Car Seat Cooler Tutorial

About a month ago I saw this Pin floating around on Pinterest...

Car Seat Cooler

It took me to a blog that explained using ice blocks to cool a child's car seat while you are out and your car is sitting in the sun.  I thought it was a fabulous idea for Maddox!!  

At the time her blog did not have a tutorial so I had to figure it out myself from the picture and explanation.  This took me several attempts before I figured out the most efficient way to sew it and also to find a way to minimize the condensation as much as possible.  You will see that mine looks a little less fancy than hers so if you want fancy go with her tutorial.  But I think this way is a little easier because you don't have to worry about bias tape.  Either way a car seat cooler is awesome!  Especially here in Texas :)

WARNING: This is only to be used while the child is out of the seat.  (For example, while the car is parked in a hot parking lot for a long period of time.)  Do NOT place the child in the seat while the cooler is in it.  

   First you need to gather your materials:

 You will only need two pieces of fabric, both cut to 28"X17".  Choose one decorative knit and another solid that is a light fleece or cozy flannel.  You will not see the solid color and the flannel/fleece is just there to soak up some of the condensation from the ice blocks.

You will also need to purchase 5 ice blocks.  I bought these at Target.  The measurements in this tutorial are made for the Igloo medium size ice blocks, but you could just change the measurements if you choose to get another size block.

You will also need a sewing machine and coordinating thread. Now you are ready to start!

1) Place the decorative knit flat with the wrong side facing up.  Then place your flannel/fleece on top of the knit wrong side down (if there is a wrong side).  Then fold up the long edges 1/2 inch and pin.

Sew a 1/4" seam on each side and remove the pins.  Iron the seams that you just sewed.

 2) Now you will fold the piece in half hot dog style so that the right sides are touching.

Now pin the top edges together so that you can get it folded as exact as possible.  You might be able to see from the picture above that I started pinning in the middle.

3) Once the fold is secured you can begin sewing the ends together.  Sew 1/2" from the edge.  (Do as I say, not as I do.  This picture shows me sewing 1" from the edge.  This is because I measured wrong when I made mine.  I was able to make it work, but I am giving you correct measurements.)

Once you sew down use your reverse button and sew back through to ensure the seem is sturdy.  If you are not comfortable with sewing in reverse just take it out and sew the same line again.

You're still not done with this edge.  Trim the excess off getting close to the sew line.  Then go back one more time and sew a zig-zag edge.

Now repeat the same side with  the opposite edge.

4)  Now you can pull the fabric out and iron the giant pocket that you just created.

5) Now it is time to mark your lines for the ice block pockets.  I used a wooden ruler and a piece of chalk to measure out my lines.  Start at one end of the giant pocket and measure 3 lines 5" from the previous.  (Start measuring at the edge.)  Then go to the other side and measure 2 lines 5" from the previous.  (Start measuring at the opposite edge.)  You will be left with approx. 2" in between the lines you just drew.  That is what you want.  That part will remain empty, but will allow the cooler to bend in the middle so that you can place it in the seat.  I could not get any good pictures because the chalk does not show up on the dark fabric that well.  Here is a little sketch of how it should look.

Here is one of the chalk lines that I got a semi-decent picture of.  

6) Now you can go through and sew each of those lines through.  After you trim your strings you are done!  It is time to stuff those pockets with ice blocks.

Remember, I did not measure correctly when I made mine so you should have more space in between the top and bottom of your cooler.  Mine works fine, but if I were to do it again I would do it the way I told you.

Your cooler should roll up like mine does here...

Mine even fits nicely in one of the shelves in my freezer.

After you let it freeze overnight you can put it to use in your car seat.   

WARNING: This is only to be used while the child is out of the seat.  (For example, while the car is parked in a hot parking lot for a long period of time.)  Do NOT place the child in the seat while the cooler is in it.  

It is a good idea to tuck the straps of the car seat under the cooler to keep those cool as well.

I hope this is helpful to someone.  I think this is about the 5th or 6th one I made and I am finally satisfied with it!

