DIY Reversible Toolbelt/Apron Tutorial (To sew or not to sew)

So, it's winter. Winter meaning I have been in hibernation mode for the past few months (READ: sweatpants, Netflix, chocolate) and the creative juices have slowed to a bit of a trickle... 

Is it a coincidence that ever since deciding to give up my (um, gulp... 10) TV shows for lent... my house is clean, the fridge is stocked, Hudson has new activities I've set up for him around the house and I've even sewn something!?

I think not. ;)

Here's what I whipped up during a naptime this week. I've been wanting to make my 2 1/2 yr. old a tool belt, and while digging thru my fabric bin came across these old corduroys and I got to thinking...

Pockets... toolbelt... lightbulb!

Granted, someone's probably already thought of this, and done it much more brilliantly... but for now I am blissfully unaware and claim this original project and tutorial as my very own. Believe me, even I'm shocked it's not inspired by pinterest (my slightly ridiculous obsession of late).

OKAY, "to sew or not to sew" means... if your sewing machine makes you a little nervous and you want to keep all your fingers, there's a no-sew phase of this tutorial that still produces a tool belt. Just no reversible apron or bells and whistles. So if that's you, stick to phase ONE. Phase TWO will take you thru the sewing portion of the project which is still super simple and I truly believe anyone could do.

PHASE 1 
"CUT. IT. OUT."

 Start cutting the waist band at the front zipper and make your way around to back of pants.

 Stop cutting once you've reached side belt loops. Remove front belt loops carefully.

 Cut down side seams of pants and across under back pockets.

 Not sure why I flipped it over but but trim up edges giving yourself an inch or so outside pockets. TA-DA! You've reached the end of phase 1 and cut yourself a simple little tool belt. (Which also, by the way, fits adults -via button. For children tie waist strings)

PHASE 2 
"SEW. IT. UP."

 Next, grab a piece of scrap fabric about the same size as the tool belt. This will be the apron side so pick something fun, or girly if you have a daughter too.  Fold over and pin long side of rectangular fabric and pin then straight stitch to hem.

 I added this cool scrap (actually the inner layer of front pants pocket!) to create another pocket on the apron side. Just fold over and stitch to hem top of pocket and I just raw cut the other 3 sides with zigzag scissors and sewed them to the yellow fabric.

 Put right sides of fabric together/kissing with hemmed fabric lined up to waist band. Then straight stitch down the outside of a pocket, across the bottom and up the other side of a pocket. Cut around edges of tool belt fabric so yellow fabric is the same shape. You can do this before or after you sew.

Last, turn inside out and sew straight up the middle of apron side to create two nice deep pockets. It helped to do this with the tool belt side facing up to keep yourself sewing straight in line with the middle pants seam.

 Button and, voila! a nifty little shoulder bag for your little one.

And here's my little man, who could barely hold still 

long enough to "model" his new tool belt!

This project took about an hour to make and required the following materials:

-Adult sized pants with back pockets (for tool belt side)

-Small rectangular scrap of fabric (for apron side)

-Sewing machine

-Fabric scissors

-Thread

-Pins

6 months... already?

Dear Noble,

When you were inside my belly, I remember wondering 

if I could ever love another baby as much as my first. 

Sweet boy, I fell in love at first sight 

and I will never be the same again.

I don't love you more or less... 

we just have our own special brand of love.

I love you from the top of your perfectly shaped fuzzy head 

to the very bottom of your little sausage toes.

Your sweet smile, big blue eyes, marshmallow rolls, 

and irresistibly kissable cheeks don't hurt either.

Noble's Lifetime Accomplishments: (So far...)

BEING RIDICULOUSLY CUTE, check!

Mischief... (you can't act on it yet, but I see 

what's going on behind those sparkly blue eyes of yours)

Rolling around on the floor

Lip smacking, so silly!

