2 Seam Toddler Pajama Pants

This is another one of those things that I have seen in about a million places around the internet. This is by NO means an original idea, just another tutorial to add to the growing list out there!

Abbey hasn't completely mastered the whole sleeping-under-the-blanket thing yet, so I wanted to make sure that she has some nice snugly pajama pants to help keep her warm. I thought about buying her some, but seriously...fleece jammies are expensive, yo! (yep...that just happened.)

On one of my recent Goodwill trips, I found some great adult sized fleece pajama pants for, like, $3. I remembered those millions of pajama tutorials and thought to myself, "I can totally do that!".
A tip before you start: I HIGHLY recommend using a walking foot for this project. This is actually the second pair I've made, and it was sooo much easier with the walking foot than my regular presser foot. Fleece is thick, and can be tricky to push though. The first pair is fine...if you don't look too closely at the seams!

Here's how I did it:

Fold the original fleece jammies in half, making sure the edges and hems are lined up. Take a pair of jammies that fit well, fold them in half and line them up along the seams. This pair was getting a bit short, so I left some extra length at the top. The piece of elastic at the top is a reminder to leave room for the band.

Cut along the edge of your pattern jammies, making sure to leave enough room for your seam allowance.

Now you have both legs for your jammies!

Disclaimer: Yes, I know that typically pant legs are measured differently from front to back. If these were pants for wearing outside, I would have done things right, but these are jammies...so it's all good!

Now pin your two legs together along the crotch (does anyone else hate that word?) seams, and sew them together. JUST the curved seams, not the legs!

Once you've sewn the curved seams, pin your leg seams together so that you have each pant leg separated. I forgot to take a picture of that step, but I think you'll be OK! I have faith in you!

Sew up one leg, over the crotch (twitch!) seam and back down the other leg.

Now all that's left is to create the waistband. Using your elastic as a guide, fold the top of your pants over, and sew almost all the way around. Make sure you leave room to insert your elastic.

Thread your elastic through the tube and sew it together with a flat seam.

Tuck your elastic in, and stitch up the rest of the waistband.

There you have it...you're done! 2 seams, no hemming...easy peasy! My favorite part of this pair is that the hems on the original pants had some cute detailing, that I probably wouldn't have taken the time to add on my own. Love it!

Don't they look comfy??

This project is linked up at Fingerprints on the Fridge, Tatertots and Jello, and The Girl Creative. Go Check them out!

Fall Leaf Art

I love that Abbey is at the age that we can start doing arts and crafts together. I love it even more when said arts and crafts are free! Our neighborhood is absolutely loaded with all sorts of pretty leaves right now, so I decided to take advantage and do some leaf art.

See? Isn't that pretty? How cute are those little baby maple leaves?!

This project could NOT be any easier. 

We picked up some leaves on our way home from the park. It gave Abbey a nice distraction since she was not happy about going home. Bonus!

We started out with some glue. Abbey spread some glue onto her paper, and then I went back and made sure there was a decent amount there so the leaves would stick.

Once the glue was on, Abbey got full creative freedom!

Can you tell she doesn't like getting her hands messy? haha!

And here it is....easy peasy!

How's that for a proud face?!

Indian Summer

Did you know that Indian Summer had an actual definition? I always thought it was just a brief warm up after the weather has started to cool down. It turns out, for it to be "officially" Indian Summer, that warm up has to occur after a freeze. See...you learned something today! Well, maybe you didn't, but I did!

(who says the news isn't worth watching anymore??)

We have had 2 weeks of absolutely glorious weather. Shorts and a t-shirt in October? in Chicago?? Awesome. I actually had to dig out clothes that I had packed away already! We have been taking full advantage of it for sure. Lots of trips to the park, and as much outside time as we can get! We've also been getting creative with all of these gorgeous leaves, so be watching for that!

I'll take it while I can, because I am not quite ready for my first Chicago winter in 5 years. They're already predicting that this year is going to be a record breaker in terms of cold and snow...great.

Paint Chip Matching Game

I have seen about a bajillion versions of this super simple game. We're headed up north next weekend with some family, and I wanted to come up with some fun little games that Abbey can play with her cousin, who is a year and a half older than her. We are on a seriously shoestring budget, so when I remembered this game, I knew I just had to make it! I already had clothespins, so this game was completely FREE! Woot!

 Head to the local hardware store and grab some paint chips. I used some from Behr, because I like that they were nice and wide, and I only had to grab one of each color. If you're using skinny paint chips, you'll probably want 2 of each, but it's your call.

I trimmed the rounded edges off of the paint chips, and most of the words. Some colors had really long names, so they didn't all get trimmed away...oh well! I trimmed what was left into a wide strip and a narrow strip. The narrow strip got trimmed into individual colors. These pieces were hot glued onto the clothespins.

Now it's time to play! Abbey LOVES matching all the colors! She still has a hard time pinching the clothespins, but that will improve in no time. Fine motor practice...bonus!

This game could not have been any easier to put together. And nothing beats free fun!