The Happy Camper Redo

 

My husband and I are getting older.

Soon we will be empty nesters.

What do we want to do at that time?

Relax, enjoy ourselves and travel

this great nation while it's still great!

This is the day the Lord has made,

let us rejoice, and be glad in it!

                                     

So, my dad taught me the "Five P's".

What are the five P's?

I'm so glad you asked!

"Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance"

Sometimes he added a sixth P, but we won't go there!

That brought us to purchase a nice, used, 2011Travel Trailer at a great price!





It was very well taken care of, owned by an elderly couple.

Yet, it lacked pizzaz, color and personality.

That's where I come in,

(and my husband goes back inside the house).

 

My inspiration came from a little ceramic Honey Bee trio

consisting of  salt and pepper shakers and a napkin holder.

These were given to me by a sweet friend, Janey,

from church.

Now the transformation begins!

                                     

I started by purchasing 3 coordinating fabrics from Hobby Lobby.

I had to purchase them on separate days, so I could use my 40% off coupons.

Be wise, when spending money!

(that's part of the "prior planning" part!)

Then I measured the cushions, designed brown paper patterns,

prayed (a lot) and sewed up some new covers.

Instead of zippers, I used Velcro.

Now, if they get dirty, simply take them off and give them a wash!

                                              

On a visit to Texas to see my son, Austin and his beautiful wife, Katlynn,

we made a trip to Target and I found a bright yellow (my favorite color) quilt.

When I got back home to Oklahoma, I made another trip to Hobby lobby,

and using my coupons, I purchased more material to make the pillow cases

and recover the window treatments.

I found the lightweight turquoise lamps at Wal-mart.

                                    

I love shopping at Goodwill (one man's trash is another man's treasure)

and found a plastic sun mirror.

It was beige, so I painted it orange and turquoise.

                                     

Know the best thing since sliced bread?

Command Strips!

That's what I'm talkin' about!

Use them to hang pictures or clothes,

or in this case a bedside wire organizer, a flashlight,

and Wizard of Oz flags (cut out of a book that was falling apart).

My mother-in-law, Norma, was a firm believer in not

wasting a thing.

I think I'm finally beginning to follow that sound advice.

So, I used the fabric scraps left over from the cushion covers,

and sewed up an organizer

that hangs inside the camper bathroom door.

Inside the kitchen cabinets my husband put up cork board and pushpins.

I used plastic storage containers to hold kitchen items.

The kitchen area was a little drab too, so.....

I headed back to Hobby Lobby, using my coupons again,

and purchased peel and stick pictures to go over the existing wallpaper border.

They look really nice with the new window coverings!

So that is our "Happy Camper" redo! (so far, anyway!)

And yes, we named her "Happy"....

cause now she really is a Happy Camper.

                                              

Now....

where do we start our adventures?

Hmmmm....

Keep Calm and Kerri On!

 

 

 

 

 

So I'm a Middle-aged Middle-class Lady, Doesn't Mean I was Always a Christian

 I was raised by good, Christian parents with morals and values.  Yet, they did not raise ME to be Christian.  I was not raised going to church every Sunday. Yes, I was told about Jesus at Christmas and Easter time.  I remember my mother telling me a few times in my childhood that Jesus was my savior, but I didn't really understand. Don't get me wrong, I love and adore my parents, they loved me deeply,  they just didn't raise me to know Jesus Christ or God.

A few times, my sister and I would walk to The Friends church down the block. Then, when I was older, we attended a Baptist Church in town for a couple of years, where I was baptized. One Sunday,  my friend, who was sitting next to me in the church pew, grabbed my hand and pulled me down to the front of the church.  To my surprise, two weeks later, I was being baptized.  I knew very little about Jesus Christ or the Bible for that matter.  I was embarrassed because I knew so little, so when asked if I knew Jesus Christ was my savior, I said yes.  Then I was dunked at a service for friends and family, and that was that.  Did this mean I was a Christian? Nope.

