Making Toddler Pants from an Old T-Shirt

This was one of my simplest projects EVER!!  I got the idea one time from somewhere, but I can't remember where.  So sorry I can't give credit where credit is due.

My 2-year-old is severely allergic to latex, so I can't use any pants or shorts on her that have latex-containing elastic in the waistband (or spandex throughout).  So I decided to make her some pants and shorts, using latex-free elastic.  Didn't these come out cute (if you ignore all the wrinkles!!)?

They were super fast and easy to make, using a t-shirt my hubby had given me that he no longer wears (in the picture above, I used the white t-shirt below).

There's no hemming or anything for these pants, because the t-shirt is already hemmed for you!  

Ok, I had typed out instructions for this, but I hadn't taken pictures of all the steps.  To make things a LOT easier for you, I found the following video on How to Make:

How to Make Baby Pants from a T-Shirt

Go make some easy pants!!!  =)

Princess Leia Hat

We recently went to Comicon.  Soooooooooo much fun!!!  But I needed wanted a costume for my 2-month-old daughter.  After all, you gotta start them young, right?  =)

I saw some Princess Leia hats online, but they were expensive.  Then I realized that I could easily make one myself!

I started by buying some brown fleece at Hobby Lobby (I LOVE buying fleece in the spring and summer.  It's always on sale, so 1/2 yard cost me like three bucks!).  I then made the basic hat from the free pattern found at Fleece Fun.  That took about 3-5 minutes.  Super easy--LOVE that pattern!!  I then cut some strips of fleece, rolled them up, and tacked them to the sides of the hat by hand.  It was so easy, so fast, and so cute!

Everybody kept stopping me to take pictures of her and ask where I got her hat.  It was definitely a hit!

(That's my Yoda backpack next to me--I used it as my diaper bag.  You can find them at Thinkgeek.com.  It got a lot of compliments, too!)

One of the highlights of my son's day was getting to cross lightsabers with Darth Vader.  The force is strong with this one.  =)

We had such a GREAT time!  May the force be with you!

Laundry--Charlie's Soap

At the risk of sounding like a commercial, I sometimes like to do product reviews of some of my favorite must-have items in our household.  Most of them I've found by trial-and-error, but it's nice when you learn of one by word-of-mouth before all the trial parts.  So I like to pass on the good info to you!

If you've read many of my posts, you already know that we have a ton of allergies and sensitivities in our family.  One of them is to soaps/lotions/detergents/etc.  For showers, baths, and hand washing, I make all of our soap.

My kids all have super sensitive skin.  This is my son's back when I washed his shirt in a load after I had washed a load of hand-me-downs.  The hand-me-downs had been previously washed in Tide, and it left enough residue in my washer to get into my son's clothes and cause this:

The same thing happens if I even just throw a dryer sheet in the dryer.

I know many people who make their own laundry detergent.  But for me, nothing works nearly as well as Charlie's Soap.

Non-toxic and green, this stuff is good on the clothes and great on my kids' skin.  I've had great results with it, and we use nothing else for our children.  As you can see, we buy it by the 32-lb, 1000-load bucket.

A large load only takes a 1 Tbsp scoop of Charlie's.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now!  (Pun totally intended.  hee hee)  Check out their site for more info and answers to FAQs.  They can explain things far better than I can!  =)

Upcoming projects

We are still fighting the flu in our house.  Yes, it's been a week-and-half.  But when there are 8 people it can potentially work its way through, it can take a while.  As a result, I haven't gotten much work done on any projects.  But I have several lined up.

The weather's getting warmer here, and my daughter with the severe latex allergy needs some latex-free lightweight pants and shorts.  A while back, my hubby went through his closet and culled a bunch of clothes.  Among them are several good t-shirts that I plan to turn into shorts and pants for her, using latex-free elastic for the waistbands.  If you cut them out using the bottom hem of the shirt as the bottom of the pant legs, no additional hemming is required!!

I recently saw this adorable thimble necklace on The Wind and the Sail.  So I bought some thimbles and all sorts of cute pins to make my own.

