Giveaway A warming thought

I want to show my appreciation to my blog buddy readers and what better appreciation than the gift of warmth! Its a warming pad (homemade of course!).

Winner announced next week Monday 10/12/09. I will choose my winner randomly by scientific elimination (name on paper, placed in box, shaken around, kid pulls out name, winner announced) I am not fancy but it gets the job done. Promise to be fair.

Please Place your comment and say hello, that's all! Comments left on this post prior to Mondays drawing will be given an entry. One entry per blogger. =)

Heres the quick tutorial (by no means am I a pro):

(supplies I used) I used cotton Fabrics because they work best with mild heat.


8x4 approximate fabric cut of corduroy

9x5 approximate fabric cut of your choice patterned/plain fabric

Sewing Machine, Scissors, 1/2 cup-1 cup rice.

You can make this in any size, but as you make it bigger you will need more rice.

Step 1-3 Making the bag that holds the rice
Step One:
Make a fabric pocket to hold the rice. Take your corduroy or other cotton material, fold over and stitch close two of the three open sides. You should have one opening for the rice to be poured into.

Step Two:
With your pocket, fill the pocket with approx 1/2 cup to 1 cup rice so the pocket is filled less than half full. You don't want the bag to be filled all the way for several reasons.
A> You want the bag to lay flat and the rice should be able to extend throughout so it is comfortable and as flat as possible
B> Your bag will distribute a better heat source when it is not as full, providing you with more comfort and using less time in the microwave.

Step Three:
Stitch your sides closed. I make sure to do a double stitch (meaning I used the reverse setting on my sewing machine and go back over my first line of stitching). There might be a sewing technical term for this, but I don't know it the way pro's know it, I guess.

Step 4-5 Making the "pillow case":
*NOTE: The pillow case is there to provide a washable cover.*

Step Four:
Take your 9x5 cotton Fabric (use your favorite pattern or plain color for design). You will stitch on all four sides to create a hem.

Step Five: Fold over the two sides to where they meet and have a slight overlap and stitch this on both sides so you create a case that has an opening for your heat pad.



You are done! All you have to do now is put your rice bag and place it in your pillow case!

For a mild moist heat, place this in the microwave for approximately 1 minute. DO NOT GET WET!!! The Moist heat is natural. Be careful, due to different microwaves you may need to increase this time or decrease this time. Please be careful not to make the bag to hot, because when you put it on your skin it could be too hot! (you know all that It's common sense stuff)....here is more: Don't place this on young children...Use COMMON SENSE! Make sure it is not TOO HOT! let cool down if you think it is too hot, before use.

For me, the bag creates a perfectly nice warm heat that feels great on my muscles after a tense day with the kids.

Another Use:
AT ROOM TEMPERATURE/DO NOT HEAT You can use to make a weighted eye and forehead mask that creates that small amount of pressure. For this you would need to play around with the size of the pocket and the amount of rice. If you have basic sewing skills, then you should be able to do this in no time!