Eye Candy on Display

I can't help it, and neither can most other Girl Campers I know--

When we settle into a campsite for a few days, we're going to find some way to pretty it up. To make it special. To give it our personalized brand of eye candy.

My birdhouse truck holds a full load of M&Ms that always manage to disappear.

Cinched with a beaded souvenir belt, a camp blanket lies ready to be used at campfire tire.

The napkin and condiment carriers go perfectly with the Coca Cola colors.

A well-done combination of shapes, textures, heights, and materials.

Simple, sweet, evocative!

10 Ideas You Can Borrow for Girl Camping

1. Use an old ironing board as a sign. Bonus: Stand it up to make an extra table or an impromptu bar.

2. Transport treasures in a set of vintage luggage. Bonus: You can display the luggage itself once you've removed the items you put inside.

3. Use an old suitcase as a step. Tip: Reinforce the inside with scraps of lumber, and make a non-slip surface by affixing a carpet piece to the top.

4. Cut up old license plates to make signs. Bonus: They yield numbers as well as letters.

5. Make anchors for your awning-pole ropes. When you can't pound stakes into grass, these give you a way to anchor down the awing poles. For each, you'll need a large can, an extra-long eye bolt, a quick-link (it connects the rope to the eyebolt) and quick-mix cement.

6. Paint your propane tanks. Bonus: Add a basket of flowers to the top and you have an instant garden.

7. Make a pennant banner from vintage hankies. Bonus: Yours won't look like anyone else's.

8. Display your party clothes. Why save something as fun as these red shoes for just a single occasion?

9. Get creative with chalkboard paint.  Bonus: Any sign surface you make with it can be erased and used again.

10. Add whimsy with a simple but silly 'road sign.' Bonus: You can make one with nothing more than a few pieces of scrap wood, a handful of screws, and some white paint.

Fun Ideas for Campsite Decor

No doubt about it, there's a cuteness factor to camping with a vintage trailer that tends to spill out into your campsite. The trailer itself is a draw for passersby, so why not add to the eye-delight factor if you feel like it?

The old washtub, above, becomes a campsite water feature with the addition of a submersible pond pump that recirculates water and makes a fountain when plugged in. (Find such a pump at any big-box home improvement store.)

A flock of flamingos will always draw smiles. We love the 'flamingo family' effect of using two different sizes, and the way the figures are nestled in front of nearby brush instead of right next to a trailer.

A wire basket, filled with artfully arranged silk flowers and greenery, has many potential homes at a campsite. This basket is a charming extra touch on an opened trailer door.

Keep a few loose silk-flower stems tucked into your trailer gear. You can always find a place to tuck them in for an instant visual surprise.

If you aren't keen on contributing to the Chinese economy while pursuing campsite decor, you can make a whimsical sign for your campsite using just  a few wooden garden stakes, a permanent marker, some screws, and a scrap of lumber for the post.

Many public campsites include a large picnic table, which can be an all-purpose surface for food prep, dining, and clean-up chores. But no reason why it can't devote part of its functionality to eye appeal as well.

Rules? There aren't any. Just turn your imagination loose and see what it comes up with!