Cabover Camper Renovation | Before and After

Last month Dan found a cabover camper on Craigslist – perfect for our family of three. The camper was in dire need of some sprucing up so we decided to wipe off the 90’s, give it a fresh coat of paint, slap on some tic-tac-tiles and put in new floors. That was it…just paint, tiles and flooring and it looks so much better. A mini home away from home. Scroll down for the AFTER pics!

Here are some pictures from
— BEFORE —

Cabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees Knees^^^Dan with his new/used camper…So excited to take it out for a camping trip!

Cabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees Knees Cabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees Knees

^^^White or gray? We ended up going with gray grout. We used Tic-tac-tiles for the camper because it constantly sways and flexes while driving…real tiles don’t have any give and will crack easily if applied to campers. These peel and stick tiles are awesome. They may take a bit of practice to get them lined up correctly but the finished product looks fabulous.

Cabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees Knees Cabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees Knees

^^^^When painting veneer wood, make sure you lightly sand the wood with a fine grit sandpaper (320 or higher). Once sanded, wipe off the dust with an acetone rag. I painted everything with a primer and let dry overnight. I used a bright white water-based paint to fish the veneer and an oil based paint for the real wood (cabinet doors). Dan painted the cabinet doors with a cheap spray gun he found on Amazon…80/20 paint to acetone mix to make the paint thin enough to spray, but thick enough to cover. We tried using the water-based paint for the spray gun but it didn’t cover well. Go with Oil-based!

Cabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees Knees

^^Rust-Oleum high gloss black automotive spray paint for the camper hardware.

The Big Reveal!

–AFTER–

Cabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees Knees  Cabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees Knees  Cabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees KneesCabover Camper Renovation | A Bit of Bees Knees

^^^And a baby gate for Maggie while she naps. It can fold up and fits behind the fridge when we aren’t using it.

Well that’s it! It was a fun month-long project that we juggled between Mag’s nap times, but it was easy and we’re quite pleased with the final look – our mini home away from home.


Melissa’s Baby Shower


Mo and I met when we were 3 years old! Our siblings were in the same kindergarten class, so Melissa and I had our first platydate that fateful year. We grew up together, pretended to be the Olsen twins, wrote fan letters to JTT, spent sunny days at the beach fishing for rock crabs with bacon on strings and going to summer camp together until our mid teens. From 1st grade to 1st boyfriends, getting married and now a BABY on the way; watching our lives unfold over the decades has been a treat Momo. I’m so happy for you and Jason and I can’t wait to meet your little man in just a few short weeks!
Here are some pictures of the baby shower that we (along with her Mama Sharon) threw for Momo in my Mother’s backyard. Sharon wanted to make it airplane themed to go along with Jason’s job. Cute idea Sharon!
Melissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees Knees
The Mama-to-be looking beautiful as ever!
Melissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees Knees
A cute onesie bouquet made by her sister Julie ^^^
Melissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees Knees
“It’s a Boy” chocolates in my Grandfather’s 1950’s suitcase. ^^^
Melissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees Knees
^^^Messages and love letters to baby Wyatt
Melissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees Knees
Melissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees KneesMelissa's Baby Shower | A Bit of Bees Knees


DIY Sunbust Mirror {Free Paint Sticks}

DIY Mirror
We are at Home Depot a LOT during the week. We’ve been building two houses for the past few years so Dan basically lives there. We were perusing through the paint section the other day and I remembered a fun DIY project I had seen online – A mirror made with paint sticks! I had done one of these mirrors in the past (here) with shish kebab sticks. It turned out nice, but this one is a whole different look! This baby is beefy guys…make sure you hang it on a stud. This project was basically free! I had most of the supplies around the house, but here is a list of the items you’ll be needing if you don’t already have them at home.

150 paint sticks from Home Depot…
Lady: “They’re free!”
Me: “But I need so many of them! I feel bad. Let me pay you…”
Lady: “Nope, we get millions of em. Take as many as you want!”
^^^I hope your experience was as awesome as mine.

Here is a list of some other items you’ll be needing:
120-150 paint sticks
Glue (I like this one)
1 Round mirror with frame
Spray paint
17 Wooden shims
Hanging hardware
Hanging wire

DIY Mirror
DIY Mirror
-I separated the paint sticks into 17 groups of 7 (you’ll use less or more depending on the size of your mirror. Stack and glue each bundle like this (above). Let each bundle rest on its side until dry. * I love that the Home Depot paint sticks double as a ruler so you can measure each pattern perfectly. That was convenient!

-Optional: I cut my stick bundles with a Miter Saw because I wanted to make them shorter.
DIY MirrorDIY Mirror
-Arrange the bundles in a circle on top of a shop towel or something you won’t mind getting glue on (I started mine on the garage floor…husband was not happy with glue spots. Oops). Place a wooden shim between each bundle (thin side pointing towards the middle of the the circle).

-Measure the distance between each bundle, making sure they are equally spaced around the circle.

-Glue! This process is going to take a few days. make sure the top side is completely dry before attempting to flip the mirror over. Glue the other side as well as in between each bundle and shim.
DIY Mirror
-Glue mirror to frame. Let dry over night.

-Protect the mirror by taping newspaper over the glass. Spray paint mirror.

-After everything is dry, remove the paper and fasten the hanger hooks and wire.
DIY Mirror
Not too shabby! Something is still a bit off… I heard mixing some brown, black and silver acrylics and blotting with a paper towel + sanding once dry can create a fun mercury/antique metal look. I think that will make this mirror pop a bit more on our light wall color. Still in progress!
DIY Mirror


Fire Pit{Before and After}

 We love fixing up things that need a little TLC.  My mom gave us a hand-me-down fire pit for our backyard. I am in love with fireplaces and since our little house is lacking one, I jumped at the chance for an outside one. The metal screens on the side had rusted through and needed to be replaced, so I thought a perforated metal sheet would do the trick. Now all I need to do is put some elbow grease into that copper top to make it shine…or do the easy thing and paint it black.

Before and After DIY