Shonda Jemison and JoAn Niceley are an unusual sight at the RV park on the Gulf Coast, just across the Alabama state line on Presley Lake in Moss Point, Mississippi. It’s Friday night, and for their “girls’ night” celebration they’re both wearing vintage clothing and fancy hats as they fuss about the wooden deck outside a diminutive, turquoise and white 1966 Bee Line camper. Shonda, the owner of the camper, scoops up her French bulldog, Bentley, and snugs him tightly against the mink stole she bought at an antique shop.

Though they’re a bit anachronistic on this cold winter’s night, the friends – united by their love of tea parties and their status as cancer survivors – are in their element. They will soon be joined by other friends who will go to dinner, then have tea in the camper and maybe roast some S’mores in a bonfire later. As they sleep in the camper, Shonda and JoAn will spend the night giggling like schoolgirls at a slumber party.

Her school days were long ago, but Shonda remains in touch with her inner child, the one that loves dressing up as much as she loves being at the beach. As a child, the Mobile native spent as much time as possible on Dauphin Island, catching fish and oysters with her daddy, who was in the U.S. Navy and Merchant Marine. Now, after raising three daughters and living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for nearly a quarter of a century, she has moved close to Dauphin Island and still goes there whenever she can.

A certified florist, mother of three grown daughters and grandmother of three, Shonda is now reinventing herself. Always interested in art, she is now “peddling oyster shells.” She has collected buckets full of the bivalves and makes them beautiful again by painting them, often trimming their edges in gold. She can paint just about anything inside an oyster shell, from mermaids to turtles and crabs.

“I love anything to do with the sea,” she says.

About a year ago, she started her own business, Coastal Chic Creations. “I worked for eight months steady, every single day,” she says of the time she spent creating her inventory of artwork. “I was on a mission.”

Shonda is no stranger to hard work. “Some days, I work around the clock trying to get that one piece of shell art completed,” she says. She likes to quote her cousin, Harry Jemison, the owner of Jemison’s Bait Shop on Dauphin Island, who once told her, “Jemisons are no quitters.”

She had been searching for a camper “for a very long time,” she says. About six years ago, she was on her way to rescue a fox – she’s a huge animal lover who shares her home with several other dogs, including Bentley’s mate, Coco – when she spotted the camper of her dreams along U.S. 90 in Irvington. “I got it for $700,” she boasts.

Since then, she has “totally restored it inside and out,” she says. “Every inch of this camper, I’ve had my hands in. I’m so proud of it.”

Inside, the cozy space has a built-in table that seats four and is usually set for tea. Lacy curtains line the windows, and a chandelier hangs over the table. In the kitchen area, there’s an original turquoise-colored sink and mini-refrigerator across from a tiny powder room. At the opposite end is a bed with a frilly canopy.

Everywhere, Shonda has decorated with dried flowers, her hat collection, cute sayings and, of course, her oyster shells and blessing beads.

“I love tea parties,” she says. “When I’m not selling stuff, I like to do tea parties. It’s so much fun.”

She also uses the “glamper,” which is officially named the Coastal Chic Retreat, as a storefront when she goes to craft shows.

When the camper was finished at last, Shonda celebrated by spending seven nights in it, alone, reveling in its miniature perfection. It is her favorite of all the antiques she has ever collected.

“I love antiques,” she says. “That’s my weak spot.” She smiles and thinks for a second. “That, and seashells.” Another pause, and she spots Bentley. “And dogs, too.” Then she looks at JoAn, who is pouring a cup of tea. “And my friends.”