Spring is here

We have been working on the camper again. Spring must be in the air. It looks like it was water tight all winter, which is a big relief. The work we did last year paid off. As far as we can tell the upper bunk is fixed. My five year old and I can be up there at the same time and she has been up and down, up and down, up and down enough to drive me nuts. We started looking into foam for an upper mattress since we didn't even have an old one and I was shocked at how expensive it is! I thought the upholstery fabric would be the most expensive thing on the to-do list this spring but I was probably wrong. Luckily we found some 3" foam at home depot for 19.99 each peace and it took two pieces of it. 3" foam is not what I was looking for but it should be sufficient for our daughter. We have been sleeping on 4" and that works for a night or two. Maybe in the future, when we are rich, we can get a thicker mattress, though I don't know if we could turn it into a couch with a bed that thick.
I have been browsing around for some upholstery I like because I need to re-do the beds and table cushions. I fell in love with this fabric that I found at www.hancockfabric.com. Isn't it perfect for a camper! It was even on sale for 25.99 a yard.

Unfortunately at 25.99 a yard it would cost me much, much, much more than I can afford since I need approx 17 yards of it. I looked around some more and had decided the beds would have to wait, which is okay since they are usually covered in bedding and no one can see what bad of shape they are in anyway. I decided to go to the local Hancock Fabrics store and see if they stocked this fabric and I would just get the 4 yards I need for the table cushions. I only need to replace one side of these cushions since the red vinyl on the sides and back is still in good shape. I decided it would be worth the money to do this much. Unfortunately  they did not stock this one and I didn't feel like ordering it on-line. I did not see any other fabrics that caught my eye. I had given up and turned to leave when a remnant table caught my eye. There were no prices on anything but one pattern caught my eye. It wasn't anything like what I was looking for but it was neutral colors and I knew I could do what I wanted with it. I was also concerned there wasn't enough of it. I found an employee and asked about the fabric. I was excited when she said it was only 6.00 a yard and that there was 5 1/2 yards of it. I bought all of it for just over 30.00! WOO HOO!!! What a great bargain.
This is what I got.

This isn't a very good picture of it and doesn't do it justice but it will certainly work for what I want.
I will go back another day and see if I can find something cheap for the beds. They apparently often have red tag sales of prints they will no longer be making for as low as 7.00 a yard. That would be affordable and it won't have to be anything too fancy because it will usually be covered up anyway.

Because foam is so stinking expensive I am going to see what I can do with the foam we already have. I was playing on pinterest last week and found a way to freshen up old foam with baking soda and a vinegar spritz. I will also add some essential oils, prob lemon, to help with bacteria and/or odors. The camper has a bit of a funky smell to it and I am hoping this will help out a ton. Now I can't wait until I can make some time to do some sewing. I am also looking for some cute camping curtain material so I can get those replaced too. I like the pattern that is currently in there but they are hammered and faded and need to be replaced.

We are planning our first camping trip for Memorial weekend and can't wait until we can get it out and use it again. I sure hope the new truck will handle it just fine (which it should it is 8 years newer than our old one) and that we can park it again once we get home. The new truck is longer than the old one and it was a tight fit before. Hubby is confident he can make it work. I also have a goal to actually tow the camper on the open road this year. I have never hauled a trailer of any sort and rarely drive the truck. I want to be able to do it though. Once I am comfortable with that I want to learn how back it up and park it. I am so nervous about it. I am not the best driver and I am even worse at backing up, I can't do it straight.

Bring on camping season!!!!