Pinterest Interest: Car Seat Coolers

As I'm sure many of you have already figured out, Pinterest is a great resource for what ever you fancy. If you haven't discovered Pinterest yet, you definitely should!

Anyway, I have found hundreds of ideas for crafting, decorating, and recipes. I have tried to make myself use these ideas instead of just collecting them and letting them sit in cyber space. One pin I recently came across, was how to make car seat coolers for your little ones. Riley hates getting into a hot car seat! So this was something that I really needed to make for him and Ellie as the summer heat drags on.

I got the directions from a blog eighteen25. She has a great tutorial and it's super easy to follow. I only made a few changes to my car seat coolers. 

• I only added 4 ice packs pockets 
• I trimmed my ribbons shorter and added a small hem to the ends of my tie
• I used a combination of beans, corn, and lentils for my weights (because I didn't have rice) 

The first time I used the coolers, I took my kids to the aquarium. We were there about 2 hours and when we came out their seats were nice and cool and the ice packs were still frozen. My mom also had the great idea to get a thermal tote to keep the coolers in while you're traveling from place to place. 

I keep all the ice packs in their pockets, roll up the cooler, and store it in the freezer. So all I have to do when we're ready to leave is grab it and go! 

(If you like my thermal tote it's a Picnic Tote by ThirtyOne and I know a great consultant!)   

DIY Pacifier Clips

I'm one of those people that enjoy accessorizing when ever possible and what better way to spruce up at little one's attire than a fun and colorful paci clip?! Now I'm not sure if any of ya'll have had this problem but we have lots of different kinds of pacis and not all of them have the ring that most paci clips attach to. So after some research and I've figured out how to make a paci clip that is universal to all pacifiers.


This is what you'll need:

• Ribbon of your choice (I've found that the 7/8 ribbon works best)
• thread
• suspender clips
• cording

Measure your ribbon to about 10 inches.  If you're going to layer your ribbon like I am in the pictures then now is when you'll want to sew them together. Then measure out a piece of cord about 5inches long.

Fold one end of your ribbon 1/4 inch and then fold again 1 inch. Now mark at the top of your fold. This is where you are going to add a button hole. If your sewing machine is compatible or if you have the know how add your button hole to where you placed your mark.








If you chose not to use a button hole you can fold the ribbon and cut a small half circle where you've placed your mark.



Once you've created the button hole insert your cording into the hole, making a loop about 3 inches long outside of the button hole. Fold your ribbon over again and stitch around the rectangle. (I've used a zig zag stitch) Then add a criss cross stitch through the center of your rectangle. This is what holds the cording in place.

On the other end of your ribbon place the ribbon through the suspender clip ring and then fold 1/4 inch and then another 1/2 inch fold. Stitch across to secure suspender clip.

TA DA! You have an universal pacifier clip ready for any paci you throw at it!