN! *wink* (we've had to tear out the ceiling & put it back up which has been very interesting! ha!)

Original or not: that wasn't that important to us since we didn't go for the Shasta...but she does have 'good bones' & I love her lil oven, fridge & table.

Layout: 

Main thing: Sleeps 5. We wanted our whole fam to be able to be comfy & cozy. So, again. perfect.

No Bathroom: We didn't want to deal with the plumbing/leaking issues many of them seemed to have. yea!

Cost: We knew we wanted it cheap since we would be glamming her up the way we wanted it. Ok. Ok...the way I wanted it! Jeff is such a sport about this whole thing! LOL...he figures it's both of our worlds coming together. If he can get me out camping more...he's happy! 

Title or Bill of Sale:  Made sure we knew what we were doing. check.

Storage:   

We wanted to make sure that we could fit all of our gear in there, plus sleep & camp comfortably. Yes...she's got plenty for us. Love her!

Specific Requirements:   This lil beaut will also be doubling as a cReative Playhouse for me & my family, friends, & *ahem* even Rhonna Designs. *wink wink* So, I had to make sure it had a sink, table, & room for cReating! can I get a HOLLA!!!????

During.

No. 2: Prepare for glamming.

Ok. Ok...I will admit. This is my fave part...to get the whole vibe together of what I want this lil Playhouse to 'feel' like...a place to glamp. make memories with my family. travel. cReate. 

yup...a mood board was in order. 

So...I gathered lots of inspiration...those of you that follow my Pinterest board knew right when I was doing this. LOL...I'm sorry...I was filling up my board fast. LOVED this part!

Colors:  My whole color vibe is: aqua, yellow, red, black.  With splashes of grey & green on the inside decor. *mood board for that later*

The outside was prepped & ready to go by following THIS Roller painting method!

PAINT: I chose my colors & got Rustoleum Bright White & Safety Yellow at Home Depot. But, my aqua dream was dashed to pieces when the paint dept. told me, 'No...can't tint any oil based paints.'...boohoo.

So, off to Sherwin Williams to make new BFFS with the paint guys! They helped me find a great color that I could tint & be happy with! So...I chose Tantilizing Teal. Yup...it IS tantalizing! 

TOOLS: The Roller Method worked great for most of it, (foam rollers) but I found that good ol' 2-4" paint brushes were great for getting into the lil spots I needed. I did NOT like the foam brushes that I'd read about...they frustrated me. Good, stiff paint brushes were my best friends in this project...especially around the edges & getting in the lips on the roof.

Look at this! I'm LOVING the bright, sunshiny yellow, glossy crisp clean white and the soft, gorgeous teal! A. Dore. with a capital DORE!

The whole family got into the prep & painting! Love my kiddos...they are good sports!

Then, the last bit to 'make it my own'...was freehanding scallops along the Tantalizing Teal.  This just completed it...I was giddy.  I just took a 1" paint brush (now THIS paint brush was a good quality oil brush I had from my old oil painting days) so I could get a good angle, smooth & lovely lil scallops.

Behold...the Happily Ever 

After!  

She's a lil dream boat! I'm loving her! 

Jeff sealed the roof up on top & we needed to replace a couple of the windows...but, other than that...we are good to go on the outside.  She's done! (minus the cute hub cap we still have to get for this side of her.) 

Now.....for the inside!

Oh boy! We spent ALL DAY Saturday ripping her ceiling out....It wasn't pretty.

Let's just say...sparks were flying.....

to be continued....