Several women have commented on Lyds’s car seat tent, so I’m finally getting around to doing the tutorial.  It’s SUPER easy!

I remember going out with Abs and getting frustrated, trying to keep the sun completely out of her eyes with the car seat sunshade.  And don’t even get me started about when it would rain.  Also, the wind, oh the wind where I live is killer and blankets would always blow off, and it was a hassle to hold her car seat, while trying to keep a blanket over her.  So, thank goodness I discovered an awesome way to cover up your newborn with a car seat tent.  Here’s what you need to have on hand to make one yourself . . .

Supplies

• about 2 yards total of fabric (if you want it to be reversible, you can use 1 yd of one color and 1 yd of another color, or you can simply use two yards of the same fabric)
• thread
• velcro (not the adhesive kind; buy the kind for sewing)

Okay, so I started typing up a tutorial for this but erased it all, but I don’t have the patience to remember what all I did, since it’s been about 4 months since I made this.  So, I’ll just leave you some links to some car seat tent tutorials that will be helpful.  Also, here are some of my measurements that might help you (keep in mind that this won’t make sense to you until you look at the tutorial links):

• I cut 2 inches off the bottom; it left my fabrics to be 36 L x 42 W (35 long when sewed)
• For my velcro straps: soft side up, facing back (velro down, facing front) 7-8 inches long
• When I measured the cloth front to back, I sewed the straps directly in the middle lengthwise (21 inches) and measured side to side; 12.5 from outside (7 ¼ in b/t each other).
• 

Ingredients:

• Cake mix (I used one box of Betty Crocker Butter Pecan) and whatever it needs (eggs, oil)
• Frosting
• Food Coloring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the bottom of a 13×9 in dish with baking spray (the kind that says it has flour).  Grease a 1 qt Pyrex bowl with shortening and then, coat with flour.
2. Make the cake mix and pour 1.5 cups of the batter into the 1 qt bowl.  Then, pour the remaining batter into the 13×9 dish.  [If you want the sheet cake taller or the soccer ball higher, then, you could use two cake mixes, but I just preferred to use one box).
3. Bake the 13x9 dish for 20-30 mins, depending on your oven.  [You might be able to bake the soccer ball and sheet cake at the same time, but I was too nervous to try that, so I baked the sheet cake first, and then, I baked the soccer ball.]  And then, bake the 1 qt bowl 25-35 mins.  Cool each cake for 10 minutes.
4. Then, turn an 8×8 dish upside down and spray the bottom/underside of it with flour baking spray.  Flip it over, and push the coated side onto the sheet cake, in order to get rid of the “dome” shape.  It really works!  With the soccer ball cake, I used a Tupperware bowl (sprayed) to push that dome shape down.  (Sorry I didn’t take a picture, but you can look here: http://www.ehow.com/how_4816098_soccer-ball-cake.html at step #3 for the idea).
5. Flip the sheet cake over onto the serving tray (I put wax paper under mine, so I’d be able to tear the paper off, in case I messed up with the frosting).  And flip the soccer ball onto a plate.  Freeze cakes for 1 hour each.
6. I frosted each cake with a thin layer of frosting as a skim/crumb coat (blue sky, green grass, and white for soccer ball).  Then, I put them back in the freezer for almost an hour.
7. Put the soccer ball on top of the sheet cake.  [Frost the soccer ball again, if you think it needs another coat (I didn't).]  Cut out a pentagon shape and a hexagon shape.  The pentagon needs to be smaller than the hexagon.  [I can't remember my measurements.  I wanna say 1 3/4 in for the pentagon and 2 1/3 inch for the hexagon.]  Use a toothpick to outline the shapes onto the ball.
8. Then, fill in the pentagon with a star shaped tip (I used a decorator’s icing tube) and the lines with a straight tip with whatever color you choose; typically black, but Abs wanted purple.
9. For the sheet cake: Re-frost most of the cake blue (for the sky).  Re-frost the bottom part green for the grass.  If you have fancy tips/bags, you can make it look more like grass.  I don’t, so I frosted it, and then used a spatula to pull at the frosting from different angles.  I used a decorator’s icing tube to make the soccer net, but I ran out and had to use a knife to do the soccer goal.
10. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

The camera was in Abs’s room while she was napping, while I was making the cake.   So, I didn’t get a chance to take pictures, until J got home, and we used his iPhone.  Sorry.

