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.

Marymere Falls on Lake Crescent

After leaving Hurricane Ridge, we continued west on our drive around Olympic National Park until we reached our next stop at Lake Crescent.

A hike nearby gave us a preview of the rainforest ecosystem we'd be seeing when we went on to Hoh Rainforest, and also catch glimpse of a beautiful waterfall a short distance away.

My dad found mysterious large leaves we have yet to identify.

The falls less than a mile away made a stunning backdrop for photos.

And this is during the tail end of dry season!

Next stop, Hoh Rainforest.

Outside My Window

Autumn is behind in California but just beginning in Washington.

It's the evergreen state, for sure, but dramatic splashes of color are showing up. Along with the mighty Mount Rainier, which I'm seeing out my window for the first time.

Outside Olympic National Park, the trees are ablaze.

Moved by the Spirit

On the morning we left Yakima Valley, our family finally got together for a group picture, and also to show off some pumpkin carving artistry, namely from my dad.

It's been years since we carved pumpkins together, so I was pretty happy that we got it together enough to even get the pumpkins.

My dad has a puncture-holes-around-the-pattern-then-connect-the-dots approach, which is very effective with complicated designs.

I let him trace mine, but kept my batman logo pretty simple.

We found a great spot on the patio to show them off.

And just when I thought pumpkins were the greatest thing ever grown, I fell in love with the apple tree in the front yard, weighted down by its own branches and kissed by the lawn mower.

Happy Halloween and happy fall!

City of Murals

A day trip to the old cowboy town of Toppenish gave me a chance to catch up on local art. The town is covered in murals, one commissioned each year to honor the community's history and culture.

No surprise they call it the "city of murals." Enjoy the mini-tour!

This one was my favorite.

And though it's totally unrelated, let me just share a couple obligatory apple tree photos, from apple capital of the planet. It was a big deal for me, since the branches were bare when I came to visit last December.