Step 1: Removing Hardware and Built-Ins

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So now that we have a camper, we know where it is damaged (and we know where it is ugly), what do we do to fix that? Well it's time for a renovation, of course! And that means demolition is in our future. 

However, before we can just start ripping things out, we have a lot that needs to be carefully removed, thrown away or painted externally to the camper, and carefully re-installed when it's finished. 

The first order of business (which I don't have pictures of, sorry!) was removing the ugly fabric. Let me give you a short step by step to help with this process. (At this point you've probably realized there are a lot of cushions in your way. Just take them inside and deposit them in a low traffic area, you're not going to need them for a couple of weeks.) 

1. Remove the valance like objects first. These are fabric pieces stapled to the wood extrusions that hold up the curtains. In order to not damage the wood veneer of the walls or the wood pieces themselves, you'll want a pair of needle-nose pliers to help pull out the staples. Protip: wear some gloves if you're smart. I am not smart and the pliers' rubber grip rubbed a raw spot on my palm, AND I got stabbed by a staple. 

2. Once you've gotten the valances off, you need to remove the curtains. In our camper, a small square headed screw prevented the curtains from sliding out of the end of their tracks. I removed the screws and slid the curtains out and straight into a garbage bag. I wouldn't bother saving the provided curtain hardware because later I'm going to show you a MUCH better method. 

3. Remove the tracks the curtains were in. This isn't really fabric removal, but you might as well do it now. Our tracks were made of a plastic material, if yours are a thin metal the same process will work. Ours were stapled in. If yours were nailed in you can use this method, but if you have screws you will need to go fetch your drill. Basically, the best way to remove these is to just pry them out. If you're my husband, that means with your fingertips. However, if you're me, you'll want a method a bit less strenuous. I recommend a small crowbar (but even a metal ruler will help. A flathead screwdriver is another option.) Just start at one end and carefully pry them away. In order to preserve the wood pieces (which is important because these wood pieces serve as supports for the bunk beds above), you need to pry more and pull less. Go a couple inches at a time instead of trying to quickly rip the whole thing out at once! 

4. Now you're mostly done. Yay us!! Look around for any miscellaneous fabricked surfaces. In my case, the front of the sofa bed and the top of the camper doorway had a shin and head guard, respectively, made of fabric. The sofa bed piece was actually attached with screws, and we unscrewed them and then just threw the whole piece away, interior wood piece, fabric, screws, and all. The head piece in the door way is still there. One: because I forgot it. Two: because it's helping my husband not hit his head while we renovate, so I'll wait and replace it later, once I have fabric picked out. 

Now, we have removed all the fabric bits, o it's time for everything else. The general rule of thumb here is to remove anything that can be easily detached and reattached later. Right now I just want to get it out of the camper where it will be less likely to be harmed when we rip up the floor. That also means we don't need to bother taking off handles and nonsense from the removed cabinet doors just yet, we'll do that later. For now, we just need to remove the hinges from the cabinets and walls and take the entire doors, including hinges, inside to store for bit. 

There is no real step by step for this. Instead just unscrew everything and get it out of there. Below you can see what ours looks like once we've taken everything out of it. We also went ahead and pulled up the old linoleum. That was easy as much of it was water damaged and you could easily rip it off the floor. We trimmed it around the cabinets and walls using a knife for a clean edge. 

PICTURES:

Here we have the view from the door of the sofa that turns into bed number 2. In this picture we have the linoleum ripped up so you can see the subfloor and some water stains indicating water damage and potential rot.

Before                                              After

Here's a view of the sofa from the far end of the camper, you can see the light coming in the door to the right. All the cabinets have been removed but I took this picture before we ripped up the linoleum. 

Before                                  After 

 

Next we've got the kitchen, cabinets have been removed, linoleum is still down. Check out that hideous wallpaper!! I can't wait to paint over it.

