Happy Camper Camporee Tag Swap

You may remember that I signed on to swap vintage camper tags on Paula Clare's blog. Well, my tags are on their way to Paula's campground and will soon join the other campers for a fun time.
As I wrote to Paula, I've spent hours on these tags and I loved every second, from the first rough sketch to the last glue dot.
I started with these papers and images as my inspiration. I knew I wanted to make a teardrop camper but I didn't know much of anything about them. I found that from the 1930s to the 1950s, there were a number of publications with plans for building your own teardrop. They were most popular following WWII.



















Some minor things were changed when I put them together but I made my pattern from this final sketch.



I love detail and because of that, I seem to always have a realistic style in my crafts. For each tag I cut 20 separate pieces. For a while I was seeing spots!



Decorating the back of the tag was another story. I wanted to show the inside of the camper. I made a few sketches and had to admit that if I attempted this, I may not ever get these done. I had to simplify. Here's the back, all 12 finished!



And TA-DA!!! Here's the tag front. The flower print paper was glossy and I loved that, but I didn't love my plain aqua card-stock with it. The color was perfect, so I applied 3 coats of glossy sealer to one side of the card-stock. (It did curl the edges a bit.) I also wanted to include some sewing on my tags since my blog is mostly about sewing, so after cutting my pattern piece I stitched each one on my sewing machine. I used double stick tape to secure the threads to the back of the piece. My favorite part is the 'chrome' trim. Boy, was I glad to find that package of stickers. It was the perfect detail.



And now I am in love with vintage campers. After so much time working on my tags, I still wanted more. So I stitched up a souvenir tea towel to send along for our lovely campground host. (This design is from Sublime Stitching.) Now I will patiently wait for a package in the mail. In the meantime, Paula is posting each camper as it arrives. Pop over to her blog and take a look.