Flirting with the ladies at Daddy's work

Smiles that melt 

Sucking on your toes

"Talking"

2 teef

Hitting your brother (yes, already)

Putting anything and everything in your mouth

Laughing at Hudson

Eating (obviously)

Being HAPPY 99% of the time

Oh! And most recently, sitting up!

Quite the resume for such a little guy :)

People always ask me who you look like, 

since you don't look as much like your daddy 

as your big brother does. 

I usually answer with, "He looks like NOBLE, of course!" 

But to be honest, I do think you favor my side of the family.

Noble James, you have captured my heart.

I love you.

Love, Mommy

crafty craziness

 One of my favorite things in the whole world is being creative... 

So naturally, it is also one of my favorite things to teach my kids 

to express themselves creatively. 

This particular day, Hudson was asking to paint...

I gathered a few things from around the house that would be fun to paint with... 

Bet you can guess what his favorite was!

Materials: Paint, paper (or grocery bags :), toilet paper tube, paint brush, cork, car, fork

Hudson always enjoys practicing his fine motor skills 

and thankfully has an attention span (just barely) long enough 

to do fun little projects like these. 

Since we were already messy, I figured, why not? 

Let's break out the glue! 

I scavenged a handful from a super colorful "25 bean medley" 

(from Trader Joe's -made yummy soup later!) 

in the pantry and we went crazy...

Nothing brings me more joy than seeing my little one's face light up when he 

figures it out/tries his best/learns something new/discovers he can do it/creates something beautiful!

I'm learning that in order to experience all that art can give to a child,

there's two things moms like me need to remember...

1. It's gonna get crazy. A mess is GOING TO HAPPEN. Get over it.

2. Don't stress about the final product. It's the process that's important.

3. Oh, and have fun with your kiddo, of course! (Sorry, that was more than two :)

*** Stay tuned for more fun projects with Hudson! ***

(I'll keep them under the "craftycraziness" tag if you want to check in again later.)

mini monsters

A fun and simple little birthday gift I put together for one of Hudson's lil buddies. 

I think Huddy was a little jealous! :)

Materials: felt scraps, needle&thread, glue gun

DINO hoodie DIY tuorial

This is a fun little gift idea I found on pinterest. 

My son loves wearing hoodies, so I knew he'd love this "dino hoodie"!

 

Step 1: Collect supplies

-Hooded sweatshirt from Walmart $7.50 (make sure to pre-wash)

-Felt, also from Walmart

-Basic sewing supplies (machine, thread, scissors, pins)

Step 2: Measure what size spikes you want and figure out how many you'll need. It's gonna depend on what size sweatshirt you buy. No exact science, I just kind of eyeballed it and I guarantee they didn't all come out the same in the end, but it's not that big of a deal. 

Step 3: Fold felt in half (double layer) and cut triangles (bottom of the triangle) on the fold. Then when you open them they'll look like diamonds (see above photo). 

Step 4: Place or pin diamonds up the back of the sweatshirt and hood and sew straight up the middle! I found it was easier to just pin them on one at a time as I went after I took this picture, because the sewing process would stretch the sweatshirt fabric a bit. The hardest part is the hood because it's more layers of fabric and also curved instead of flat. Don't stress, doesn't have to be perfect!

Step 5: Fold and pin the two side points of diamonds together to create your dino spikes. No worries if the edges don't match up exactly if the cutting or sewing process altered them a little. You can trim them later.

 Step 6: Sew the edges with a zig-zag stitch, like this! (Tip: bright colored nail polish is more than just cute, it's like the bright orange safety vest of sewing! Keep track of where those fingers are at all times! *hem ;)

Step 7: Put it on and run around the house roaring like a stegosaurus! 

...or let your kid wear it and run around like a stegosaurus... hehe.

Here's the site I found this idea on... if my rough directions don't cut it. :)

Have fun and let me know if you try this fun project!

so this is Christmas...

Our first Christmas ever NOT in NY... just me and the boys!   

Dar had Christmas eve AND day off, 2 days back-to-back... a rarity in our home.

