I just had to share my photos of Before & After: our van over the past 10 or so months since we bought her. She’s come a loooooong way!
Here’s the link! I hope it leaves you all with a ton of inspiration! God Bless & Happy/Safe Travels!
Ching Ching to Lovin’ Life! : )
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VanDwellers/photos/album/1888135254/pic/list
Writing & Wanderlust 
Love your posts! I inherited a 1982 Westy (blue) and this is her season! We’ve done some piddling… minor work just to camp/drive her locally but we’ve recently finished some major work to our home…now we’ll have time & money for Betty!
I tried my best to give her a tropical/beach theme, pinks and blues, hula girls and flamingos… It just wasn’t working. Last year a super good friend was visiting and she put the pieces together… she pointed out the obvious, I’m not a “pink” girl and I just couldn’t pull it off. As much as wanted that shabby chic, flamingo look, it was too far off from my style. We scoured fabric stores and found not just a color pallet that I LOVE, but there were five different fabrics to mix and match! OK, this is getting too long winded but I LOVE the Glamping concept and you are the FIRST VW I’ve come across!!!
So fabrics… Betty is blue, easy enough to work with, but what to do with all of her BROWN trim? Ick. Pink flamingos, shabby chic and brown, nope. The fabrics that we found are exactly Betty blue, with lime green (my fav color) a tiny dash of yellow and DARK brown backgrounds! Rather impulsively, I just bought gobs of fabric not knowing what I’d do with it but knowing I’d want at least pillows, curtains and pennants. Back at the house my friend just kept scouring for ideas, after “shopping” at home for some of my favorite things it was obvious that Betty was going to be a Tiki camper! I already had a fat, Ukelele playing Hula man dash bobble, lots of tiki mugs, bamboo wind chimes, carved coconuts and my coveted Mai tai volcano bowl. I was in HI a few years back and most of my favorite things are from HI. Bam TIKI BETTY. Blue, green, brown & a tiny splash of yellow.
Again, I’ve gone on for too long but I am so excited to see not just a FEMALE redoing a bus but doing it up Glamper style!!! So exciting… I was sure I was alone in the world 😦
Betty has a Facebook page… Look for “The Betty!”
Cheers!
Molly
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Hello Molly. : )
I’m so delighted to hear your story of Betty’s new Tiki décor. I will certainly go check out your FB page. Mine is under GypsyVinRose– centered around our music, and the travels we’ve enjoyed in our Peniki (a name given by my husband’s brother, which is a combination of Penny (my name), and my husband’s name, Nicolas (‘Nicky’ to his family).
I know it’s so hard sometimes to come up with the right look for our fabulous VW vans, but I have found out the hard way, to give it time. The right look with evolve eventually.
I’d love to see photos of your Tiki Betty! I am so far behind on my blog, that I have a ton of before and after photos I still have-yet to post. Our Peniki had sat in a backyard for over a decade, when I spotted her down the street from my husband’s Tia’s house one day.
I’ll never forget how I scared my husband with my sudden gasp and shouting outloud, “There’s a Westfalia in that backyard!!!” hahahaa He actually thought I was having an attack or something. : / : )
It took me 4 years to track down the owner of the house where my (yes, I had already claimed her for myself.) old…sadly neglected van sat…all alone, and forgotten. It killed me every time we passed by, but it thrilled me that she was still there.
Well, time passed and one day as we were leaving our Tia’s, I noticed a sign in the yard of that house. It was a For Rent sign, and it had a number. BINGO…!!!! Woo Hoo! I had contact! Finally!!!
Well, I called the number, and an English gentleman answered. I told him I wasn’t calling about his house, but I wanted the van in the backyard instead. He said the van wasn’t really for sale. So…I asked him, if it ‘were’ for sale, how much would it take to buy her?
Needless to say, he sold me the van. And, just like that, my dreams had come true; after more than 15 years of dreaming I’d someday own a VW Westfalia, and have my home on wheels.
Sorry for being long-winded in my reply, but I feel we share a connection through our love of our Glamper VW Vans. : ) And even though my Peniki is still, and always will be, a work in progress, I couldn’t be happier to call her my own. She’s a dream come true for me! As I can tell your Tiki Betty is for you.
Thanks so much for commenting. I look forward to hearing from you again. Check out a site on FB, called Glampers on the Loose, if you haven’t already joined them? You’ll get so many ideas for decorating your Glamper VW Van.
Hope to talk to you soon! Many Blessings & .V..
Penny
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