Before                               After

 The next four pictures are the bathroom area. First we had to take the whole door off, then inside the bathroom the cabinets and movable fixtures were removed. We ended up removing the threshold pieces from the bathroom door and the middle of the kitchen floor. However, we don't plan to tear up the floor in the bathroom since it is structurally sound. For now we're leaving the linoleum down until we get new tile or tile linoleum.

Before

After

 Cabinets were easy to remove. These built in benches were a little more difficult. As you can see everyone pitched in a hand, or paw, to help. The benches were screwed in from the outside wall and the screw heads were underneath the outer paneling. We removed the visible screws, then pulled the boards off of the outer wall screws. Finally we cut the protruding screw heads from the wall with a bolt cutter. Yay for making up procedures!

Finally got those out! You can also see a metal box on the floor. We unwired it before removing the subfloor. It's a converter for the electrical system, and we marked each wire with masking tape to match the diagram provided on the converter itself, that way we can easily rewire it later.

Final before and after showing the kitchen and the dining area/main bed.

Before                                   After

Now, all we have to do is start demo on the floor! 

We Bought a Camper!

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As my main interest is in 1940s antiques and vintage style, this camper is not my ideal. But for a fixer upper, this one was a perfect choice!

The camper in question is a 1984 Sunline model, 17 foot total which means the interior is about 13 feet by 8 feet. It can technically sleep 4 adults and 2 children, though I never want to put that many people in it.

We found it in great condition, with very little damage and everything working. The fridge, bathroom facilities, and pumps all work. It did not come with AC and neither us nor the previous owner's tested the heater, so we'll have to wait for an update on that one. The only damages were: some external leaks which had been repaired, and some water damages to the floor making it softer in places. But we plan to fix that!

So without further ado! A tour of the camper.





Here we have the outside of the trailer! For now it will stay this lovely shade of 80s brown, because I first plan to tackle the interior. But as you can see from this photo: small and ugly. (But with a new working awning, definitely grateful for that!)






Next, I'm showing the view as you immediately enter the door. There is what passes as a "sofa", which has a bench piece that extend the sofa out into a twin bed. You can also see on the far wall there is a small cabinet. It is a half sized closet hanging space. Below it there is a pull out counter top piece that serves as a sort of desk.

   

Next is a frontal view of the sofa, taken from a standing point at the other end of the camper. You can see some storage above it, that storage folds down to a tiny human sized bunk. You can also see the kitchen counter a bit to the right of the photo, and if you could see it, the left side of the photo is where the bathroom door is.





















This is the best photo of the kitchen I could get. It's taken from the viewpoint of the sofa. You can see the tiny working sink, tiny working oven, tiny working stovetop, and tiny but useful cabinets. Underneath this construct is the main drinking water tank. We determined there was no water damage to the flooring under the cabinets, so we can avoid the headache of moving them.

Finally, here we have the other side of the camper. The bed you can see is the larger of the two beds located at the back of the camper. It converts into a table by lifting up a center piece and deploying its fold away legs. Above this bed there is another child size bunk that can be doubled as storage.

Just around the corner of the last image, meaning across from the kitchen next to the table/bed, there is the refrigerator. As you can see in the image below, MORE HIDEOUS BROWN PANELING. Who let this happen in the 80s anyway?

Finally, the tiny camper bathroom. Located directly across from the kitchen. It has a small but fairly normal toilet, a tiny sink, and a shower with a built in seat. The shower and the sink faucets are on and the same, connected together. The shower itself is a bit too tiny for my husband, but will fit me just fine. It will also function as a perfect foot washing and puppy washing station.










So there you have it! The grand tour!! We will be replacing the subfloor, the flooring itself, painting, recovering the cushions, making new curtains, installing an air conditioner, and even resurfacing the tub/sink/toilet all in the vintage style of the 50s travel trailer glory days! We have a lot of work coming our way. But it will be worth it! Stay tuned for updates, include the next two installments of demo day!

Poise: The Thing You're Missing

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When I started this blog I tried to make it clear to my readers that I had no intention to just write a fashion blog. There is a very important reason that I needed to widen my blog's topic. Embracing the fashion of the femme fatale, the 1930s or 40s fashion diva is not enough.

