Vintage Trailer Refurb--->The Dazey: Before & After

Everyone loves a good Before & After & believe me....our vintage trailer refurb of The Dazey will make you giggle....it's a totally different trailer!  For the outside...check out my blog post HERE.

Now, when I took the Before pictures, I wasn't even thinking we'd buy this trailer. So my objective was simply to remind myself what this trailer looked like...& some of my concerns.  But, the next thing I know we were driving away w/ her & I was knee deep in the refurb project...not even thinking about anymore Before pictures!

 The dinette needed help.  The whole thing was a bit broken, so Jeff ripped off the bottom & rebuilt the table...it has to fit perfectly since it folds right into the bed.  We left the original formica top, but ripped off the cracking green trim & put aluminum on it instead. Looks so cute.  *but I do love this cute retro tablecloth on it, too!**

OK>>>here's a bunch of my 'concerns' when I was taking pix...oy vey!

1. Before: the dark, dark wood! 

2. Before:the roof had a bit of water damage & it was obvious we'd need to replace it.

3.  Before:The inside of the fridge was in pretty good condish. 

4. Before:Some of the dark wood was trashed...It's a trailer! 

 5. Before:Gross mattress & 'bunk bed' rail needed to come down. NOT cute to me! & that green padded board? I immediately saw it polkadot! 

6. Before:See the floor? cleaned up it could have been cute, but that rust stain would NOT come off...so...my whole vision was about the checkerboard flooring.

 7. Before:The inside of the closet was the dark wood...I knew it would be so much cuter turquoise! 

8. Before:I ripped out the old stuff in the cabinets & lined it w/ black & white checkered contact paper...the drawers, too. So cute!

9. Before:The closet. 

10. After:

See the polka dots? Turquoise? It was all in my vision!

 11. Before: the Dinette was just dark & depressing to me...

12. After: bright & cheery w/ a coate of white paint on top, new curtains to let the light diffuse into the trailer, new ticking slipcovers & turquoise walls!

 13. Before: kitchen area.  That back splash formica was horrible. And so were all of the hangers! See the green edging on the counter?  

14. After: replaced w/ aluminum strips, painted turquoise, white laminate on the back splash...yea. MUCH bette!

 15. Before: Note the dark wood, fridge & floor? 

16: After: painted turquoise wood, chalkboard contact paper & liquid chalk along w/ the black & white vinyl tile flooring. 

 17. Before: Stove area. I left the green stove...I incorporated it in my curtains & pillows. Plus: it was in really good condition.  The fridge had some scratches on it, so 

18: After: it was easy to just apply the chalkboard contact paper & have fun with it! 

 19. Before: Gross slipcovers, dark wood & dark floral curtains. *our daughter actually liked the floral curtains...but, it reminded me of too many 90's bridesmaid dresses! LOL! 

20: After: New red & white ticking slipcovers, painted turquoise wood & white curtains that let diffused light in w/ cute ruffles. I love these curatins...so perfect for Dazey! and...accessories: pillows, buntings, globe, clocks, pictures.

 21. Before: Again. more dark wood, floral curtains & the light. * original & I like it, actually, but wanted to add some *bling* 

22. After: ainted white wood, white & ruffled curtains aaaand...the delightful 'removable' chandelier Jeff rigged up for me...THAT gives me my *bling* I was looking for! 

So, there you have it! Dazey's makeover! Lovely, isn't she? Thanks for visiting and remember to...

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!