Many kids spend their summers hanging out with friends, swimming in pools or playing video games during their downtime, but not Ellie Yeater. The fourteen year old from Williamstown, WV, spent her summer break renovating a 1974 Wilderness camper into something she calls a “Glamper.”
The word glamper is a combination of the words “camping” and “glamorous” hence, glamper. She says the renovated Wilderness glamper will make camping a little less inconvenient and a lot more fun. What an ambitious high schooler, just wait until you see her newly renovated Wilderness camper.
The mother, Lori says the child saved up around $500 from birthday money, doing chores and various other activities in order to buy and refurbish the camper. Here is an image of the camper before any modifications were made.
Yeater said she found her camper on a local bulletin board listed for $200. She bought the camper and then spent the rest of the funds on materials to paint, flooring, fabrics, and decor for her glamper.
Ellie says the camper was in a pretty bad shape since the previous owners used it for camping and hunting. “It needed work…lots of work.” Her mother said.
The idea to build a little camper actually came from her older brother- Isaiah. She says Isaiah has already built a small cabin for him and his friends to hang out and she wanted something like that for her friend, but “cuter” and closer to the house since she wanted electricity and Wi-Fi.
To begin her operation, the camper was to be completely stripped and cleaned before she can do anything. She then went and painted the camper with a “Mystic Sea” color from Valspar.
In the image above, Ellie removes any excess glue which is left on the floor from stripping everything away. Also pictured above is an image of her grandfather, Lawrence teaching her some basics in carpentry such as: bracing and plugging holes.
For the next step, Ellie went and chose the color scheme she wanted- a aqua blue type. Ellie carefully paints the interior changing the once boring wood scheme into something more vibrant. Making some progress, shown below is a picture of interior of the camper coming together.
In the final stages, the finishing touches were added. Ellie’s grandmother, Mary, helped make upholstery for the seat cushions and curtains while Ellie installed new floor tiles.
Ellie said she collected a lot of things over the summer in preparation for her glamper. In the image below, you can see her bringing in a mannequin decor that she acquired from a warehouse that recently shut down. She said she found a lot of inspiration for her project from Pinterest which helped tremendously.
Now that the Glamper is almost complete, Ellie continues adding her decorations such as: a vintage camera, retro electric fan and coordinating napkins made by her grandmother. When asked what she would do when the project is complete she plans on having a sleep over with her friends, or maybe just have quiet time to read and play her ukulele.
With determination, the glamper made by Ellie was breathtaking. To take on such a big project on her own and spending her own free time is amazing for someone of her age.
When asked why her daughter would take on such a challenge, Ellie’s mother says, ““I have never told her that she couldn’t do anything.'” And with that type of support, Ellie went out and made something gorgeous.
Looking at Ellie’s project completed we should always remember that hard work always pays off. Anything is possible if we put our minds to it.
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