I started making this cake about 11 am on Saturday and finished around 4 pm (maybe?).  And the party was on Sunday, but the cake still tasted great on Sunday and the next day and the next day . . .

Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Any questions?

Sorry about neglecting the site . . . again.  Things have just been so crazy around here with still being pregnant sick, having appointments, getting Abs’s big girl room ready, new baby planning, moving furniture, organizing, and prepping for Abs’s birthday, along with the usual housewife stuff I need to do.

Our house looks pretty rough right now– as far as clutter and organization.  I’m typing from in the DINING room.  We used to have an office, but now, that’s turning into Abs’s big girl room.  As I look around the dining room, there are SIX tables/desks in here: the kitchen table, my computer desk, J’s computer desk, my sewing machine desk, Abs’s play table, and the new baby’s changing table.  Wow.

Over the weekend, J and I cleaned out the office/guest room/storage closet.  Then he tore out an intercom and patched it up with drywall, primed the room, and painted the baseboards.  Then, we tediously measured and taped off one wall.  Thank goodness my measurements I had done earlier in February were accurate!

Then, I took Abs over to my parents to take a nap so Abs and Baby wouldn’t be around all the fumes and noise.  Earlier that week, our friends offered to come help J paint the room.  Yea for good friends.

And here’s what the other walls look like:

Definitely very pink.  Oh well, Abs loves it.  So, we just have to replace the outlets and switches and covers, get new carpet, insulate the windows, figure out what I’m gonna do for window treatments (any ideas, when the windows are narrow and don’t touch the ground?), move in her furniture, and it’s all hers.

If I get any comments/emails about the block wall, I’ll try to do a tutorial of how to make it happen . . . but not this week.  I’m getting my braces off (!), buying stuff for Abs’s party, making the cake and dip and drinks, etc, and working on Abs’s video of year 1-2.  I can’t believe she’ll be TWO on Sunday.

**Oh, and by the way, since our Vday project, here’s what I had to do for J: 1) Write and perform a rap song about J, 2) Watch a Sci-Fi movie of his choosing (YUCK!).  Here’s what he drew for me to do: 1) Bring Wifey a blizzard, 2) Play wii with Wifey.  Now, who do you think got it rough?!

***Go here to see Abs’s (mostly) completed room.***

Here’s the tutorial for how to make a crinkle square mini blanket with taggies like the one below for a baby.  It’s super easy, quick, and doesn’t cost much.  If you don’t have ribbon on hand, that might be your biggest expense. 

Supplies

• thread
• 2 squares of flannel (I used 9×9 inches)
• ribbons cut to about 4 inches long and folded in half (I used 4 big pieces, 4 medium pieces, and 4 skinny pieces)
• crinkly sheet/package, the same size as your flannel (I used a wrapper from a sample diaper I got in the mail).  Some other options: wipes package, microwave popcorn wrappers, chips bag, clear gift wrap . . . Just make sure that you cut your flannel pieces to whatever size your crinkle sheet ends up being
  

Directions

1. Put one piece of flannel right side up and pin ribbons along the edges with the cut sides off of the flannel.  between the two pieces of material (wrong sides together).
2. Put the second flannel sheet on top of the ribbons right side down.
3. Put the crinkle sheet on top of the flannel and pin all layers together.
4. Sew along all the edges– except, make sure to leave a big enough section not sewn so that you can turn the blanket right side out.  Take the pins out.
5. After sewing, turn the blanket right side out.
6. Then, sew all the way around the square, and you’re done!

   

We had two Halloween parties: one the night before and one on Halloween.  We took Abs to the first one but decided to let her stay the night with GramB and PapaBon for the second one.  I forgot to take many pictures of the first one.

I’ve got a Bun in the Oven, and J’s the Bun Maker

You can click on the pictures to see the details of my costume.  It was simple to make, and it was super cheap!  We only had to buy the apron ($3), chef hat ($3), spray paint, and a hot glue gun.  We had all the other stuff on hand.  The oven box is made from Abs’s Huggies diaper box.

As you read here, she was a little lamb.

Halloween night we went to a party thrown by our besties, Tiffany and Justin (Tinkerbell & Peter Pan).

Nancy & Jacob came as a UPS worker and his package

The Bookers were the Swine Flu

Our team won in charades

And our pumpkin tied for first in the Pumpkin Contest

So, at the end of the night, we went home as winners of the “Date Night Package” (a Chili’s gift card, wine glasses, and roses, in a cute basket.