Girl Camping at Home

I love everything about camping with 'the girls' and look forward to every outing. But the truth of the matter is that even Girl Camping Girl spends more time at home than at campgrounds. Unless you make your living as a camp host, you probably do, too.

To fill in those gaps between camping for real, I find myself applying aspects of the Girl Camping lifestyle to my home. The small trailer replicas are a given!

I also bring the outdoors in, with such things as willow twigs placed in water so they'll leaf out.

Pennant banners are fun and interesting. Why save them just for use outdoors? This one, with scenes from fairy tales, has amused me all winter in my living room.

Normally used outdoors, this tea-light chandelier gets to come in for the cold-and-rainy season.
It reminds me of evenings out under the stars.

The picture postcards from my travels make a colorful tide-me-over when I can't be on the road.

After the birds go south for the winter, their little houses come inside and become a mini trailer park.

I collect paint cards, for inspiration.

I'll even go so far as to 'play trailers' with food--leading to the 'ginger-bread trailer house'!

Obsessive? Yeah, maybe so.

But what the heck--Girl Camping fun isn't just where you find it. A lot of times, you have to make it yourself.

And I don't stay home without it!

A Few Creative Ideas You Might Like

If there's anything I've learned about the Girl Camping crowd, it's that it's full of creative women. In fact, one of the notable benefits of attending a group gathering is that you're sure to come away with new ideas to try. Some are decorative, some are practical…you can take your pick.

1. Use old belts as trim. These are beaded souvenir belts, but almost any kind of fashion belt will work--and you can pick them up at thrift stores for a song.

2. Pick up a shelf riser or two; they come in very handy. Here, a tall one is used to make a level surface over a propane tank, so the owner can set things on it.

3. If you have an unsightly propane tank, you can hide it with a round, pop-up laundry hamper. Or, line the hamper with a garbage bag to make a trash container.

4. If you've removed the propane tank from your trailer, you can dress up the hitch space with a sign or other items. On this trailer, the cowboy boots are bolted to the frame and used to hold the sign. They'd make a good holder for dried flowers, too, or fresh ones if vases were inserted.

5. A flat-sided suitcase, reinforced with scrap lumber, makes a dandy trailer step. This one's been painted to match the trailer, with a piece of non-slip carpeting glued to the top.

If you have cool ideas of your own to share, feel free to post them in the Comments section. Or, take a photo and share with the readers of our Girl Camping page on Facebook.