For the next 33 years of my life, I continued to sin, some sins are worse than others, in our eyes, but according to God, it's all bad. During my years, I acquired several bibles, the King James version and the Living Bible.  I opened them occasionally, if I attended a church service, but usually by the time I found the correct verse, the pastor had moved on.  I tried to open the bible and read from the beginning, but it soon fizzled out, I just "didn't get it".

Still, I considered myself a Christian, because I believed that Jesus was God's son. Guess what?  That didn't make me a Christian.  I believed I was even if I continued to sin, sometimes aware of my sin, and other times not aware....I was just doing what everybody else was doing.  If I knew I was sinning at the time, I told myself it was alright, because I was saved.  I knew enough of being a so-called Christian, that Jesus would forgive me.  So I just continued on sinning.  These included sins such as lying, having premarital sex with each boyfriend and delving into magical and spiritual practices like tea leaf reading, Ouija boards and seeking out spirits of the dead.  Wow, was I in trouble with a capital "T".

Slowly, throughout my life, I began realizing that I really didn't know Jesus.  I had witnessed several times in my life where He was watching out for me, though.  My first husband was physically and mentally abusive and I found myself praying a lot during that time period, not only for myself, but for my children as well.  After leaving him, my mother told me to pray for the type of man I wanted to marry.  I replied, that if that man existed, he was either already married or didn't want me with all of my problems and extra baggage.  Just pray, Kerri.  So, I did.  And Gary came into my life.  Exactly the Godly man I had prayed for.  Thank you, Jesus.

My life continued in an upward manner.  We attended church and raised the boys going to the Methodist church. I worked in the nursery most Sundays, so I was missing out on a lot of sermons.  God and Jesus never gave up on me.  After moving to Oklahoma four years ago, my husband and I went through some tough times, losing both sets of  parents.  God was with us through it all.

Something really amazing happened last year, in 2013.  We found a church and church family that we could call home.  Christ Community Church in Bartlesville.  My husband and I felt that I needed a part time job to keep me occupied and I found one with Ruth's Christian Bookstore at the mall.  I was terrified when I received the call that I had the job, it had been almost three years since I had worked outside of the home.  But the Lord knew exactly what I needed.  This was no accident.  I worked with other Christians, surrounded by Holy Bibles and a Christian atmosphere and music.  I have learned so much since I began working there.  I believe I met an angel who came in one day.  His name was Tim.  The store was as slow as molasses, I was the only one working, and this kindly gentleman walked in.  We talked for a few minutes and  I explained to him that I had only been working there for a few weeks.  We sat down on a bench and opened up a Study Bible.  He taught me step by step how to study the bible. We prayed together. He left, and I have never seen him again. The next month, the owner of the Christian Book store came in with one of her dear friends who was an elderly pastor.  They prayed over me and asked for the Holy Spirit to come into me.  From that moment on, I have been reading the Bible.  God's living words flow through the Bible so that I can understand.  His living word is the Holy Bible, I love that we pray over each bible when a customer purchases it.

Not all of my friends and family have a relationship with Christ.  Some are turned off by the term Christianity. Some misconceptions about Christianity is that Christians think we are better than everybody else.  That is so not true.  We know that we are sinners, and only through God's grace are we forgiven.  I know now that you can't just "pick out" words or a verse in the bible to prove a point, you have to understand what God is saying through the bible, and to do that you have to have the Holy Spirit within you, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament.  All of God's promises have been fulfilled through the His Son, Jesus Christ, dying on the cross, carrying our sins.  Then he was risen again, and he sits at the right hand of God.

As a Christian I know that I must repent of my sins.  Does this mean that I will never sin again? No. Yet I know now, by reading the Holy Bible what the Lord expects of me and that is to follow Jesus Christ's example.  To love as Jesus loves, to forgive others as God forgave me.  That means, that I, as a Christian, who loves my fellow man, does not "accept and be tolerant" of everyone and their sins, but show them Christ's love by leading them to Him, so He can do all good things for them, as He did me.

I am still learning so much.  I am a young Jesus follower.  I pray every day for guidance.  I know that there is nothing I can do to earn my relationship with Him, or to go to Heaven when I die.  It is all through God's Holy Grace that we are forgiven.  I pray for all of my friends and family to have faith in Him and only Him.  Please don't depend on another human being for your happiness, or material possessions, or psychics that convince you they are talking to your loved ones, or material possessions, or loads of money in the bank.  Only the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit can fulfill your every need.

