Just Sayin'

                       

I think I must have discovered this little treasure on Pinterest. I know it comes across as a little bit rude, OK, a whole lot rude, but it still makes me laugh. You see, when I wanted a vintage trailer everyone kept saying, "But why do you want a trailer? You already have a cottage!" Apparently Maxine had run into these same people, haha.

Pillow Talk

As you probably know by now, I am a pillow person! Oh yes, the more pillows the better. Even my blog header features pillows! They are so quick and easy to make. For the white, flowered ones I just cut up a vintage embroidered runner. I was able to make two from the same runner. The easiest cushion I made involved folding a regular bed pillow in half, wrapping it with gingham fabric, and securing the ends with elastics. It's a great bolster pillow and I use it to fill in the gap between the end of my couch/gaucho bed and the wall. It's hard to spot in this photo as it is tucked in behind the flowered pillow (underneath the curtain).

If you are wondering about those large pillow shams, they are from the Bonheur collection by Brunelli. First I bought the shams, then I decided the reversible quilt would be a nice addition. Another day I picked up the bolster! A comfy bed in a vintage trailer is the best place to curl up for an afternoon nap :)

Teeny Tiny Trailer Tea Towel

One of the first things I made for my vintage trailer was this tea towel with a trailer motif.  I was inspired to make one after I read Sisters On The Fly by Irene Rawlings. I found a piece of striped fabric and cut out a trailer and window using a pattern that I free-handed. Then I used some "Stitch Witchery" to bond it to an old tea towel. I finished it off with a few running stitches to outline the window and door. A big red button serves as the tire. Lastly, I trimmed the towel with some ball fringe. I'd like to tell you it only took me  a few minutes, but that would be lying. I must be the slowest crafter because if my memory serves me correctly this took at least two hours to make :). Here's a close up:

Colorful Curtains

I was just looking over some of my trailer photos and it struck me that some people might think I own more than one trailer due to all the different curtains. No, just one tin can! That is more than enough to look after, LOL. Most of my curtains came from the local thrift store, that's why they're all a little different. The back window is covered with a white, lace trimmed valence, while the side windows sport tea towels. Huge expenditure here-- each towel cost $1.25!

Up front, in the dinette I have curtains that are made from a vintage fruit print table cloth (another thrift store find). It was painful to cut up that cloth, but I used every scrap of it! Some to make a cushion cover (see top photo) and some for tie-backs.
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Lastly, another vintage valence with a fruit motif graces the front window. It may seem a bit busy but strangely enough all the colours and patterns seem to work.

Eye Chart Art

Here's a quick and easy craft to make. Just in case you need to test your eyes, make your very own eye chart! Go to http://www.eyechartmaker.com/ and type in your message. (I like to have a saying with 28 characters, otherwise it will add random letters at the end to fill it up to the maximum of 28.) Mine says "Happiness is a 69 vintage trailer". Then just print it off on scrapbook paper and frame it. My frame was purchased at the local thrift store and I gave it a couple of coats of Blue Ocean Mist by Krylon. Easy peasy!                                                                                   

                   

 

Beach Glass Bonanza

Yes, I call it beach glass. I figure you find it on the beach therefore the term "sea glass" just doesn't seem right. But whatever you call it, I think you will agree that this is a pretty good haul for one evening at the beach. I have never found an old marble before, but I did that night! So what do I do with all this glass you might ask? Not much. I have filled some mason jars with it to use as door stoppers at the cottage. I also give some to my students each year after I read the beautiful story,  The Story of the Sea Glass by Anne Wescott Dodd.

It doesn't seem to matter how much I have at the cottage, I never come back from the  beach empty handed. My favourite pieces are the blue or aqua ones. I also have a small dish filled with beach china. But that's a post best left to the summer when I am back at the cottage and can get a good picture of it :)

Camper Postage Stamp

Did you know that Canada has a postage stamp with a camper on it? I discovered this quite by accident last fall. How cute is that green VW camper with a red canoe on top, and our Canadian flag draped across the back window?

Nifty Feature

This is one of my favourite things about my trailer. The "kitchen" counter has a fold-up section to give you a little more space. You can see from the top photo that it is adjacent to my stove. If I remember correctly, it's about 16 inches wide. So when you are lounging in bed you have a great spot to put extra magazines, a cup of tea, etc. I'm telling you, these vintage trailers had some nifty features! How do you like my retro style LL Bean alarm clock?

The Flip-Flop Inn

Today I would like to introduce you to our little cottage. I say little, but as those real estate ads say, "It lives larger than it looks!" That would be due to our extensive collection of decks. I have them all named, a fact which annoys my family to no end. But seriously, you cannot say "it's on the deck" when there are 5 very distinct decks, LOL. So, for all guests (and family members), the deck names are as follows: Roadside, Ocean View, Lido, Breezeway, and Grilling. I can barely wait for summer to arrive!