Taco Casserole

When I was little I used to love going to the grocery store with my mom.  Back then the carts were built differently and you could actually sit underneath them.  Before we shopped she would always ask everyone what they wanted for dinner that week.  I don't really know why she would ask because my answer was the same every week... "TACOS!"

My brother and dad were not as fond of tacos as I was, but my mom made them often enough for me.  She always seasoned the meat herself without using taco seasoning or water and today that is my preferred way to make tacos.  While her meat was browning she would take some shredded cheese and place them at the bottom of the shell, then cover it with ground beef, and then bake the shells in the oven just until the cheese was melted. They were delicious!

As an adult I do not make tacos as often I would really like.  This is for several reasons:

1) Taco shells come in packages of 10 or 12.  That is too many for Konrad and I to eat in one night and two few for us to eat in two nights.

2) Taco shells go stale really fast.

3) Konrad does not like tacos as much as I do.  Perhaps no one really likes tacos as much as I do.

Anyway, I found this recipe on Pinterest for Taco Casserole...

Taco Casserole

This seemed like a good solution to my taco problems.  I knew that there would be plenty for leftovers and I didn't have to worry about throwing away half used ingredients.  Also, with the addition of beans and salsa it was more of a full meal and I felt like I could get Konrad on board.

So, I went ahead and gathered the ingredients:

1 lb ground beef 

1 can (16 oz) refried beans 

1 jar (16 oz) chunky salsa

 1 package taco seasoning mix (Low Sodium suggested)

2 1/2 c broken tortilla chips

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

4 green onions, sliced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1 c shredded lettuce  

1/4 c sliced black olives (I left this out)

 Then I started cooking!

1) I preheated the oven to 350 degrees while I browned the ground beef in a skillet.

2) Once the meat was cooked I drained it and then added the refried beans, salsa, and taco seasoning mix.

 

 

3) The directions said to stir and heat until boiling.  I could not really picture meat boiling nor did I want to.  So I just removed the skillet from the heat at the first sight of a bubble.

 

4) I crushed some of the tortilla chips and covered the bottom of a Pyrex dish.

 

 

 5) Then I covered the chips with the meat/bean mixture.

6) Next I chopped the various toppings and placed them on top.  I hope you are smarter than me and check your fridge before you go to the store.  I thought I had more shredded cheese than I really did and I do not own a cheese grater.  That is why this photo shows chucks of cheese in addition to the little amount of shredded cheese I had left.

7) I baked it for about 20 minutes until my chunks of cheese were nice and melted. 

Mine looks a little different than the picture because I opted not to cover the entire thing with shredded lettuce.  I knew that the full dish was far too much for Konrad and I to eat in one day and I didn't like the idea of reheating lettuce the next day.  I served the casserole on a bed of shredded lettuce and broken tortilla chips.

Would I recommend this recipe to a friend? YES

Would I make a few changes? YES

To me the combination of taco seasoning mix and salsa made it a little too spicy.  If I made this again I would either use half of the recommended salsa or find a brand that was less spicy.  Also, I think this would taste really good topped with sour cream :)

  

Olive the Dog on Pinterest

So, this week's posts are not very traditional so far (if you can establish a tradition in just two weeks), but I am mid-projects right now and waiting on some supplies to arrive in the mail.  I ordered some fabric to make some DIY Fake Roman Shades for the living room and I ordered some 12X12 prints to use in a project for my Pinterest Wall.  But I promise this post is Pinterest related!

 We adopted Olive from the Montgomery County Animal Shelter in April of 2008.  She was by far the cutest pup in the bunch, but we had no idea what kind of dog she was.  As you can see in this picture her ears were down when we first got her...

 Olive at 4 Months

Once her ears started to stand up people made suggestions that she might be some kind of dingo.  We googled dingos and we could definitely see the resemblance.

Dingoes.org

Then we one day Konrad read something about the American Dingo, AKA the Carolina Dog.  Carolina dogs look a lot less wild and some of them even have the white print on their chest and feet like Olive does.

 

 Carolina Dogs

Even though we know she is a mutt when people ask what type of dog she is we just say that she is part Carolina Dog since it is the closest thing we have seen.

