I'm getting good at moving

So earlier this month things changed to where I felt my best choice was to move out of my apartment in Pullman and find a new place.  I loved my space, location, and friends nearby at Campus Commons.  However, due to unexpected things, my roommate and I got rid of the apartment and I found a new place and roommates faster than I expected!  Thank goodness because I was a stressin'!

Over the weekend, I went back to Pullman and moved my things across town to a new house with two new and great roommates that I found on Craigslist.

Let me tell ya!  I know how to move because I have moved before every semester except for one since going to college.  My intent has never been to see how many times I could move, but It seems to have turned out that way.  Anyway, I just pack my things in tubs based on which room they go in.  I have kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, desk, and clothes tubs.  That way when I get to the new place the tubs just get dumbed where they belong.  Then I up pack them.  Once all my tubs were moved from my apartment to my house, it took a little over five hours to unpack everything; this includes making my bed, hanging pictures, building a shelf, and stopping for dinner.  Before I started unpacking, it only took my parents, sister, and I like an hour to load, unload, and get furniture into the house. 

So here is my newest bedroom and desk area.  Things are snug but cozy in my room.  Thank goodness for a big living room and kitchen dinning area in the house, though.  The house is great!  It's three bedrooms with two baths, a laundry room, a two car garage, a living room, kitchen with dining room, and a neighbor who mows the lawn.  It's very cute and homey, and I'm excited to be living with two great girls!

I'm thinking of sewing a little curtain for the window.

I really like how my decorations look hung above my desk.

So I'm all moved into another place.  I'm back home for about three weeks.  I guess classes start in exactly three weeks.  One more year of undergrad left in Pullman, but I don't know what my exact plans for after college are.  If you happen to know, let me know...it'd be a big help.

Bell Bell Bell

Two weeks ago my mom and I were not able to get much work done on Bell because we were busy with work and I was writing a 10 page term paper for my summer class.  But when writer's block or whatever the saying is took over my productivity at writing, I started making decorations for Bell.

The colors we have chosen to go with are a lilac, bright fuchsia/purple, navy, and a hint of avocado green.  The "theme" of our trailer is Be Dazzled Bell.  This means jewels and sparkles everywhere!!  I've put jewels on the lights, mirror, clock, outlet covers, salt and pepper shakers, napkin holder, and little storage containers.  Other things that will get dazzled with jewels are the garbage can, the curtains, curtain rods, cupboard door corners, and anything else I can stick a jewel to with mod podge or hot glue.  I'm just having a blast with the decorating part!

Some of the decorations I've bought or made and/or be dazzled!  I can't decide which door mat to go with...bright with flowers or green with an owl that matches the vintage oven and decorations already in the trailer??

Finished cushion covers with the salt and pepper shakers sitting on top!

Last week my mom and I tore out the front paneling of Bell to replace some broads and add new boards for strength.  I also started sewing stuff for Bell last week. I was able to finish cushion covers between driving tractor and finishing up my summer class.  I also got a futon mattress ordered up, a few boards painted, and cupboard doors ready for painting!

So a little rebuilding and putting back together is called for here!

There are a few goals for this week.  1. Start sewing curtains, pillow covers, and a table clothe. 2. Order (check) and put new tires on Bell.  3. Rebuild the front frame.  4. Wash the outside of the trailer and get ready for sealing and painting.  AND 5. Paint some more.

At this point, we have most of the materials we need for fixing our little trailer up.  We have the primer, paint, wood trim, linoleum, wood boards, and seal.  The trick is putting it all together and me holding my horses so things get done in the order they should.  I just want to jump to painting!!

Bell's Rehab, Days 1 & 2

As seen in the previous post, 1970 Bell, A Buying Adventure, Bell needs some help. 

We brought Bell home on Thursday.  On Friday, my mom and I went to town to pick up some supplies and price things out for her.  We looked at new linoleum, picked up paint swatches, and fabric.  From seeing Bell's surface, we knew that these were things that were needed.

Well some things changed on Saturday, Day 1, of rehab.  First, we scrubbed and scrubbed the table, counter, oven, stove, and windows clean.  Obviously, this thing had a nice thick layer of dirt on it from living in the Columbia Basin.  Bell hadn't had much attention in the last few years.  Then my mom vacuumed while I swept the outside off.  During this time and tearing out linoleum it became more obvious that there are pieces of would paneling that need to be replaced and/or glued together at cracks, trim needs to be replaced, reinforcement of water damaged areas needs to be done, and the dinette cushions need to be burned.  She's a project for sure!

These few things scared my mom and I.   Right away we began wondering if we really knew what we had gotten ourselves into.  I doubt we'll ever know, but we had some good laughs on Day 1.

