Another update, and last post!

Hi all! I took the plunge and moved over to another site with more room to grow ... you can find me here with all the archives at ravenouswoman.com.

Thanks for stopping by and supporting over the years!

Quote for the Day

"We are the music-makers
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-loser and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world forever, it seems."

From Ode, by Arthur O'Shaughnessy

Repurposed Jewelry Stand

Here's a great way to use up your mismatched china collection from garage sales over the years. This project couldn't be simpler and makes a beautiful jewelry stand while displaying those pretty little plates.

Just use superglue or my personal favorite, E6000 (it's waterproof) with brandy snifters or cordial glasses. Alternate inverting them between the plates and voila! I would make a million of these with my kids for family gifts if only superglue and preschoolers mixed.

Post your creations in the comments below!

Water Drum to Composter

We're getting ready for spring around here and I thought I'd share an idea the hubby came up with a few years back for an easy, clean composter.

First, take an old water drum. This one is 55 gallons and has a screwtop lid.

Drill holes on the bottom (for draining the dirt), then two on the side to put a bar in the middle for rotating the dirt. Attach to a pallet to keep it off the ground and the lid keeps critters out. The drum can be spun to shake and mix the dirt and create some yummy, yummy compost!

Here's a peek inside to see how the spinning mechanics work. We ended up donating this one to our son's school garden because our dirt needs are ever growing, but this would be a great option for the backyard gardener in areas with critters or pets.

What kind of spring and garden prep are you getting ready for right now? Share in the comments!

Painting the Camper and Other Woes

One of the best things about the camper has been the countless inspiration for projects. And what better way to experiment than with a beat up camper?

Like this penny tile floor. I've probably spent hours drooling over Pinterest boards with these kinds of things, and then decided I should spend hours making one of my own in the camper bathroom- I thought it would look kind of fun with the white paint and yellow toilet and sink. I decided to make a diamond herringbone inspired sort of look with alternating pennies of shiny/very new to old/dark. I also built in a game for my kids using some green pennies and ones with special backs, otherwise, they are mostly heads-up facing the same direction for the most part. This is a great project if you're an OCD type, like me, or if you just enjoy gluing things.

Hours later .....

I used a basic Elmer's glue to tack them down, then a box of clear epoxy to seal it in and creat the grout. If you do this project, be sure to do lots of research on using the epoxy. I'm glad I went to great lengths to make sure the camper was warm enough inside so it wouldn't create a cloudy finish.

Since husband and I tried to save as much original touches as we could, we took down the rolled screens, spray painted them white, but kept the ochre trim.

 Another great learning opportunity and bucket list project was wallpaper. This cool tile looks great on the ceiling to make the space feel bigger and lighter. (It's also paintable.) I need a lot more practice with my wallpapering skills, Y'all!

I'm obsessed with beadboard because I think it looks so classy and is less time and expense than when using plywood or drywall and texturizer and paint. We had to cut it twice, though. Call me old-fashioned, but those "beads" must be vertical!

Right about the time we went all in into this, somewhere between building a custom dinette and installing cedar in the closet, we found that the seals on all the windows were cracked and leaking. When the steering column went out simultaneously with one of the gas tanks, we made the difficult decision to finish the interior and sell our sweet little bumble bee to someone who wants to use it as a parked guest or live in unit. My heart broke over this, but we really want something for our family to cruise around in, a beach camper at the very least, and our DIY skills can't improve the safety of this baby. I'm determined to finish it out, though!

These wall lamps may not have been worth saving, but they had cute little shades with the delightful yellow/ochre 70s color scheme, so I couldn't resist and spray painted it white, too. I may have to stop with rewiring. You can see how this little "fixer upper" camper project kind of turned into a monster...

It's been bittersweet to see all the challenges of this mobile money pit, and also so gratifying to push our skills!

Will have a future post with all the unveiled, completed projects! 

See post 1 here.

See post 2 here.

The Campervan of Inspiration

Welcome to our photo album chronicling our adventure fixing up a '77 Dodge Robinhood. It's been burly, but boy, have we had fun rolling our sleeves up and making improvements.

When we purchased the camper in the spring of 2017, the bones seemed pretty good, but we knew we wanted to basically give the whole thing a facelift. It's been a little more than cosmetic, but here's a basic list.

- reseal roof
-reseal damaged corner of cab over
-wallpaper ceiling
-paint entire indoors white (to make it feel more spacious!) This was by far, the biggest job because there is so much detail
-install cedar closet (this has been on my bucket list, and I need a practice run before attempting on my bedroom closet)
-tile bathroom floor (see next post!)
-custom built dinette/bed, including refinishing existing table top
-install beadboard paneling on walls
-new curtains
-repurpose existing twin bed to couch
-new interior light switches and A/C unit
-exterior turn signal plates
-new steering panel
-new insulation/replace rotten wood and finish paneling on cab over bed

... So just a few things to keep us busy! Here's a tour of all the works in progress. With a 24 foot camper, pretty much any project takes over the entire space, so you'll see lots happening simultaneously.

Above is the living room area where the beadboard will be added and the existing twin bed will be converted to a bench/bed with storage.

The kitchen has all its appliances in working order. You can see the vinyl wallpaper and existing paint need to go!

We actually like the mustard yellow bathroom color scheme, and plan to bring it out with clean, white paint. And a fancy tiled floor!

The living room is primed for paint. We used the Kilz brand for our tough-to-paint laminated surfaces.