 

From time to time I like to google Carolina Dog and see pictures of her look-a-likes.  I am not really sure why I do this.  I guess I am just waiting for a day when I find a picture of one that looks exactly like her here in The Woodlands and I will have found her long lost family member.  Or maybe I just think they are really cute.

 

Well, the other day I decided to use the explore feature on Pinterest to look up Carolina Dogs.  The top picture that came up in the results was this...

This was not an Olive look-a-like.  I know this for a fact because I took this picture.  This is my Olive.  I followed the link and it took me to this website.  GotPetsOnline.com

 

I vaguely remember posting a photo of Olive on this website in the category of Carolina Dog when we first discovered that's what she is.  I was reassured that I made the post when I saw her owners (Kristy and Konrad) listed and her full name (Olive Coco).  

Then it dawned on me.  I did not turn this post into a Pin.  That means that someone else was looking at her picture and thought what I think everyday, 'Man, that is one cute dog!" and decided to turn her into a Pin.  Not only that, but she was repinned 6 times before I even found her and of course repinned her myself!

 

I guess that even on the internet it is a small world we live in!!

 

Here is a picture of my first baby all grown up...

 

Olive at 3 1/2 years

 

Sewing Machine AHA! Moment

Recently I did the math and realized that my sewing machine is almost 15 years old! My mom bought it for me when I was about 13 and my friends and I were making scrunchies (the elastic hair bands) to sell at the fall festival at our school.  My mom taught me how to use it and showed me how to make a few things.  Over the years I have made pillows, aprons, curtains and other really basic items.  

Lately I have been trying to work on my sewing skills and Pinterest has been a big help.  Since I never had any formal sewing training some of the lingo is a little beyond me, but the step-by-step photo tutorials are awesome!  Last weekend I set out to make a little makeup pouch for part of a friend's birthday present.  I saw this Pin on Pinterest...

Pouch Tutorials

I made the middle type of pouch and used this tutorial: Zipper Pouch.  I am not going to go into much detail because her tutorial is very well written and easy to follow.  I was a little nervous because I had never installed a zipper before, but it didn't turn out too bad!

Already you can probably tell that this post is a little different than my others.  I am not going to teach you how to make the zipper pouch, but I am going to share with you something that I learned about my sewing machine while making the zipper pouch.

 

After I share this information you are going to think one of two things:

 

1.  Wow!  I didn't even know my sewing machine had that.  That is so cool and saves so much time.

 

2.  Wow!  She's not that bright.  She has had her machine for almost 15 years and didn't know something so basic.

 

I'm going to assume your reaction will be more like #2, but I am going to tell you anyway just in case by some off chance you were just as in the dark as me.

 

So, I was just sewing along following the steps of the zipper pouch tutorial (which only took about an hour!) and only really stopped to cut my threads, read the next direction, and start sewing again. 

As I was reaching for my scissors in order to cut my threads I pulled the pouch up and the threads caught on the machine and tore just where I had planned to cut them.  I didn't think much about it except that I was really glad that they tore in the right place!  I looked behind my machine to see what it had caught on and saw this...

 

See that little metal piece that is attached to the right side of the light case?  Yeah, that's a built in blade that you can use to cut your threads.  Apparently it has been there the entire time I have had the machine... 15 years!

 

I could look at this two ways:

 

1.  Wow!  Think of how time I am going to save with this bad boy!

 

2.  Wow!  Think of how much time I have wasted over the last 15 years stopping to track down a pair of scissors for these little cuts.

 

I have chosen to be optimistic and go with #1.  Hopefully this little post saves you some time too.  Or maybe you just got a good laugh because you have known all along about that little hidden gem.

 

 

Framed Letters

We have this wall in our living room that is really plain...

I will say that the bar used to be filled with things that made it look a little more decorative, but I am not going to lie and say it was every really much of an exciting wall.  We don't spend that much time downstairs so I have never really had the urge to do anything over there.  

When Maddox started walking that filled bar became a very big danger!  I have recently removed everything from the bar and plan to sell it on Craigslist.  Now the wall looks extra boring.  I realized I had pinned a bunch of things on Pinterest and I thought I could change this boring wall into a Pinterest Wall! 

My friend Amy made Maddox this awesome growth chart from a Pin she saw on Pinterest.  I knew that I wanted it to be a part of the wall.