                                          

My "American Beauty" Cushions

This is the what all the cushions in my trailer looked like when I bought it. The gaucho bed and the four dinette cushions were all upholstered in this gorgeous, serviceable, never-to-wear-out fabric! Apart from a few dog hairs they were as clean as a whistle. Partly, I am sure because they had been recovered in another layer of pretty, brown print cotton. It didn't take me too long to whip off those covers and place the cushions in the sun to air them out. As they were airing I made the decision to have then recovered. I called a local upholsterer and we met to review my options. Luckily, he had a sample of some red vinyl on hand so that made my decision very easy. This vinyl is easy to wipe clean and a perfect fit for my trailer that stays mostly at the shore. (Wet bathing-suits are not a problem with vinyl.) Now for the details...I only had my dinette cushions recovered.  I was able to use the original foam inserts; they just needed the edges steamed to make them puff up. The red colour is called "American Beauty" and it's made by Naugahyde. Cost? Approximately $100 per cushion, but don't tell my husband :).

National Flag of Canada Day

Shar     

     February 15 was declared National Flag of Canada Day in 1996. It marks the day in 1965 when our red and white maple leaf flag was first raised over Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and indeed, hundreds of communities across Canada. Red and white were designated as Canada's official colours in 1921 by His Majesty King George V. 
    I am old enough to remember when this wasn't Canada's flag. One day I was looking at my grade one scrapbook that my mom had saved and passed along to me. On one page there was a Union Jack flag which I had colored and glued in with LePage's mucilage. But today we have glue sticks and a wonderful flag that is recognized around the world.
                              
                                        Our Flag. Our Pride. Celebrate it!

                                      Happy National Flag of Canada Day!

Happy "V" Day

There is just something about Valentine's Day. Red, pink, white...what's not to like? I have a few older valentines that I've collected over the years. I was going to include one in this post but then I remembered seeing this on the Tin Can Tourists site. A trailer pictured on a valentine...priceless :)

   

    Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

                                               

Cute (and Useful)

When I first became interested in vintage trailers, I was intrigued by the magazine racks that many vintage Shasta models have. So when I "toured" my trailer and noticed it also had a magazine rack, I was smitten! I'm not sure it is authentic. The previous owner was quite a DIYer so he may have just modeled mine after one he had seen on a Shasta. But that's ok, I still think it adds some vintage charm. Instead of the large "S" found on Shastas, mine sports a "G". I painted it Blue Ocean Breeze with Krylon spray paint. That little match holder sitting on the counter is painted that shade too.

                                             

                                                     

The Great Cover-Up

A few years ago I bought this vintage radio at a local second hand shop. It sat in the garage until I started to pull things together to decorate my  trailer. First, I had to give it a good cleaning. I really loved its red colour,  but it had a giant chip out of the front right corner. It also had a crack on the top. Maybe I should have left it in the store, but like I said, I was in love with that gorgeous red colour! So, to disguise those blemishes I topped it with a napkin and put a candle in front of the big chip. Wish I could figure out a way to convert it to an iPod docking station, LOL. That little chair is really a candle holder but I filled the  cup with beach glass from my favourite beach.

My Vintage Trailer

                                      "Betty"

This collage features my vintage '69 Glendette trailer which I purchased in June 2011. I absolutely love it! Picking out a name was hard, and I'm not sure this is the right one. But it's the right one for now, named after my mom. Mostly Betty stays at our cottage and serves as a "bunkie" for guests. I have spent countless hours decorating and "fluffing"it. If you look closely you can see a few of the things that I've made for it including cushions, curtains, a tea towel, and that little red gingham lampshade. I can hardly wait for spring to arrive so I can take off the tarp and doll it up again! Oh, I almost forgot. If you would like to see more pics of Betty, check out Kelle's blog where my trailer was featured last April :)
http://littlevintagetrailer.com/category/featured/featuredtrailers/page/2/

Save The Date!

This is a very exciting time in our family. We have two daughters who were born just 16 months apart. They were engaged just 4 months apart. Now it looks like they may be married about 12 months apart. This is a picture of our youngest daughter, Jill, and her fiancé on Boxing Day just two days after she got engaged.

Yesterday they sent out their Save The Date. Have a peek, it's pretty cute!
http://www.youtube.com/jillanddavewedding

Take A Penny -- Leave A Penny

Canada will no longer be minting pennies. Apparently it costs more to make them than they are worth. From now on if we are making a cash transaction the total will be rounded off. If the amount is $1.23 it will be rounded down to $1.20, and if it's $1.48 it will be rounded up to $1.50.  I don't think I will really miss them. But I will miss saying, "See a penny pick it up, then all day you'll have good luck."

Shubenacadie Sam Calls It!

Saw this on my SIL's Facebook page and I had to grab it (thanks Diane). But this year our local groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam, called it right. Yesterday when he stuck his nose out he saw his shadow. Folklore dictates that if the groundhog sees his shadow it means six more weeks of winter. So what do we get today? Snow. With freezing rain coming tonight. Thanks Sam. If you want to meet Sam check out his SamCam here...
http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/special/shubenacadie-sam.html