48 whole hours of family time! Needless to say, I think everyone's love tanks were brimming over by the end of the weekend! Although, we were sad to miss

Christmas in NY with the family and brisk weather... 

our low-key Christmas was absolutely perfect.

Snuggles on the couch + coffee + Christmas music, check! 

Little hooligan eying daddy's coffee... :)

 Hudson loves his new train and dino hoodie I made for him!

(I'll do a DIY post soon -so easy!)

 

 I made him some letters from fabric scraps too! 

 I got hooked up with lululemon gear from Dar! YAY!
 And a new camera from Dar's and my parents... YES! No more dark grainy pics like these!
And after 6 years with our faithful little box TV Dar finally got a flat screen!

 Our little family on a cozy Christmas day in Charlotte, NC

Hope you all enjoyed a happy holiday!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas in the little things

Hudson is 2. Does this mean he'll actually remember this Christmas? I'm not gonna lie, the past two years we didn't go crazy at all since he had everything a baby could ever need and I reassured myself, he'd never remember anyway. This being his third Christmas though, I felt like I needed to step it up a notch. Granted taking into account the full-time balancing act of a toddler and 4 month old... I didn't set the bar in my mind too high. I just told myself, whatever you can do... is better than nothing. Keep it simple. Let's be honest, he probably won't remember... but at least he'll have these pictures to look back and see how much fun we had celebrating the holidays together in creative little ways.

 

This is a little Carl Family tradition. I used to make paper chains to count down to anything and everything from Christmas to birthdays to spring break vacation in Marco Island. This particular paper chain was inspired by Trader Joe's reusable Christmas shopping bags. And that (among many reasons) is why I love you Trader Joe's! Hudson LOVED making this easy little craft. We've never done anything with glue before, so I was so shocked when as soon as I started placed glue dots all over the paper tree, Hudson immediately started arranging his hand picked buttons. No instruction needed, he was like "I got this." Nice, buddy!

Other fun things we've been enjoying this holly jolly pre-Christmas season...

*Decorating the Christmas tree (a few ornaments didn't make it, RIP)

*Switching out bedtime lullaby's with Christmas carols

*Reading the pre-recorded (by mommy and daddy- and H&N in the background) 

Story of Christmas Hallmark book (Thanks Aunt Connie & Uncle Bob!)

Also, mommy's been getting a little creative with Hudson's lunches lately... :)

 This is the original "Cathy Carl house sandwhich"... 

I remember her making me these when I was a wee little one. I always ate the chimney first.

 

"Hooo HOOO is going to eat me?!"

 

A HUDSON MONSTER of course!

(Yikes, that underbite is going to cost a pretty penny to fix down the road, 

but for now, it's cute.)

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose... 

...and frozen blueberry shiner! Somebody got in a fight, uh-oh!

 

Christmas tree toast with pomegranate ornaments, delicious! Also, a little veggie present! 

 Daddy and Noble having some midnight snuggle time by the tree!

 ~Nugs & Snugs~

Oh, the Christmas love.

Melt.

Merry Christmas everyone! And to all a good night! :)

boys boys boys

As the story goes, my childhood best friend, 

(Tawnya) fell in love with my older brother's best friend (Dan) 

then they got married... 

and then they had a baby.

Meet Thatcher Harris... 

the cutest squishiest little guy ever.

Aunt Laura (not by blood or marriage, but love :) can't wait to meet him!

And this is a little cloth diaper/ burp cloth I made him...

Another friend, Allisan, made a last minute request for a custom bird mobile for her baby. 

Lucky for her, Noble came a week late, meaning I got 95% of it done before he arrived.

Baby Nicholas arrived a week later!

Unfortunately for her, it still took me a month+ to do the remaining 5%. Sigh.

Here it is, at last hovering over Nicholas's crib. YAY! 

And since we're on the topic of boys here's recent snapshots of MY boys!

 Hudson loves drawing... a little too much.

Noble loves bath time!