The Frolic’s third rally: Southern Indiana Vintage Trailer Rally

Well, we made it again! Since the beach was closed, we brought our caterpillar barrel train for kids. We gave lots of rides and again had a water balloon fight and did temporary tattoos.

My husband was interviewed about vintage camper trailers and later quoted in the Tribune Star (see http://www.tribstar.com/news/x1396890860/More-than-the-classic-Airstream ).

This year I added the picket fence hitch cover and made cushions for the wooden chairs including two child size ones that used to be my dad's.

Plus I acquired an old wooden ironing board, retro clock, old pipecleaner flowers, flamingos, and a Coke crate. I glamped up a camper bird house and an old toolbox, changed out my flower box flowers, got a cutlery carrier at Christmas Tree Shops, and I found a bag for my rug. I got a metal drying rack that works for now, but I still want an old wooden one!

At the rally I got some camper jewelry, towels, and potholders, and two more thermoses. I also made more shirts for us, but this time I just printed our camper illustration onto inkjet iron-on sheets.

The kids had fun meeting friends and roaming in the great weather, attacking each other with water balloons, fishing, touring campers, petting dogs, riding the barrel train and their bikes, and getting hosed down.

We had a nice pitch-in dinner Saturday and the weather was awesome!

For next year, I need to find a shower caddy that can hang on a shower door, a vintage wooden drying rack, another outdoor small folding table (or bring more picnic baskets), make small hanging flower pots to go on the picket fence, a long vinyl tablecloth, and a garden flag pole. I might also make a suitcase fairy garden with camper and/or a scene with gnomes and flamingos.

The Frolic’s second rally: Southern Indiana Vintage Trailer Rally

Thursday through Sunday we went to the rally at Fowler Park outside Terre Haute. Before going, my husband worked on cleaning and resealing the outside of the camper (not a small feat with kids). I refinished an old deck chair in my turquoise material, revised my suitcase chalkboard, and made my daughter two camper tees. I also displayed some of my trailer art. My kids again enjoyed making friends at the campground and loved the beach, though my neighbors might not have enjoyed a terrorizing 3-year old and our constant corrections ;) Must-haves for next rally are a picket fence hitch cover, a small cordless vac, a free-standing drying rack for towels, a chalkboard paint pen, a cutlery caddy, and a canvas bag for my shedding rug.

Here are some pics:

A close-up of the new writing on my chalkboard suitcase sign.

My son in the turtle raft getting ready to head to the beach.

New friends playing by the water.

New friends enjoying root beer floats (inside another camper).

The Frolic's interior and its first rally (and ours too!)

For our fourth camping trip in the Frolic, we attended the Northern Indiana Vintage Trailer Rally at the KOA in Granger, IN. This time, we glamped her up, which is hard to keep up with two small children. My son even picked off all my flowers! This trip I took some photos of the inside which I think is complete???? Before the rally we got the wood in above the new frig, I finished the curtain tie-backs, made curtains for the bunk as my daughter requested, found an old suitcase to make into a chalkboard for outside to put the name/year on. A few weeks back, I also decorated the scratch-and-dent frig with a chalkboard sticker from Hobby Lobby and some bunting magnets I made, I crafted a flowerbox liner and long pillow for the bunk with leftover cushion fabric and my new sewing skills.

So here are some photos of the Frolic. I will post photos of the rally in another post.

 

 

Now that we have camped a few times, one would think we would have worked out our bugs. I mean, with the last 3 we: had a water leak, no water pressure, had our frig open in transit, etc which have all been fixed. This time our cooler was in it and leaked, thanks to my son unknowingly unscrewing the drain.

The Shasta has left us

So sad to report that my husband decided to get rid of the Shasta and we even took a loss on her. He could not find time with all the mowing we have here and was not ready to invest in a barn/carport. So she is gone to a very lucky couple who have worked on her all week. Here was the condition she was in since we had started renovating the ceiling.