The highlight of Day 1 was finding the power hook up amongst random cords and hoses under the couch.  So we plugged 'er in, and sure enough she lit up inside.  It was a relief to know we had power inside!  Both outlets work...cell phones can be charged!

The other cool thing on Day 1 was using an adapter and plugging the trailer into the car.  Again, she lit up but on the outside!  Most the lights work.  The best part of this is that it's the important lights that work on Bell.  These things made my mom and I feel sooooo much better about our camp trailer purchase.

Sunday, Day 2, was the "Over and Under Day" as my mom called it.  We looked at the roof and the undercarriage.  The roof has been sealed at some point, but we don't know if its still good.  We'll talk to a professional about that since we are far from being pros.  We also went under the trailer.  To us non pros things seem ok, but we'll ask for help on that too.  The two other projects of the day were getting the water tank out because we want that replaced, and cleaning the rock guard. 

The laughs of Day 2 came from the findings of glasses, an eagle necklace, and a football trading card.  The best part was an envelope of papers with receipts with previous owner's names on them.  It looks like we may be owners number 5 of Bell and her journey looks to have begun in Oregon. 

By us buying Bell, a whole new journey awaits...

1970 Bell, A Buying Adventure

So why did I tow home a 42 year old camp trailer a few days ago?  Well....I'm beginning to wonder myself but I tell myself it will all come together in time. 

My mom and I have actually been wanting an old camp trailer to redo and make cute.  We were checking Craigslist constantly, making calls, and being told the same thing:  "it just sold."  We did this for a month and then took it as a sign we weren't supposed to have an old trailer.

Last weekend there was a Sister's on the Fly rally at the fair grounds in Moses Lake.  This group is our original inspiration for wanting a vintage trailer.  It's an all women group that meets up to camp, fish, travel, hike, and hangout together.  Most of these women have old, cute trailers. Going to the rally that weekend made us want one and want to join the group.  The search for a trailer was back on!

My mom and I were on Craigslist through out the day saving adds and making calls.  Same story, though, when we called they were already sold.  Vintage trailers in the price range of $500 to $1,200 don't stay on the market long.  The other problem was all these trailers were a few hours away, which made going to view them tough with hay on the ground. 

So one afternoon, and with lots of suggesting by my dad, my mom, sister, our friend Holly, and I went on a drive to Mardon to knock on doors and ask if they owned that old trailer and if they wanted to sell it.  We were on a mission, but nervous about going to strange doors.  We headed into the residential area of Mardon and went straight to a house we knew had an old trailer.  Holly and I climbed to the top of these people's steep driveway, kinda jumped the fence, and knocked.  They answered!   So I asked if they wanted to sell their trailer.  They said "sure, make an offer after you look at it."  So the four of us girls piled into this little Bell trailer and crawled all around the outside.  We told them we liked it but wanted to look around a bit (a.k.a. knock on more doors). 

No one else answered their doors.  So we called back to the owners of the Bell and made an offer of 200 bucks!  They took it without hesitation!  Just like that we had bought a vintage trailer.  Wow!  We were so excited because we did not think knocking on doors like little snoops was going to end well.

My dad and I towed the trailer home the next evening.  It's funny.  We went from giving up on getting a trailer to having one with in a week of the fire for one being rekindled! 

These are some "Before" pictures.....

 She needs a bath and a paint job.

 There is a faded decal on the back that I am going to recreate on the computer as a stencil then paint on again.

 Where's the fridge?  We'll be putting my small dorm fridge in.

 Table needs to be put back, and the cushions are going to be replaced.

 Dirty, stain linoleum has to go.

A couch should be in this spot.  We'll be taking care of that as well.

...Bell has a long ways to go and a lot of cleaning up to do before anyone camps in her. 

Bottles and Windows

When I'm on Pinterest, I always see these great decorations made out of old glass bottles and window frames.  They make me want to craft!

So I took an old window frame from my grandma's old barn and started redoing it.  First, I cleaned it up.  Then I painted it this soft yellow color and added these adorable flower hooks that can be used for hanging coats or aprons.  After that, it sat for a few weeks as I searched for the perfect finishing touches, which I found at a thrift shop in Idaho and on Pinterest.  I got the hanging bottle vase idea at a thrift shop and the criss-crossed twine with clothes clips idea off Pinterest.  I think it is so cute and will be great in either a kitchen or entry way!

This bottle vase idea came to me as picked through dozens of old bottles at a thrift store.  I wanted this one bottle and then I wanted that one other little one.  I kept picking out bottles and waned them all.  However, I didn't know what I would do with them at home.  After sitting on the floor with my friend for several minutes and lining random bottles up, the idea just struck me...I would make a stair step flower vase!  When I got the bottles home, I lined them up tallest to shortest and tied twine around them.  It turned out so pretty! 

