More Pretties

Here are my first official photos of the curtains that I made for the Big Wave. They are made from a Tommy Bahama raffia fabric called Wave Runner. I backed them with a white, textured fabric that I found at Walmart on deeeeep discount.

Each curtain panel has pockets at the top and bottom for the curtain rod. I also sewed in a tie-back that closes with a snap. I'm so happy with how they came out.

I also used the same fabric in orange (thanks, Michelle!) to make some potholders for the galley - and 2 for a friend.

And look what we have here! Last weekend Jeremy and I went to a never-ending antique mall in Bridgeville, DE and found some more enamelware pieces for our kitchen. I don't think we could possibly fit one more thing in there so hopefully we'll be stopping soon. But they are just the little pops of color that we've been looking for. Good score!

Stay tuned for photos and stories from our Tear Jerkers Shenandoah gathering!

Our Teardrop Stash

Shortly after our big evening of spending, our stash began showing up at the door. Below are our two windows, the Fan-tastic Vent still in the box (but, trust me, it's awesome), and four boxes of flexible chrome - one length of it is laying on top of the pile. The red color is the 3M tape used to mount it.

We also made a day-long pilgrimage to Baltimore to do some more essential shopping. We got these LED lights from Ikea. What is awesome about them is they're already 12V. Not to mention, they're slightly pose-able and emit little to no heat.

We also went to the Loading Dock in southeast Baltimore. It's a great architectural salvage/ReUse store. We found a box of 45 blue vinyl flooring tiles - 1x1. The interior of the tear will be just under 45 sq ft. We have no wiggle room to waste material! We found discounted adhesive too.

Lastly, I bought two new enamel cups for our collection on Etsy. Together they were $3 - $4 with shipping. I couldn't pass them up. The flowers on the blue-rimmed cup are wearing off a little more on one side than the other and the green-rimmed cup has a pretty serious chip but that should smooth out as it gets used. Overall, a great purchase :)

So needless to say I am beyond thrilled with everything. I'm ready to get this show on the road!

Jeremy is due for a construction update so stay tuned!

The Collections Grows...

I am just in love with this picture. Well, it's not so much the picture but the subject matter :) This is the collection for our galley so far. Jeremy had a good collection of enamelware to begin with but we've been on the lookout for a few more select things.

We went thrifting this weekend and found the yellow napkin holder, the mint green mixing bowl, and the Skotch Kooler with the 50 nifty united states. It says "Happy Motoring" on it :)

I would say we're almost finished. We just need a few large plates - dinner size, some small bowls for cereal, two more mugs, and maybe a few Tupperware containers for dry goods. I love the way it's shaping up!

Drawer Pulls Galore

Vintage drawer pulls, coming right up!

How cool are these? Some are a little junky looking but it's nothing sandpaper and some paint couldn't clean up. All these classic details could really help reinforce the retro design of the Tear. Isn't shopping vintage and second hand fun? It's like recycling. Why let all these old bits and pieces go to waste when they're just screaming out to be reused? Now I just have to find a lot large enough to outfit the whole trailer.

1. Violette Slippers Vintage 2. Vicious Vinatage 3. DK General Store
4. Never Too Old 5. SYDG 6. Bay Home
7. Vyeshi 8. Vintage Mementos 9. funretro

Etsy Monday

We went to Weller's, in Bridgeville, DE, yesterday night to take a look at utility trailers. I love going to car lots on Sunday evenings because they're almost always closed so you can browse around without a salesman lurking over your shoulder. We found tons of 5x10 trailers - our now agreed upon size. Some had slat beds and others had mesh bottoms. It makes sense to me to have a mesh bottom to protect the camper from the wear and tear of driving - but I haven't seen any built on that platform so far, just bare frames. Any opinions on this? I'm open to suggestions.

Changing gears, Etsy is my new favorite spot to look for vintage goodness. Who wants to spend the time and effort bidding on eBay items when you can just buy the stuff flat out? Over the weekend I did a search for vintage camping supplies. I found a few great things for the tear, window shopping of course. Check out the plastic spaghetti tumblers, Tupperware S+P shakers, the like-new camp stove. And who could ignore the greatest, most tacky find of the day? - the dashboard hula girl covered in silver glitter and faux fur!! I feel a trip to Regretsy coming on.


Hopefully we'll have some construction news to share soon!

Gathering Some Thoughts

While Jeremy plans out the design of the teardrop I've been using mood boards to put my decorating thoughts to "paper". Over at OlioBoard I put this together:

Created with OlioBoard

It's pretty good for a first draft. (Notice the very rad Chevy C10 - a magnificent tow vehicle if I do say so myself. If only she were mine. *sigh*) So, at least at this stage, the design is going to be very retro, very DIY. Lots of stitchery, homemade pillows, curtains, table cloths and as many vintage camping impliments as I can find. Remember those hourglass, Tupperware salt and pepper shakers? Yes. That old metal tea kettle? Want. Those enamel plates that have seen way too many family picnics? Perfect. That money tree better start producing this year! :)

Speaking of money, Jeremy and I took our first look at trailers a few days ago. We're still trying to decide on a size, 4x8 ft seems too small. That means that your sleeping quarters are only 4 ft wide. Seems a little tight. A standard queen-sized mattress is 5 ft. But we're looking at around $600+ for a new utility trailer. It's definitely something we'll have to research. Hopefully I'll find a good teardrop forum and ask around.

If you have any suggestions, leave me a comment.

Thanks for reading!