You already know what feminine clothing looks like, but you need feminine action in order to truly embody this type of vintage "look". Poise is a major part of that feminine movement and it is instrumental in creating the intoxicating aura of a femme fatale character.  

So how do you learn feminine movement? Well there are a couple ways that I've found work best for me:

1. For starters you should try out a better posture. It's time for the medieval torture devices that help you learn to keep a good posture. Think about the two times you need good posture: when you're sitting and when you're standing. So those are your two target areas to focus on.

The thing to do to learn good standing/walking posture you've seen many times. 

That's right, it's time to walk while balancing a book on your head. 

Not to brag, but I've become quite advanced at this. You want a good leatherbound or canvas bound book, not a slick plasticky one. The laminated covers slip around on your hair. Stand up straight, look straight forward, and place the book on your head. Now try your hand at walking around the room.

Mastered that? Okay. Squat down and pick something up from the floor.

Got that down? Great! Go fix yourself a cup of tea.

Did you make the tea without knocking the book off your head? You're on your way to to perfect! Now go sit down and drink the tea.

When you've managed all of this odds are you've got a great standing and walking posture. At this point I can do any of my household chores while keeping a book balanced on my head. Just remember not to look down! This is also great for making you look more confident. A woman who looks at her goal in the distance, or looks those she is speaking to in the eye, is a woman who has confidence in her appearance. 

Now you've got to master keeping that posture when you sit down to work on something. As a blogger and writer I spend an inordinate amount of time sitting at a keyboard. So how do you keep from getting an ogre like hunch in your back and shoulders? Well I found a solution, and boy does it look silly. If you thought walking around with a book on your head would be embarrassing when your neighbors saw you, then just wait for this one...

What you need is a chair with a straight back to sit in at your desk or table. It needs to be one you can comfortably sit in with your behind scooted all the way back against the chair back. Next you need a scarf. Lean back against your chair (straight spine, shoulders all the way back) and then, putting the middle of the scarf behind the chair, wrap it around you and tie the scarf over your chest.

The idea here is to hold your spine straight and your shoulders back while you work. Thus, your body doesn't slip into a crouch while your mind is distracted. Eventually you should learn to sit up straight without the scarf while you work: it will just be muscle memory and habit. For now though this will help train you to sit up straight while you work and you'll be amazed at how much better your back will feel even after hours of writing or studying.

(Also, side rant here! Don't cross your legs at the knee while sitting. That causes vericose veins, and I can't think of anyone who wants those. Instead cross your legs at the ankle by tucking your toes and arch of one foot behind the heel of the other. And I hope I don't have to remind you to sit with your knees together to be lady-like especially whenever you're wearing a skirt!)

2. Think feminine shape. What is feminine about you?

If your answer wasn't "my curves" then you need to work on thinking positively about those hourglass curves you have. No matter how big or how small, you are made feminine by the shape of your curves. So let's learn to move in a way that accents those curves.

The 1930's and 40's was a time following the boyish and boxy look of the 1920's. Instead of trying to hide curves like the flapper fashion era did, we are accenting them as much as possible. Think about your curves when you stand or sit or dance or pose for a photo. Think about them just as much as you would when you're flirting with a guy. Your poise-accenting your curves-is the trademark Legally Blonde "bend and snap" of the 1940's.

So practice! Stand in front of a mirror. Just look at how you stand and experiment and play with it. Try lifting your chest and shoulders a little more. Try leaning forward ever so slightly. Experiment with standing with your weight on one foot or the other. Experiment with popping one knee forward or one hip sideways. Look at the lines your body makes and make a mental note of which ones you like to see.

Take those mental notes with you for your next group photo or for the next time you're waiting for your coffee and the cute barista is the one making it for you. Work what you got! Your body is a beautiful thing, learn to appreciate how it looks and what movements look best for it.

3. Think fluidity. Walking smoothly and moving smoothly is part of having poise. Fluid and smooth motion lends itself to creating an illusion of delicacy, which we all know has long been thought to be a part of femininity. 