I had a lot of fun making these two projects and can't wait to start the next project that pops into my head!  Should be a good one whatever it is!

Sewing for a Queen

Some of you may not know this, but I love sewing and do a pretty good job.  I've sewn at least a dozen tote bags, a couple dress, a handful of aprons, and other little things.

Since my sister has gotten into showing horses and being around rodeo queens, I have been wanting to sew some western clothes and queen clothes. 

Well, I got my chance earlier this week.  No it was not a whole outfit, but I'm really pleased with myself.  I got to sew big shirt cuffs for Miss Moses Lake Round Up queen Jade for a Fourth of July parade in George, WA.  It took me most of the day to sew these two cuffs, but let me tell ya, they are soooooo good looking.  The shirt I added them to was stunning already but the cuffs were a really great added touch! 

 One cuff.  There are some secrets to making these but I'm not willing to give it all away!

The amazing shirt the cuffs were added to!



Thanks to Jade and her mom for giving me the chance to sew for them.  Jade you are a wonderful young woman and a beautiful queen!

If anyone else needs some sewing done or help with a project, I'd be happy to do it or help!

Camp Painting by Rachel & Campers

This post is for Miss Rachel Argo!

Rachel is my friend from college classes and through other friends.  She was my connection to getting me in as a helper at the Ride for Joy camp last week.  Her aunt is an instructor and organizer of Ride for Joy.

At camp, Rachel was the art teacher.  Rachel is super crafty, nifty, and thrifty, and I just love her because of it!  Oh and she is awesome in every aspect possible! 

So Rachel found a picture she liked and then made some alterations so that the picture could be painted over three days by 14 plus kids and helpers!  It was really great to watch her work with the kids, teach them painting techniques, and keep them all focused because they wanted to go from start to finish really fast.  Amazingly, she designed a painting that started as a 4ft by 8ft white board and ended as this with 14 plus helping hands! 

All the kids really enjoyed painting with Rachel and were very proud of their personal efforts and group efforts to make this painting during horse camp. 

I personally really enjoyed hanging out with Rachel and learning layering techniques for painting from her!

More Crafts!

Block Frame

So I made this by painting a small block of wood and hot gluing twisted twine around the edges.  Then I added a mini clothes clip.  Turned out pretty cute and was super easy to make!  (FYI:  that is not one of our horses, I cut it out of a magaizine. lol)

Stepping Stones

A couple weeks ago I had a strong desire to make stepping stones so I started Google searching my life away.  Then I made them my way.  I bought and mixed cement and packed it into those little water catching trays that go under potted plants.  Then I added whatever I wanted in my own little patterns.  I like them and they are a fun addition to our yard!  My favoreite is the top right one because it has one of Daisy's shoes in it with pretty pink marbles.

Camp Wrangler-Team Yellow

So I spent all of last week helping at a horse camp in Emmett, ID.  It was a blast!  I was like a camp counsler, but at horse camp with young kids I was obviously a Wrangler.  These little buck-a-roos kept me on my toes! 

The camp was done through the Ride for Joy therapuetic horse riding program in Emmett.  Kids who regurlarly ride with Ride for Joy got to go to camp along with their siblings.  The ablities of these kids physically and mentally ranged quite a bit.  Most kids at the camp had autism.  However, all kids shared the qualities of a love for horses, making new friends, and having huge imaginations.  My one camper brought her imaginary horse, Lighening, to camp each day, my other camper had me watching his imaginary video games on YouTube on his imaginary purple computer, and I was given at least one imaginary pet.  Their imaginations were the hardest part for me to keep up with, but I loved their creativity and sweetness a lot! 

These were my campers riding!



They were all so wonderful to look after and work with for the week.  I had the pleasure of wrangling the three yellow campers.  They were 6, 10, and 17 years old-2 girls and 1 boy.  Two of them have ridden with Ride for Joy over the years while the one, to my understanding, got to ride for the first time ever on the first day of camp.  So cool!  She was so brave, didn't have any second thoughts, listened well, rode well, and improved tons in three quick days!  She also was never ready to get off at the end of her ride to go to lunch.  She was amazing! 

Besides riding horses, the kiddos got to learn stable managment, groom horses, do relay races, and read with therapy dogs.  All these activities were super cool and fun!

How far each kid came over the course of three days and their happy smiles were the two bests parts of being a Wrangler!  I am also enjoying all the imaginary gifts my campers gave me. :)  Check out Ride for Joy's website or check out Ride for Joy on Facebook to see camp pictures from 2012! 

http://www.rideforjoy.org/