The first pin that I decided to try was these framed letters...

When I opened the link it took me to a blog.  It did not take me to the exact post, but just the blog in general.  I felt that this picture was inspiration enough, but here is the link in case you want to search for it.  Framed Letters 

Maddox and I went on a shopping day and searched for the supplies to do something like this in our house.  Our family name is much too long for the wall I picked so I needed to pick another word.  I decided on LOVE since it is short and will be a good description for the photos and other crafts I plan to incorporate on my Pinterest Wall.

First we stopped at a dollar store since there are so many posts about how people spray paint mismatched dollar store frames for crafts like this.  I must have gone to the wrong dollar store.  There were only two different styles of frames for me to choose from and they were both so tacky looking that I could not imagine them looking any better after a coat of spray paint.

After that we stopped at Michael's.  Their frame selection is so large that I knew I would be able to find something there!  They had lots of different frames, but I guess I am not that imaginative and decided that I wanted all of my frames to be the same style.  I found some plain black ones for $5 a piece and I figured I could find something to do with them using either paint or scrapbook paper and mod podge.

Then when I went to the wooden letter aisle to pick out my letters I saw these frames...

They were a dollar cheaper and seemed just the right size for the letters I picked out.  I texted Amy to see what color stain she used for the growth chart and she texted me back right away!  It's a good thing because I was able to get it at Michael's (and save 40%).


I also bought a few pages of scrapbook paper, but since I didn't have the fabric for my drapes with me I wasn't sure what would work.  

I had some fabric from the drapes in my dining room which hang on the wall opposite my new Pinterest wall.  I decided to try and use some of that fabric first to see if I like it.  (In the end I didn't like it so I switched it out for the scrapbook paper.  That is why the pictures suddenly change!)


Here is what I did:


First,  I cut my fabric to the same size as the backing of my frames.

Then, I put down a trash bag to clear off some workspace for the stain. 
 

 I just used that sponge brush to cover the surface of the frame completely.  

 Following the directions on the can I allowed the stain to set for 15 minutes.

I took one of Konrad's old shirts from the Goodwill pile and made a ton of rags.  That way I had plenty for this project and future projects!

I used those rags to wipe off the excess stain.  The color was nice, but it was not quite as dark as the growth chart that Amy had made.  I waited 4 hours and repeated the same process.

After I got the color I wanted I let them dry completely overnight.  During the drying time I painted the letters brown.  I had bought black letters and I wanted them to be brown.  I just used some acrylic paint that I had from another project to paint over the letter. 


As I started the first letter I remembered this Pin that I had seen before.

Push Pins for Painting

I decided to give it a try for myself.  For the most part it worked, but if you choose to do this I would recommend hammering them in just a little so they are a little more sturdy than mine were.

 

Once the frames and letters were dry it was time to put everything together.  I took all of the glass out of my frames and stored it away.  (You never know when some Pinterest project will require pieces of glass.)

This is when I decided to switch to the scrapbook paper and made a few quick cuts.

 

I decided it would be best to hot glue the paper onto the backing of the frames.  I was afraid that the weight of the letters would cause the paper to bend or tear if the paper was not adhered to the back.  I just used a dot in each corner.

 

 

Then I hot glued each letter in the center of the frame.

 

This is how they look all layed out together.  I promise they look much better in person.  it is hard to see the color of the paper and letters in this photo.

I have not put them up on the wall yet because I want to get all of my elements complete before I set up my Pinterest Wall!

 

Double Pins: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Freezing Cookie Dough

I love it when I am in the middle of a recipe or craft and realize that I can use some knowledge I gained from another Pin in order to complete my current pin.  That's what I did here and that's why this post is titled "Double Pins"!

I really like oatmeal raisin cookies, but I never make them and rarely buy them.  That's probably because this is how Konrad feels about raisins...

Check out more ecards at Someecards.com

Lately I have really been craving some chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.  I knew Konrad wouldn't help me eat them, dogs can't eat raisins, and Maddox is still too young to be eating whole cookies for dessert.  (I am sure he has his own opinion on the topic!)

That's when I remembered this Pin that I had pinned a long time ago.