The best thing I've ever done to learn fluidity was take a beginner ballet class. If you're not invested enough or have enough money laying around to take a class, then take the easier way and look up "port de bras" videos online and check it out. Trying those movements with your arms will make you aware of the space your arms occupy and the way they move from one space to another. Learning the motions and practicing them will make them muscle memory just like your posture, then you'll find that you can carry that fluidity of movement over to everything you do like drinking tea or getting dressed or picking up a book. 

The other most important fluid motion (besides your arm movements) is your walk. Feminine, fluid walking is pretty, to quote Miss Congeniality  "See, glide! It's all in the buttocks, don't I look pretty?". You pick your feet up and put your feet down gently. All things are done gently. You should move smoothly across a surface at all times. Hips should wiggle. Crossing one foot a little in front the other, runway model style, is pleasing to the eye while in heels. Your feet should come off the ground just enough to clear potential tripping hazards but not so much that your knee comes noticeably upward. That creates the illusion of gliding.

Sometimes, however, it can be fun to break the smooth walking rule and add a bit of a jolt to each step: walk with purpose. And wiggle those hips! Make Marilyn Monroe proud!

Walking with purpose leads me to my final point: being a femme fatale and having these feminine poise qualities is all about contrast. It's the contrast of the made-up, dainty, flowing femininity of womanhood paired with the rough and ready lifestyle of a film noir movie. Femme fatale characters were gorgeous, flirtatious women who all the while were packing firearms prepared and poised for attack. Being a femme fatale is knowing what you want and being ready to take it, all while looking like the most beautiful person in the room. Handle that, and you'll be the female lead of a film noir movie in your every day life. 

Thrifty Thursday: Week One

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Found these babies at the local Goodwill. Loving the fancy femme fatale life with my drink cart.

Simple Living Hairspray

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I love the hold on this product.

If the statement above is true, then this hairspray makes me wonderwoman.

How much more simple can you get than three ingredients for a great holding hairspray. Best of all it costs less than a dollar to make!

Ingredients:

-3/4 cups boiled water

-1 tbsp white sugar (or raw sugar)

-1/2 tbsp vodka or white rum (I prefer vodka to avoid the rume scent)

-you can add about 7 drops of essential oil for a scent, but I never do

Directions:

1. Boil your water in a saucepan.

2. Once boiling add the sugar and stir to desolve.

3. Add the alcohol and give it time to heat up (boiling is not necessary) 

4. Allow it to cool before putting it in a spray bottle.

Any spray bottle will do. I use one of the TSA approved ones from the travel toiletries section in any supermarket, pharmacy store, Walmart, Target, etc. That way I can easily take it in my purse for hair emergencies whenever they strike. You can even use a larger all-purpose type spray bottle if you like.

Some tidbits of information. This hairspray does have an expiration date based on the fact that it has sugar in it. I find it takes a few months for it to spoil. But on the upside of things, this hairspray can be easily brushed out of your hair. Unlike store-bought sprays you don't have to wash your hair immediately after using. You can brush it out and go to bed after your night out on the town. The next day your hair will be fine and not at all stiff.

The Real Clean Detergent

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Here's a recipe for you. You may not think about it, but your laundry detergent is in your life a lot more than you may think. And like a clingy ex-boyfriend, the toxins are lingering. Chemicals that you can't even pronounce are still in the fibers of your clothes where your skin is exposed to them all day, every day. If you're like me then you like to expose your skin to things you clearly understand like baking soda, and the coconut oil this soap is based in. 

Even better you use far less of this detergent per load. Therefore it's a good way to save money. Especially since it's cheaper by volume anyway (about half the cost of name brand detergent per gallon). 

Two things you should know about this laundry soap. 

1. It is very effective. I haven't mentioned this before but my husband serves on a naval submarine. If you are familiar with submarines then you know that the smell that permeates everything on that boat can be the bane of a laundry-woman's existence. It is next to impossible to get rid of. Yet the baking soda in this recipe gets rid of it better than anything I've ever used. Furthermore this recipe leaves a pleasant lavendar scent. 

