Miss Gussie the Glamper Got a NEW Look!

Whew, where has the time gone??? It's been a busy month and a hot minute since I set down to blog. 

If you've been following along on Facebook or Instagram, you know that in between everything we've been working on, I busted out the paint brushes and Miss Gussie the Glamper got a new look and she went back out on the road after a year and a half of being parked at home! 

My favorite brushes - just the cheapest straw brushes that can be found...

My sweet doggie loves the camper and insisted on being outside with me the entire time I was painting! She was upset when I left out Friday morning and she didn't get to go with "her" camper. (There's a no pets rule at the Mineola Antique Fair and honestly as cute as she is, she's not people friendly, so she would have growled at everybody who came near and we can't have that.)

I've had a sketch in my planner for a while and finally made it happen - Miss Gussie joined the cactus craze! It's been a little over 3 years since I originally painted the camper white with the turquoise lace stripe and the heart with wings. I knew at the time I painted her, that I would eventually want to repaint or add to, so we did just that! 

She's got cactus and succulents painted all over her! 

We decided that Miss Gussie would get back out on the road some this fall and her first appearance was at the August Mineola Antique Fair. We had rain and drizzle on both days, so we had to be careful with where we positioned everything and we left some items inside the camper plus we have an indoor place as well. (We will not complain about the rain though - we are in a drought situation and need every single drop we can get!) 

Her next scheduled appearance is September 7-8, once again at the Mineola Antique Fair! Come see Miss Gussie in person and get a tour! 

For those who are wondering what type of paint I used to paint the camper - originally (2015) I primed and then painted with white barn paint from the hardware store. As the lady at the paint counter told me "you are basically painting a tin barn on wheels" so we rolled and brushed barn paint. I used a good quality turquoise and brown paint, but I can't recall the exact type. This is the paint I used to add the cactus (plus a small can of red.) I simply washed the camper before painting this time and went to painting one afternoon. Concerning my original paint job and how well the DIY paint job held up - I've notice a few tiny places where the paint is chipping off, although nothing major. My original paint job cost less than $200 ($50 of that was for the lace stencil I ordered) and I simply wash and scrubbed with a sanding block beforehand. The camper has set out in the weather the entire time. Honestly, the camper skin was not smooth before painting, so I'm still tickled with how my paint has held up. I knew I would want to paint and change her up periodically, so if the paint really gets to chipping off, we will just paint a whole new scene! The local body shops all refused to even consider painting her and even if they would have, their paint job would have cost way more than I paid for the camper. I love being able to change and alter the look from time to time and it didn't break the piggy bank! 

Every artist has to sin their work, right?! JE'18

P.S. The tin signs, most of the clothes, and all the dream catchers can be found in my etsy shop and I ship worldwide! I'll be adding more clothes and new items in the coming days, as well!