Frolic travel trailer: good news/bad news

The bad news is that after my husband built this wooden thing to sit above the Frolic and fix the roof vent (which got a hole from some light hail), we got another storm Monday and it hailed again before getting it garaged. Ugh! The second storm put some dents in her. We read that small dents should work themselves out over the summer with expansion/contraction, but still makes me sick.

The good news is that I got the cushions back and they look good. He even made a few pillows, though I laugh because I really don't need any more with all I've got. Bad news was that the old original covers were pitched. Upholstery guy said they were really dry and zippers would not unzip. He probably had to cut them off. They were too itchy for me, but I wanted to keep them in case we ever sold it. Some people say to cover over the old, but since they had cording, that might have looked funny.

I am now working on the bunting print curtains as you see in one photo. I chose to stick to a bunting and pinwheel kind of spring/beach party look with vintage stuff and yellow polka dots. I am going to add some yellow polka dot ribbon along the bottoms and make some tiebacks. May also have to hem some. Not sure about using clips or making rod pockets. This is my chance to learn to use my sewing machine though. The dinette window will have vintage yellow polka dot curtains.

Last week I bought two chaise cushions and inserted them into a used twin size duvet cover. This fit perfect on the new bunk. My daughter and I did sleep outside in it one night this week while parked here. It was chilly, so I used a small heater. My used bedding stuff all worked great. Thanks Craigslist, Etsy, and eBay!

Currently waiting on a new fridge that should fit the hole almost perfectly. But we could camp now with what we have, so that is exciting.

Replaced the Frolic bunk bed

Whew, it is done. That was a lot of amber shellacking! I still have to get some foam for it, but it is up. We decided to add a wavy front to it at the last minute which matches the trim on the opposite end of the trailer under the cabinets.

More minor work on the Frolic

This weekend we got a new cabinet door and hardware hung inside the Frolic where the heater used to be. Someone had taken it our and put a flimsy dark door there, so my husband cut a new piece of birch and we put some amber shellac on it. Looks good. Also tried to fix up the one patch, but it looks about the same to me.

We also got our new awning for the Frolic from Marti's Awnings and had to semi-hang it.

Now he is working on adding a bunk. The previous owner had removed it to make more head room and they never planned to get rid of the camper so they disposed of it. Oh well. Seems easy so far—just more shellac for me. Here is a start.

 

He got a new DVD player for $27 at Sam's Club because the Frolic was purchased with had, what we thought, was a broken remote. Turns out it works now. Oh well, I will sell the old one on my friend Craigslist. He also tried to remove the TV shelf but they glued it in, so that will not be happening. We might eventually get a smaller TV so the bunk won't come so close.

Next he cut and sealed a hole in the closet floor (the closet used to be a port-o-potty) to vent the portable air conditioner his mom gave us (saves us like $200-$300!). That will vent to the old tank which has a vent outside. The unit just fits under the shelves and we can pull it out and open the door to use it. This may seem like a small pain, but it will look better than ruining the camper look with a roof-top or window model in my opinion.

We bought a dorm fridge and later we will tackle installing/bracing that and me painting it. I have been researching how to make it look vintage OR finding a vintage replacement before installing.

I bought some flamingo string lights, but I am still unsure. I really want plastic daisies. I am awaiting the cushions to return from the guy I am having work on them since I can't sew. However, I am thinking I might try to make the curtains. I also have to figure out the bedding situation and the pad for the bunk. I got my new paper towel holder in. I hope to get some command strips/hooks and hang some stuff. Also want to get a small vintage fan, some vintage lawn chairs/deck chairs, and an outdoor rug or mat.

Meanwhile, my husband has also almost installed the Shasta's new section of ceiling. Someone asked him about selling and he wavered a bit for a few days. He is worried how much time it is going to take and he is starting a new job, so I think it is overwhelming. Not to mention the space it all takes up! I think we are back on track though and will work on it some more now. We just have to get it all sealed and get it outside so we can get our boat out and park it in that spot. We have to get a used cover.

Whew! That is a lot now that I type it all. And we are only getting started...