(Photo: The Wind and the Sail)

My oldest daughter's birthday is nearly upon us, and we'll be giving her the sewing machine we bought for her.  I'll be delving back into the world of making pillows, simple aprons, etc.  You know, all those learning-to-sew-in-home-ec type of projects.  =)

I also have my very first giveaway coming up next month!!

So stay tuned for all sorts of fun!

Seven-Year-Old Boy's Craft

My seven-year-old son wanted me to show you that he's crafty, too!  He loves building his own creations.  His latest is a very versatile firearm.

It's used for hunting, and he can change caliber depending on what game he's stalking.

It even has sights in the scope.

It's amazing what his mind can do with a bit of foam packing, a paper towel tube, a toilet paper tube, q-tips, paint, and tape.  He says he's sorry he didn't take pictures for a tutorial.  =)

(Don't worry, it's not loaded, safety's on, and the chamber's open.  hee hee)

He says he's bringing home venison for dinner.  Yay!!!

How to treat the flu

My kids have the flu.  It is no fun at all.  They look and feel horrible.

You can always tell my kids are sick by looking at their eyes.  

So we've been trying to make them feel better and help them get over it more quickly.  Some things we do are making sure they get their vitamins (particularly D and C) and giving them elderberry.

When they actually feel like eating something but they still don't feel like leaving the couch, pouches of applesauce have been wonderful!  Easy on the tummy, and easy to eat without the mess!

Of course, handwashing is a MUST!!  Especially when I'm dealing with several sick kids, while still caring for and feeding a newborn.  There are also various herbs, essential oils, etc. people like to use.  I try to stay away from medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, unless the fever gets really high (my daughter pictured above was running 104* yesterday afternoon), or if they're in a lot of pain (her head and body were aching horribly).  I prefer to let a lower fever burn as much as possible.

What are your tips and tricks for treating the flu?

What are your best tips and tricks for treating kids who are sick with the flu?

Homemade Bibs

My seven-year-old son wanted his latest project as my next post.  However, he's still not finished with it.  So it'll have to wait until later this week.  In the meantime, here's my newest favorite thing!

A friend of my mother-in-law made the most awesome baby bibs.  They're large, they're absorbent, they're...

HAND TOWELS!!!!!!

How brilliant is this idea?  Hand towels with a hole to go over the head?!?  I LOVE it!!  How many times have you had a bib that the baby tugged on and it came off, just in time for them to spit green peas down the front of their white shirt?  Or the bib covered the top half of the baby and wasn't absorbent enough, so when your toddler was learning how to drink out of a cup, you lifted them out of the high chair and it appeared that they had peed their pants?  (But sorry, these bibs won't help you if your toddler really did pee their pants.)

Anyway, these are so simple and so genius.  She simply cut a hole out and serged on a collar.  

Then she added a decorative ribbon to add a touch of cuteness.  

I plan to make a bunch of these.  I don't have a serger, so I'll just zig-zag the collar on.  You could easily repurpose the collar off an old shirt, use ribbing, or use interlock.   

Maybe I'll do an actual tutorial soon.  This will be a fun and easy project.  Useful, too!

Make Your Own Hair Gel

I love spiking baby boys' hair.  But my kids all have very sensitive skin, so I didn't want to chance using some chemical-laden product on their tiny little heads.  Then I learned how to make my own hair gel (I'm sorry, but I can't remember where I got the original recipe).  It's so easy and so cheap!!

All you need is some unflavored gelatin and hot water.

The original recipe called for 1/2 cup hot water to 1/4 tsp of gelatin.  (I've always added a bit more gelatin to it than that).  Dissolve the gelatin in the water and allow to cool.  Store it in the refrigerator, or make just enough for a single use each time.

How strong the hold is and how stiff it is totally depends on how much gelatin you add to the water.  The amount in the original recipe is not stiff or super holding.  So play with it a bit.  I like to throw it in the fridge and let it set up into a gel consistency before I use it.  It's easier to deal with that way.  You can also add essential oils if you want it to smell good.

I'd love to show you a demo picture, but my boys all have hair too short.  I recently cut my hair short again, but it's not short enough to spike this time.  =(  

So, I need pics!  If you try this and like it, please email me a picture I can post here!!