The custom built dinette is starting to come together. I am refinishing the table top with a removable marine stand so we can go from table to bed when needed.

The beadboard starts to clean things up dramatically! Bye-bye horrible, dark, 70s fake wood!

And leaks are getting sealed (like the one that mysteriously appeared days after we brought the camper home, even when we inspected on a rainy day)!

See more progress in the next post!

Happy Campers

Almost two years ago, we did something a little crazy ....

 ... We got a camper! (And yes, it would have been much more dramatic, if I had posted the news two years ago when it actually happened.)

But here she is, our little old RV bumblebee. We found her parked outside my daughter's school, and it had been inhabited by a hippie crone looking for the right people to claim it. We could feel the love she put into it and hope to continue renovating it!

It's a '77 Dodge Robinhood, just three years younger than my husband! But like him, it's got good bones.

We love the bamboo floors, and plan to embellish the rest of the interior, and stretch our DIY skills to the limit. Our style is to preserve as many of the original details as possible, and repurpose as much as we can.

The next few posts will show the last two years putting our hearts into this baby, and creating some memories with our family. We hope to inspire other DIYers to getting out of the comfort zone and tackling some projects of your own! Thanks for reading.

Easy Jelly Roll Race to Postage Stamp Quilt

Two bucket list projects from 1 jelly roll, and I highly recommend! This began as a jelly roll race (a blast for every quilter or quilting dabbler to try), and then became my Holy Grail postage stamp project. This was so satisfying because it was so much easier than it looks and I think the natural stripe pattern is quite pleasing. I used a tutorial I had seen on Pinterest (here) where the finished jelly roll was joined at the ends to make a tube, the tube was sliced into 2 inch square strips (rings), and then the seam was ripped according to the pattern. For example, if one strip was topped with the cherry pattern, the next strip would be topped with the blue and turquoise brick fabric to keep with the diagonal pattern. It requires organization for keeping all the strips in order of cutting, but made the postage stamp teeny squares come together very quickly. I made this for our beloved neighbors and babysitter to our son. See links below for directions.

(Postage Stamp Quilt using a Moda Eat Your Fruits and Veggies Jelly Roll. Started as a Jelly Roll race and turned to Postage Stamp quilt when the material looked too busy. Great project, even for a beginner!)

Love from the Garden

Sending a little love from our summer garden to you!

Reupholstering with Burlap

Reupholstering was something I thought a Renaissance gal should know how to do, like chopping wood or hemming pants. But it can get expensive, so why not try it with something frugal like burlap?

These ghastly chairs made the perfect victims. Getting them apart was easy, just unscrewing the bottom from the back and making a simple slipcover. (Ahem, I did not follow any proper upholstery protocol at all!)

Sticking burlap is a little tricky due to the wide open weave and fraying, not to mention if you are doing weird patchwork tricks to jury-rig a wider piece of fabric.

This was done with absolute beginner sewing skills on the machine. Tidy hems will make it all the more polished and kick the shabby chic up a notch.

Here you can see the seam where more fabric was added, but I don't really mind it. In fact, I think it adds some personality.

This was an easy way to dive into reupholstering. What else could you burlap?!

Well, hello, FOUR years later ...

Hi! You weren't expecting me, were you? I should be creating some new blog for the new chapter of my life to make up for being absent all these years or something, huh?

I thought about it. A lot has happened in the last few years were I could very easily redefine myself and give the old blog a facelift (probably a lot easier than blowing all the dust off). Married Woman? Crafty Woman? Steadily Employed Woman? Reproductive Woman? Well, I think I'll keep being Ravenous Woman, but now with some babies, career, spouses, and domesticity in the mix. With lots of DIY, always.

I'm sorry for my absence, but I didn't forget about you. Thanks for not forgetting about me!

Better Than Sliced Bread

Has anyone ever had this? It's awesome! Also a really cool story. Check it out. Bread, not bombs!

The Great American Menu

I thought this was interesting. What's your home state and its signature food? Find out here:

http://deadspin.com/the-great-american-menu-foods-of-the-states-ranked-an-1349137024/@Jessica

What I Really Love Today

10 Rules for Success. I love this stuff. Read here.

21 Habits of Happy People

Without facebook, how in the world would we ever catch up on reading random new agey affirmation articles? I really enjoyed this one, it's a good reminder for all of us:

21 Habits of Happy People

Happy Thursday!

Food Trends 2013

As if NPR wasn't already awesome enough, they have a food section called The Salt that keeps me up on what's new in the food world without pretension or industry slant.

Recently, they've posted an article on their food forecast for 2013. Read it here.

Say No to Spam!

I've been on hiatus, mostly hiding from spamming commenters and my tech support team (that part of my brain that has to push through to navigate unfamiliar territory).

Thanks for bearing with me, I'll be back up and running soon enough.

Padrones in Paradise

Padrones don't ask for much. They need very little. These small peppers don't need to be seeded or peeled, stuffed or marinated.

They just need a little bacon, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Saute them over high heat and watch them jump in the skillet, then serve immediately. Even your boring-palated friends will be happy- padrones are typically mild and the ones with a kick are mellowed by the bacon and salt.

This is my go-to dish when I need a little food inspiration from heaven to bring me back to earth.

Hoh Rainforest

My dad found this interesting lichen specimen when we stopped at the visitor center before hiking the mysterious Hoh Rainforest. Thought I'd share.

There are few words for such an extraordinary place, but there are lots of pictures! Enjoy.