Help with Re-Fashion?

Hello friends! Can you help me with a project? Sure, I could Google it, but I'd much rather hear from you. That's why we have each other, right?

{big hug}

I have a pair of dress pants that I'd like to turn into cuffed shorts. They are now about 2 sizes too big {yay!}, but I'd like to try a re-fashion instead of getting rid of them.

The waist will hit lower on my hips, which is fine, but they will still need to be taken in some. Can I do this through the inseam? Or will I have to totally rework the waistband? I'm also thinking of adding belt loops and creating a sash belt out of the material that I cut off from the legs.

Are there any good tutorials that you know of for this type of project? I'm aces with putting patterns together, but reworking a finished garment to fit is uncharted territory for me!