Chalkboard Art for Camping

We're still working on the kitchen remodel, its a big job so we'll be in there for a while.  The cabinets are on the "to-do" list right now and since we are using our existing cabinets and re-working them, we've ran into a few snags we are trying to work out,  Maybe next week I'll have some pictures for you to see!  Check out my Instagram link on the right for some sneak peeks!

On to today's subject. I decided to decorate our little chalkboard with a new subject.  Camping!  We haven't gone camping as much as we've wanted to, but we will get there some day.  This is what I'm thinking all the time...Let's go camping!

I even added the little ham can camper that I'd love to have some day.  They are so cute and it would be so much fun to restore one and go camping in it!

See the blue chalk outline around the word camping. It made a huge difference in the look of my final art piece.

Here's the before look that I stared at for about a week thinking something was missing.  It just needed something else to make it look finished.  The "m" and the "p" were not separated and it was bothering me.

I like it much better outlined.  It makes the letters more defined and also highlights the main subject of the art.  I think I've told you before that I have a hard time erasing these chalkboard creations, but this one may be even harder to do!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick
 
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home , Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou
Married Filing Jointly,  Home Coming
 
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  New Nostalgia,  It's your Life,  BeBetsy

Wednesday
Lil’ Luna, Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the Curtain.  Family Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row,  VMG206

Thursday
 Bloom,  Two Yellow Birds Decor,  The Busy B's,  The Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity,  Redfly Creations,   4 You With Love

Friday 
Tatertots and Jello,  Five Simple Things,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles

Saturday 
Angels Homestead,  Positively Splendid,  I Heart Nap Time,  Or So She Says ,  Your Homebased Mom ,  What's Cooking with Ruthie 

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RV Remodel on a Budget - Floor Update

As promised from last week's post we have our pop-up camper floor remodel to show you!  It makes such a huge difference in the look of the camper.  We love how it turned out!

We went from the 80s to 2013 in just about 5 hours.  It actually took a lot longer than we expected, but it was well worth it.

Our camper is 11' x 6' but the floor of course is much smaller than that, so we purchased 2 boxes of the peel and stick flooring just to be sure we had enough.  It's the cheapest brand at Lowe's and it cost about $30 per box.  We used one full box and a quarter of the second one.

We simply followed the package instructions to install the flooring.  First of all you need to clean the floor really well.  Vacuum first.

Using a handheld sander, remove the shine from the original flooring.  This helps the new flooring to adhere better.  Of course you'll need to vacuum again to remove the dust.

Next we used a mixture of vinegar, original dawn dish soap and water to clean the floor before we started applying the new flooring.  Mix 2 cups warm water, 1 cup vinegar and 1 teaspoon of original dawn dish soap.  Let the floor dry well before starting your installation.

First find the center of your "room" and mark it for your starting point.  We used a laser level to mark our starting line so the floor would start out straight and end up straight.

The back of your tiles will have an arrow marked on them.  Make sure you keep your arrows all going in the same direction when laying your tiles.  If they don't all go in the same direction, it will cause the flooring to have noticeable variations in the overall "look".  We used a sharpie and wrote directly on the old floor to mark the direction of our arrows to remind us.

We chose to stagger the tiles to give it a more natural look.  This caused the job to take much longer due to the fact of having to measure and cut tiles and make sure the butted lines were not all going to end up exactly the same.  Also, as I've said before, my honey is a perfectionist and it HAS to be perfect!  I love that about him!

Cutting the tiles are easy.  Simply mark your straight line in pencil and cut with your kitchen scissors.  NOTE: You will need to clean your scissors with alcohol to remove the adhesive when you're finished.

Here are a few before and after pictures showing the awesome difference a little peel and stick tile made in our tiny little pop-up camper!

We love, love, love how it turned out!  There was lots of tricky curvy parts that took some crafty planning to cut the tiles and get them laid just so, but in the end it was very rewarding to see the final look!

My honey finished off the floor by installing some trim around the floor/walls to complete our little RV floor update.  Now we are contemplating recovering the seat cushions.....what do you think?

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick
 
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home , Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou
Married Filing Jointly,  Home Coming
 
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  New Nostalgia,  It's your Life

Wednesday
Lil’ Luna, Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the Curtain.  Family Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row

Thursday
 Bloom,  Two Yellow Birds Decor,  The Busy B's,  The Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity

Friday 
Tatertots and Jello,  Five Simple Things,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles,  Rooted In Thyme
Saturday 
Angels Homestead,  Positively Splendid,  I Heart Nap Time,  Or So She Says ,  Your Homebased Mom ,  What's Cooking with Ruthie 

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RV Remodel on a Budget - Cabinet Update

A few months back we purchased a 1984 Starcraft Nova PopUp Camper and although it was in very nice condition for its age, we wanted to update it before we started using it. We started with the cabinets first.

This picture was from our very first outing a few weekends ago.  We had a great time and really enjoyed our sweet little PopUp that was freshly updated.

This is what the cabinets looked like before we started.  Just your generic RV cabinet look.  They were a bit dingy and banged up, but a little paint helped tremendously!

First we removed all the hardware from the doors and drawers.  Back in their day, these cabinets were probably very nice, but after years of use they had gotten dirty and needed a good cleaning and a bit of updating.

Here are the handles.  Brass with wood.  They were all good and sturdy so we decided a little ORB paint would bring them right into 2013!

I painted the handles, hinges and even the screws.  My honey placed all the screws in a piece of wood for me so all that got paint was the head where it was needed.  I used 2 thin coats to cover all.

To paint the backsides of the handles, I used to pieces of wood tall enough to allow them to rest off the cardboard.  2 more thin coats went on here.

We used some $5 bargain paint we got at Lowe's. You know the kind were they accidentally mix it wrong or the person decides its not quite right?  It's a very pale blue, sorry no actual color listed on the can.  None the less, it was a bargain and its a pretty color to boot!  And look at those freshly ORB painted handles on the the doors! NICE huh?

We painted the walls with the same $5 bargain paint but in a mushroom color.  We also used it HERE on the entry hall table we re-did.  When used in this space and with the blue against it, it turns out a medium grey color.  Very pretty!

All together we spent $0 on this part of our RV remodel.  Just some elbow grease and paints we already had on the shelf.  Join us next week when we show you how we re-did the floor!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick
 
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home , Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou
Married Filing Jointly,  Home Coming
 
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  New Nostalgia,  It's your Life

Wednesday
Lil’ Luna, Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the Curtain.  Family Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row

Thursday
 Bloom,  Two Yellow Birds Decor,  The Busy B's,  The Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity

Friday 
Tatertots and Jello,  Five Simple Things,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles

Saturday 
Angels Homestead,  Positively Splendid,  I Heart Nap Time,  Or So She Says ,  Your Homebased Mom ,  What's Cooking with Ruthie 

read more