So, my final point, people?  Please raise your children to know God.  Give them a foundation to stand on.  I didn't have it, and it took me a LONG time to have a relationship with Christ!

DIY Succulent Terrariums

 It's so EASY to make your own table top Succenlent Terrariums and Parfaits!

 Look around your house for clear glass cookie jars,

apothecary jars, Ball jars, condement jars,

wine glasses....almost any clear glass container will work!

 Now you will need to "layer in" the following ingredients for your terrarium:

rocks or pebbles

sprinkle of activated charcoal (available in aquarium supplies)

Cactus Soil (in the garden section of store)

plant in your succulents of choice (largest first)

then decorate with sand, pebbles, rocks

and top off with whatever you like:

(marbles, small statuette or ceramic frog, etc...).

Why activated charcoal?

 Just a sprinkle (1-3 Tbsp, depending on size of container)

 will keep condensation away.

Succulents require very very little watering (like maybe a tiny bit once a month)

and indirect sunlight.

If you notice your succulents ever drooping (oh no!)...

use a small amount of plant fertilizer watered in

(but don't over do it)!

Succulents require almost no care at all!

Just using wine glasses and one succulent each,

you can make beautiful "Succulent Parfaits"!

If your jar has a lid, be sure to use it....

or not!

Hope you enjoy making your own succulent Terrariums and Parfaits!

Keep Calm and Kerri On!

Monster Cookie Recipe

MONSTER COOKIES

Nom, nom, nom, nom.....(in the voice of Cookie Monster)

This recipe makes about twenty, 5inch cookies

that are soft, chewy, peanut-buttery and chocolaty.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 Gather your INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups Peanut Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup White Sugar

1 stick of Butter (softened)

3 large Eggs

1 tablespoon of Vanilla Extract

1 cup Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1 teaspoon of Salt

3 1/2 cups Quick Cooking Oats

1 cup M&Ms

1 cup Chocolate Chips

 Combine sugars in a large mixing bowl, add butter, peanut butter
 and cream together.

 Stir in eggs....

 whisking together, until nice and smooth.

 In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt...

 combine flour mixture into sugar mixture,

and stir in oats.

 Add HALF of the M&Ms and Chocolate Chips.

 Use a 1/3 cup measuring scoop for your mounds of cookie dough.

Space out on a cookie stone or sheet.

(if using a metal sheet, use cooking spray or parchment paper,

as the cookies will stick)

BAKE for 12 to 16 minutes,

until lightly brown on the top.

Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a full 10 minutes

before removing to a cooling rack.

Store in a cookie jar if needed up to a week,

you probably won't be able to,

as the little "monsters" will eat these up

quicker than you can say "Nom, nom, nom!"

I hope you enjoy these cookies!

Keep Calm and Kerri On!

UPCYCLE a Lunch Box into a Purse

 I found another lunch box at an estate sale....

 only $3!

 After sanding it,

 I wrapped the handle and other hardware in foil and tape,

to protect them from the paint,

and then I primed the lunch box with Rustolium.

 I chose my color: "Lipstick Red" by FolkArt craft paints.

 After brushing on three light coats (sanding in between)

I noticed how many "imperfections" there were in the lunch box,

instead of trying to work against them, I just went with it,

lightly sanding after the final coat, to bring out a "worn" look.

After all, it is probably 40+ years old.

 Taking it ourside, I sprayed three coats of a satin clear coat.

(Being sure to let it dry completely before each coat.)

 I took off the foil and tape on the hardware by using tweezers,

then cleaned up around them with Q-tips dipped in polish remover.

 All done, except for the embelishments!

There are several ways to decorate my new purse:

with jewelry (such as the necklace above), wrapped around the handle;

 magnets (like my vintage button ones I made a few years ago);

 silk flowers, or vintage pins;

 scarves or scraps of material.

 There's plenty of room for my necessities!

Now I have two LUNCH BOX purses!

What will you UPCYCLE?