2. I do use borax in this recipe. A lot of bloggers and natural health enthusiasts have expressed concern over the use of borax. However, since I have not been able to find any real evidence against borax, I choose to use it as my mother and my grandmother before me used it. If it makes you nervous leave it out of this recipe. Just know that the detergent will be less effective at removing stains, particularly sweat stains (the kind that love to appear in pits and around dress shirt collars). 

Here's the recipe:

-1/2 bar of scented coconut oil soap (grated) 

-2 cups of baking soda

-1 and 1/2 cups super washing soda

-1/2 cup and up to 1 cup of borax

Directions:

1. Grate half a bar of the soap into your container (I use a big ol' coffee tin)

2. (only if your soap is unscented for some reason) add 10 drops of essential oil (like lavendar) to the grated soap, mix, and let sit for 15 minutes or so.

3. Add in the baking soda, washing soda, and borax. 

4. Mix carefully, the baking soda tends to powder puff everywhere!

5. Use WAYYYYY less of it than you would store bought soap. About 2-3 tbsp of it. (More like 1/3 of a cup on submarine laundry).

If you like this recipe and you want to get even more homemade, I am currently working on soap recipes for a coconut oil based soap. I can't wait to share it with you! 

We Can Do It! Building a Table

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I promised to give you projects that Rosie the Riveter would be proud of, and here is the first one. 

                                    

So for one of my first major projects in my new home I decided to build a table. I built it out of real wood and spent about $25 dollars to do so. It's just a small round side table that I use between my two big leather chairs. However even smaller tables made out of particle board were $50 or more in retail stores, and I didn't even like any of them. So I set off to beat the retail stores and purchased what I needed to make a table of my own. 

What you need:

-A Phillips head screwdriver (that fits your chosen screws well)

-Wood screws (at least 1/2 inch longer than your table top is thick)

-Wood Putty

-A table top (mine is a 27 inch diameter and an inch and a half thick, purchased at Lowes)

-2 rods (4 feet in length by one and half inches thick, purchased at A.C.Moore)

-One saw

-Sandpaper

-optional* small pieces of wood to use as supports between the legs----if you do this you will need wood glue and clamps.

This is really more straight-forward than you might imagine. You can do it!

Directions:

1. Mark on your table where each of the legs will go. This is mostly up to you because of aesthetic reasons. I aimed to have them about three inches from the edge. Make sure to space them evenly or your table wobble.

2. You also need to measure out two feet (to the middle) of your two rods. If you are lucky enough to have a power saw then use that to cut evenly throught the rod. If not I suggest marking the 2 foot line all the way around the rod before trying to cut straight with a hand saw. Set them aside

3. Where you marked the table for the four legs use the screwdriver to power the screws through to the bottom side. 

4. Once you've done all four, get the rod halves. Use the screw driver to hold the screw in place while screwing the rods onto the table.

5. Set your table up on its legs to test that it is even. If it is not adjust the rods by tightening the longest ones on their screws.

6. Apply wood putty over the screws (carefully). 

7. Allow it to dry for the amount of time prescribed on the bottle. Then sand it down to be smooth.

                                     

There's your table!!

If you decided to add the leg supports you need to cut them to the appropriate length (measure the distance between the legs). Bear in mind that these may not be the exact same length. Use the same marking and sawing method you used for the rod legs to cut them. Then set your table on its top. Use wood glue to position the supports and clamp them into place. I used only two and I attached them after I stained the piece so you will see them in later pictures. Using four would be a good idea for stability's sake.

After I finished the table building, I painted a design on the top. 

                             

I used acrylic paints that I already had from other previous projects.

Then finally I stained the piece in a color called Gun Stock by Minwax. I love this classic color for a very vintage look. It took two coat and I stained right over the acrylic paint except for the white parts. Finally I used a polyurethane to finish it off and give it a shined up finish!

Finished Product:

                                   

Stay tuned for more cost savvy DIY Decor projects!