this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

I'm linking up this post to the DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land. Head over there for more great do it yourself projects.

I've always been on the lookout for lap desks for my boys to use while on car trips. I haven't had much luck in that everything I liked was more than I wanted to pay (considering I'd have to multiply times two). So I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I bought two cookie sheets thinking that the magnetic surface would come in handy (especially for this travel toy I made) and the rim would perhaps keep crayons and snacks from falling to the ground and out of reach. I imagine you could cover the surface with contact paper and use them as dry erase boards, but I'm not too keen on letting my kids use markers in the car.

I used some fabric I had lying around to sew a little pillow to attach to the back. I cut the fabric the same width as the cookie sheet and about twice as wide. I folded it over and stitched up the two long ends, then I turned it inside out, stuffed it, and stiched up the last edge. To stitch the final edge, I folded in the ends and then topstitched.



Attaching them to the cookie sheets proved to be a bit difficult. My first instinct was to use hot glue, but that peeled right off of the smooth cookie sheet. The Tall One suggested sanding the cookie sheet a bit to create a rough surface and then using the hot glue. I opted for duct tape.



I would have liked a slightly smaller sheet. Since their carseats are right next to each other, when they were using theirs at the same time it made things a bit cramped. Other than that, totally perfect! They were great when my boys wanted to eat snacks or when they wanted to color.

Have you blogged about something you made recently? Leave me a link in the comment section - I'd love to see it. What to join in next week? Send me an email and I'll be sure to link to you in next week's post.