Betty's Kitchen

Let me introduce you to Betty's kitchen...all 35 square feet of it!

This is the view as soon as you enter. Under the sink (out of view) is a small bar size fridge. That's my one and only drawer where I keep my cutlery and kitchen utencils. I replaced the chrome knob with a glass one on the drawer, but all the cabinets (and the stove) are original.

To the left side of the stove there is a small flip-up counter top. This little gem just about doubles the amount of available counter space!

And this is the view looking towards my dinette area. So far I have never actually cooked in here, just made a few sandwiches :)

Confession # 6, I Stalk Vintage Trailers

I stalk vintage trailers... and one of my favourite tin cans of all time is this '54 Shasta! The first time I spotted it was about four or five years ago when I was checking out trailers for sale on eBay. I believe they were asking $10,500 for this particular trailer. I am not sure if it changed hands or not...something tells me the reserve bid was not met. It really captured my attention because they had great photos of the restoration process.  Every once in a while a photo of this Shasta will pop up on Pinterest and it makes me wonder where it is now.

                                 

I love the yellow and red color scheme! And how handy would that dolly-wheel thingy be? You could easily manoeuvre your mini-mansion around your driveway or campsite!

Here's an interior shot...gorgeous birch panelling, wall sconce and  banquette seat cushions. I have never come across a photo of the sleeping area, but I can only imagine  how sweet it is. 

Do you have a favourite tin can that you stalk? Do tell :)

Pillow Palooza

I think I am losing my marbles! I was so sure that I had already posted about my polka-dot trailer pillow, but then I discovered that my newest pillow had not made her debut! So here she is...red polka-dot flannel for the background topped with an off-white wool trailer. I used some vintage fruit and berry fabric for the window and door, then embellished it with a red ribbon stripe and a button tire. This brings the pillow count to 10, no make that 12. Guess that's enough! If the door ever flies open when we're travelling down the road there's gonna be a lot of pillows flying out of Betty!

My Vintage Vacation Treasures

Well, here's my loot from our PEI trip! A salt shaker, a Thermos celebrating Canada's Centennial Year (1967), one cute little Matryoshka doll, PEI camper salt n' peppers, and one vintage table runner. Can you tell what image might be on that runner? Yes, those are antlers. I found this at Time Worn Treasures in Charlottetown. If you like vintage treasures this is a great shop to visit! I made two little deer pillows from that runner. Here's one...

Every time I look at this pillow It reminds me of my dad. He loved to go deer hunting every November.

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".

 

What's In Your Closet?

Often members of Girl Camp Canada post links to campers that are for sale. As I was checking these out last week, I came across this picture. Look at all those shelves! Currently I have two shelves in my closet. One near the top with a clothes rod underneath, and another shelf near the bottom. Here's a picture taken from the magazine rack side of my dinette. It's a little hard to take pictures of the closet  because you cannot get far enough away from it.

                                                                                        

I don't have an inside closet picture of the clothes rod and shelf, but here's a picture of the bottom shelf. 

You can see the wheel-well underneath. You would almost think I had that shelf custom made to hold my 3-in-1 cooking center. It fits in there with barely an inch to spare! I'm contemplating adding two more shelves. I really don't need a clothes rod - it's not like I plan to take a ball-gown with me! But if I had two more shelves, would I just stash unneeded items there? Hmmmm. What's a girl to do?

Don't Laugh

This is the bumper sticker that I have on display inside my trailer. I purchased it at the Canadian Tire store here in Truro. Last June when we travelled to Hubbards I taped this to Betty's back window. That way, I could give every motorist behind us something to chuckle about...Sometimes it's the little things in life that make us smile!

Chaise Lounge Chair

So one day
last spring when we were on our way to the cottage, I spotted this chair at a yard sale. Now I want you to know that my husband does not drive at a yard sale pace. He does not want me to spot anything, let alone buy it and drag it home. But, this time he actually stopped, turned around and we went back to the sale. For $5.00 I got this sweet chaise lounge chair! Reminds me of a blue one my mom had back in the sixties! One thing I've noticed about it though, it seems more narrow and shorter than chairs today. Were people smaller back then?

Nap Time

Even though it was only a four day work week, I am pooped! Wish I could just sneak out to my little trailer and have a short nap. Yup, a power snooze would fix me right up!

3-in-1 Cooking Center

Have you seen this 3-in-1 cooking center before? This is exactly what you need if it's raining and you don't want to cook outside. I first read about it over at Little Vintage Trailer when I had just bought my trailer.
http://littlevintagetrailer.com/2011/08/cooking-in-little-vintage-trailer/. It fits across my propane stove (which I have never used), and also across my flip-up shelf. When it's not in use, it stores perfectly inside Betty's closet. I am sure the designer never meant it to be used in a trailer, but it's great if you just need to make breakfast for two!

Confession # 1, I Love Doin' Dishes

Big confession coming...I love to "do dishes". Yes, I love to wash dishes or dry them if someone else is washing. So imagine my joy when I found this mini sized dish drainer at a local discount store. It fits right between Betty's sink and stove. Now mind you it can only hold about two plates and two mugs, but it's not like I'm cooking Christmas dinner in my tin can, LOL. My sink doesn't have a gray water tank so I keep a dishpan in the sink. I also have another small enamel basin in case I need a little water for something. It's all pretty compact, but it seems to work! How about you, do you like to wash or dry dishes the "old school" way?

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!

Fabric Alert!

Did you know that there is some fabulous fabric about to hit the shops? Mary Jane's "Glamping" collection is just sweet! Lots of colours, coordinates, and designs to choose from in this line being offered by Moda Fabrics. Even though I have my little "tin can" all decorated, there's always room for another pillow ;) or maybe a lap quilt for those chilly days. Take a peek...

To see all the colours and designs offered, check out this link:

http://www.unitednotions.com/fcc_glamping.pdf

                                                Happy sewing!

Gift from the Sea

                          

This is what happened one day last summer when I had way too much free time. I emptied my trailer of all its red decor and restyled it. I basically just "shopped" the cottage and dragged out some of my coastal/cottage/nautical things. When you are only decorating 96 square feet it doesn't take too long to change things up! I've had that "She Sells Seashells" doll for at least 10 years. It started out burgundy, but now it's blue. That "Welcome Aboard" life ring came from the guest room.

Someone once said if you have more than three of something it counts as a "collection". I guess you could say I have a collection of nautical books including three from the Bobbsey Twins series, The Outermost House, and Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Every few years I reread this little gem while sitting in my beach chair with my toes buried in the sand!