Revamp a Thrift Store Painting

I found this oil painting at a local thrift store for $3. I was drawn to its size and misty fog over the water. I knew it would be perfect for a painting revamp that I had in mind.

After finding this perfect (and cheap) painting, all I had to do was add an appropriate quote over top the painting in white craft paint.

I just free-handed the quote, so this project took all of 5 minutes to do :) I love how it turned out! It reminds me to be thankful for and frequently visit the beautiful mountains we have here in East Tennessee.

Pine Ridge Falls 

Devil's Fork State Park ,SC

Aaron and I have somehow worked most of our summer break away on house updates, so to keep from starting a new project, we went camping! Aaron wanted to visit Greenville, SC, so we chose a campground that we thought was close. Turns out that 36 miles on back-roads equals FOREVER. So, that plan didn't really turn out as I had pictured, but Devil's Fork State Park was gorgeous.

Clearwater lake view from the campground

We rented a canoe from an on-site rental company. This was my absolute favorite part of the trip. I have never ridden in a canoe and neither has Hank, but we both loved it. We only turned Aaron over once :P

Breakfast and view from our campsite (the lake is behind the trees).

Whitewater Falls was about a 30 min drive from our campground ; it was well worth it!

Sadly, it was our last trip in The Jones :( We loved the camper, but hated the door ( it was extremely hard to open and close due to an off-center frame). We tried to fix it/live with it, but in the end, we decided to sell it so that I can find a new one to fix up (with a sound frame and door). I'm very sad our first camper is gone, but I'm happy that we doubled our money on it!

The search for a new vintage camper has resumed....

1971 Aristocrat Camper Remodel Before and After

The Jones has come a long way since November. Here is the progress I've made on him in five months.

Before:

Despite the condition of this 1971 Aristocrat, you can tell I how ecstatic I was to get it for $450. lol 

After

 Made a long pillow out of a flannel skirt 

 Sewed flannel shirts into curtains 

 Painted over that awful, 70's blue 

 Spray painted all of the hardware shiny silver 

 Put to use some wedding decor ironed on decals to thrift store pillows

Sewed lazy-(wo)man slipcovers using $5 Wal-Mart Sheets 

Redid the counter tops 

Spray Painted the outside white and hunter green 

Skidaway Island State Park 

Hot Springs, NC 

Left to do: 

1. Install an air conditioner

2. Sew an awning 

3. Paint an outdoor rug 

Flannel Bombing the Camper

Turns out we love flannel.

Maybe a little too much.

Nah, that could never be ;)

Instead of paying tons for fabric to make new curtains for our vintage camper, I hit up my local thrift store on a sale day and brought home a bag full of flannel shirts for $2.

Then I cut all of the large portions off and lined them up.

Then I sewed them together one by one and added a loop thingy at the top to put the curtain rod through.
It only took me about one hour to do this project, and I absolute adore my custom made curtains for our little camper :)

Also, while I was at it, I took a flannel skirt , made one cut (cut the waist off) and sewed a pillow out of it. Love.

Hot Springs, North Carolina

Our second trip in The Jones was to Hot Springs, North Carolina. It is a neat little town about 30 minutes outside of Asheville, NC. The campground is privately, not state owned, so it's a little pricey at $40 a night, but the good thing about it is that friends can set up tents on the site, and no one will say anything, so we split the price and saved some money.  Camping is always more lively with friends :)

 This campground has a lot of sites that are right on the river where you can float, raft, or sit in a lounge chair and just watch.

But the best part about this campground though is that you are within walking distances from a spa, a bar-b-que, place, and two taverns. This town is really dog-friendly too, so we were able to take Hank with us and sit on the patio to eat at Spring Creek Tavern.

My friend, April, took some really awesome photos of our camping trip at: NamastApril 

Our little camper looks so cute in the woods!

Camping versus Hotel

On our maiden voyage to Skidaway State Park, I decided to do a cost comparison of camping versus staying in a hotel. Here are the totals:

	Camping	Hotel
Stay	$80 ($27 per night x 3)	Around $500 for 3 nights (this price is based on the average hotel cost close to downtown Savannah, GA)
Gas	$130 (had to take the truck)	$80 (based on my small car’s gas millage)
Food	$125 (based on only eating out once a day plus the grocery bill for breakfast & lunch food)	$150 (based on eating out 2 times a day since most hotels offer free breakfast)
Dog Care	$0	$30 boarding fee
Total	$335	$760
	Saved $425

We almost saved the price of the camper ($450)! Obviously by saving money you lose luxuries like private showers and such, but sometimes it does the heart well to rough it a little :) 

DIY Candle Holders

Supplies:
Stair spindles from Lowes around $2 each
Wooden platforms from Lowes around $2 each
Upcycled salsa jar lids
spray paint

Time :
about 30 min plus drying time

Steps:
1. Paint
2. Glue or screw platforms to spindles
3. Hot glue lids to top of spindles

This is a great way to upcycle lids. Aaron also had the idea to paint pop lids to hold long candles.