Russell and Marisa’s Camper Project

My cousin Russell and his wife Marisa decided to buy a camper, and remodel it. They found an old camper that would fit in the back of their truck. They have a boat, so this would be the perfect set up for them! They can camp, and take their boat. Little did we all know that a bunch of work was in store for all of us! But who doesn’t like a family project? And, after all, the “do it yourself gene” runs strong in my family!

Please keep in mind, I “borrowed” the pictures of the camper remodel from Marisa’s TikTok. If you want to see the videos, plus more fabulous projects from Marisa and Russell you can follow her TikTok, you can find her @ mcrespin1.

Here is Russell shortly after they brought the camper home.

And this is the inside. So much work to do to make it a nice space. Like I said, the “do it yourself” gene is strong, and luckily for Russell, he married someone who loves a good DIY project too!

*Note the cushions around the table. Maybe you can guess what this camper remodel has to do with me and my sewing skills.

One of the first things they did was to reseal the roof. There’s no sense in fixing leak damage on the inside if it was just going to keep leaking.

Marisa got to work sanding down the old surfaces.

The entire sink base needed to be taken apart, fixed, and put back together.

And since it had leaks, the roof was in need of repair!

Here’s Marisa hard at work replacing rotten wood with new pieces.

To fix the windows, Marisa sanded the metal frames, taped them up really good, and spray painted them!

The old linoleum needed to be scraped off and replaced.

Luckily Uncle John, Russell’s dad, had a piece of new linoleum laying around that they put to use.

Marisa used peel and stick tiles for the back splash in the kitchen area. This was an easy solution, and made the camper a little lighter for traveling.

Before…(I kind of like the groovy wallpaper, but it had to go!)

And after!

Before….

After!

Before…

and after!

Before…

and after!

And again, before…

and after!

Russell and Marisa sanded and scrubbed, sanded and painted, tore apart and repaired. They fixed the electrical, plumbing, appliances, and the little heater. But there was one thing they couldn’t do. And that was, sew.

So Russell called me and asked if I could recover the cushions in the camper. I had never done cushions, or any type of upholstery. He said the cushions themselves were still good, but the outside was crumbling with age and wear. I told him I’d give it a try!

Sewing break for a little family history. Russell is not just my cousin, he is my double cousin. You see, my mom and dad got married, and that’s when my mom’s brother, John, and my dad’s sister, Tamy, met. They fell in love and got married! So both my Uncle John, and my Aunt Tamy are my biological relatives, making Russell my double cousin. But he really is more like a baby brother to me.

For fun, here is Aunt Tamy and Uncle John’s wedding picture. Next to Aunt Tamy are my dad’s parents, Grandma Doris and Grandpa Bert. Next to my Uncle John are my mom’s parents, Grandma Barbara, and Grandpa Nick. (That’s who I’m named after, but that’s another story!)

I love this picture because I’m related to everyone! HA!

I also think I have the pattern for Grandma Doris’ dress!

So with much determination I started to disassemble the old cushion covers from the camper.

They were dusty and disintegrating so I sat outside to take them apart at the seams. I figured I would use them as the pattern, so I would know how to cut new fabric to make them again.

Very carefully taking them apart. The zippers in the covers were very long, and still in good shape so I wanted to be extra careful with them. I wanted to reuse them in the new covers.

Gnomeo, my faithful gnome is keeping a close eye on me, and approves.

When discussing fabric for the covers, Russell and Marisa wanted to keep costs down, but wanted something durable. The amount of fabric it would take to make new covers would end up costing a fortune, but of course, Grandpa Bert had already left us the solution; that giant roll of WWII fabric!

For fun, here’s Grandpa Bert, wearing some WWII fabric of his own. Looking good in his boot camp picture!

I laid the fabric out, and pinned the first pieces of one cover onto them.

I had to make sure all of the old, folded up corners laid flat.

To save the old metal zippers I used some zipper lubricant. It made the old zippers glide open and closed like new!

Pinning the old zipper into the new covers.

Sewing away! If your sewing room doesn’t look like a craft store exploded in the background, then are you even working hard? HA!

One done and looking good! Don’t mind the dog chewy next to it, that was just my dog Pinkie, giving it her approval!

All three sizes finished! Now three more and I’m done!

And here they are! Finished and in the camper!

I think they look great with Marisa’s decor!

Cheers! To a job well done!

They took it out for it’s first adventure, camping and fishing by the ocean.

And the trip was a success!

I was so happy to sew the cushion covers for them, and contribute to their project. I do love a good family project. I’m glad that Russell is getting some use out of the never ending roll of Grandpa’s fabric! Little did Grandpa know, that fabric would continue to benefit his family, long after he was gone. And of course, a little bit of Grandpa’s DIY spirit is in each of us!

It reminds me that by ourselves we can get things done, but together, we can accomplish even greater things!

As for me, onto the next!