Teeny Tiny Trailer Boxes

                         

I have been doing a little crafting lately. Nothing huge, just a couple of things for my trailer. Last week I recycled two tiny boxes. One was a Sucrets box and I'm not sure what came in the other, maybe screws? Covering these little boxes was a great way to use up some bits and pieces of scrapbook paper. For the tires I just glued on buttons from my stash. It's a little hard to see here but the doorknobs are tiny pearl gems. I haven't quite finished my other project but when I do I'll share that too. Stay tuned...

The Three Bears

Once upon a time there was a young girl who loved the story of The Three Bears. When she discovered a hooked rug pattern depicting the bears she asked her aunt to make it for her. Auntie Gwen agreed and the mat was started. She worked on it in Nova Scotia in the summer months,  and then took it to Florida to continue the hooking throughout the fall and winter. But somehow the mat never got finished...
Four years ago my aunt was admitted to a nursing home with a special ward for Alzheimer's patients. As my cousin and I readied her house to put it on the market, we discovered the half finished Three Bears mat. Well finally, after four years in my closet, I found someone who could finish Gwen's mat. (Thank you Lynn for taking on this little project with such enthusiasm.) When I last visited with my aunt I took the finished mat with me. I truly believe her eyes brightened up a tiny bit when I showed her those Three Bears and their bowls of porridge :)

Rock Star

Do you recognize this little tin can? Yes, it's Betty, painted on a sandstone rock by my young cottage neighbor, Miss Abby. I think she did a wonderful job of capturing what Betty looked like before I repainted the stripe and removed the decals. She even included Brownie, the little rabbit who used to nibble the clover beside Betty almost every day last summer. Every time I look at this rock it makes me smile :) Cottage neighbors are the best!

All Lit Up!

Finally, I have a picture of my new Barbie lamp all lit up. You see, this was harder to get than it looks because I had to get out the extension cords, and the trailer power cord,  and get that all plugged in. By the time that happened I had to move them onto the deck because my DH was going to mow the lawn. Did I mention that lawn mowing is an art form with him? But I do have to say he does a great job of trimming and mowing all around Betty. After he mows it's my job to sweep all the clippings off the trailer and put the step back down, etc. As you can tell this photo was taken midday. You should see how cute this looks at night all lit up! Oh, and to the right of the lamp is my new cocktail shaker. The recipes for six drinks are printed right on the glass. Probably will never make any of them, but since it had a red Bakelite strainer/cover I just had to have it!

Vintage Barbie Thermos Lamp

Ta Da! Look what I made for Betty last weekend. A couple of weeks ago I scored this vintage Barbie thermos at the antiques & collectibles sale held at our local thrift store. I only paid $1 for the thermos (probably because it was missing the cup). The lampshade was .50 cents but the rickrack was $2! I already had the lamp kit so it was pretty easy to make. Just to be sure the lamp socket stays put, I glued it to the thermos with E6000 glue! The rickrack was glued onto the shade with fabric glue. Hopefully next weekend I can get a picture of it "all lit up".

 

All Lit Up

Have you ever wanted a lampshade but couldn't find anything that went with your decor? Well here's an easy fix. Pick up a self-adhesive shade from your favourite craft store and cover it with fabric that coordinates with your furnishings. When you peel off the wrapper, that becomes your template. I was able to make this shade from a gingham dinner napkin! First I layed the wrapper on the napkin and cut out the fabric leaving about a half inch hem all around. Next, I put the fabric on the self-adhesive shade and folded under the hem along the back seam and glued it down with fabric glue. I also folded the excess fabric over the top edge and glued that down. To make sure it held I secured it with clothespins until the glue dried. Then I repeated this along the bottom edge. When that was dry, I glued on some ball fringe and held that in place with clothespins. These shades come in different sizes and styles (round and square). Easy breezy!

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!