Freezing Cookie Dough 

It's basic tips for freezing cookie dough in ice cube trays in order to help with portion control.  This sounded perfect for my situation.  I didn't want a ton of cookies that I couldn't eat by myself so I planned to make a full batch of cookie dough and freeze most of it for another time.

You will notice that link comes with its own oatmeal raisin cookie recipe, but I had really wanted to try this recipe that I had pinned recently.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe 

Don't they just look so tasty and chewy?  Well, that is what I thought, but it is NOT what I got.

I followed all of the directions exactly as they were in the recipe.  (This is rare for me.) 

 

 

I ended up with these tasty little Frisbees.

 They really did have a good taste, but they were hard as rocks.  I thought maybe I had done something wrong.  You know how on a cake mix it says to reduce heat 25 degrees for nonstick pans?  I decided to reduce the heat 50 degrees and see if that would be any better.  

I put one more little lone cookie on the pan and baked it for about 13 minutes.  It was nice and gooey coming off of the pan, but after about 2 minutes on the cooling rack it too was a rock.  

Now don't feel too sorry for me.  You see that third picture of me following the rules?  The one where I had mixed all of the ingredients except the oatmeal and raisins?  That uncooked mixture was amazing and I am pretty sure I helped myself to a cookie worth of dough (or maybe more) before I even got them into the oven.  But, do as I say and not as I do... that mixture had raw egg in it and I do not suggest that you eat raw eggs.

Also, I got to try my brand new hand mixer for the first time!  I know that sounds silly, but I was badly in need of a replacement.  You know how Target and Walmart do those back to school displays for college kids?  Well, I bought my original mixer off of one of those displays about nine years ago for about $7.  It was a pretty good deal considering it made it through 9 years, 5 moves, and misuse. (I used it to make the fondant for Maddox's birthday cake even though the recipe clearly stated to use a standing mixer!) It was not as pretty as this thought...

I did not let my Frisbee cookies keep me from trying out my second Pin.  I guess I thought the freezer would do something magical to the cookie dough and my next batch would come out nice and gooey.

So, I took out my ice cube trays to portion out the dough and then I thought of something.  These were the same trays I used to make Maddox's baby food in.  That means that these tiny little cubes were the correct portion for a baby... I am not a baby nor do I have a baby's appetite.  Those tiny little cubes were not going to cut it for me!

That's when I got out a clean cookie sheet and covered it with wax paper.  I balled the dough just as I had for the cookies I had already baked.

 I froze that dough overnight.  The next morning I took the cookie dough balls out and placed them in a freezer bag marked with the name and date.  That is an important step at our house!  Our freezer is filled with all kinds of homemade goodies.  I have meatballs and pancakes for Maddox and even homemade Frosty Paws for Olive!  I have to keep track of the dates and names of everything.

I have to admit that I did not eat any more of the original batch of cookies.  They were way too hard for my taste.  I did thaw one of the cookie dough balls a few days later and mixed it with ice cream.  It was heavenly, but again not very healthy due to the raw egg.

Last night I decided to try to bake some of the cookie dough again and see what would happen.  I had come to terms with the fact that they would still be hard as a rock, but at least I could test the concept of cooking dough that had been frozen.  I had never done this with homemade cookie dough and I didn't know if I needed to adjust the heat or time at all.  I went ahead and baked them at 300 since that seemed to work slightly better with the fresh dough.  It took a few more minutes than the original batch, but not too long at all.  They came out the same consistency as the first time. (That gives me high hoped for trying this with another recipe!)

 I'm sure they answer to this next question is obvious.  Especially since I did not even bother to post the recipe.

Would I recommend this recipe to a friend?  NO

Unless of course you really like hard cookies.

Would I recommend freezing cookie dough to a friend? ABSOLUTELY!

Even though the cookies did not taste that great the whole concept of freezing the dough and saving it for later was great.  It was so easy for me to just take out the number that I wanted, put them on a pan, and bake them!  If you have a recipe you love this is a great idea.  I think next time I will try the recipe that came with the Freezing Cookie Dough link.

I hope that post was helpful.  It's always nice to learn from another's mistake!