Thursday, August 28, 2008

Quickest. Project. Ever.


So, I was browsing on the internet looking for a heating pad and all of a sudden I thought, 'I wonder if there is a hippy homemade way to make my own heating pad?'
THERE WAS!
I introduce to you the RICE BAG.
It's just what it sounds like, a bag of rice. Seriously, that's it.
If you go on Etsy you will find a lot of people selling these in different sizes; some good for necks, eyes, wrist pads (like when using a mouse), tummys, and even booboo sized! You can make small square ones and put them in the freezer, and put them on booboos later. This would be an awesome (and super cheap) alternative for kids who hate ice packs.
For me, I like them warm. Pop it into the microwave for about one minute at a time. Each microwave is different, and the size of the bag and the amount of rice will also have an affect. For my bag, 2 minutes is pretty good.
What kind of rice do you use? Any kind! Brown, white, whatever. Some people use flaxseeds in there too, or a combination of both. And if you want, throw in some dried lavender or other scents you like!
How much rice do you use? I was using a pitcher when I poured mine in, so I only know the amount in fluid ounces, which turned out to be 55 fluid ounces. You don't want it to be too full...make it floppy so it can mold to your body.
What kind of fabric do you use? I would suggest 100% cotton, because it will be unaffected in the microwave. You could make the rice bag with muslin, and make a cover with another fabric, if you want the option of washing it.
How long will it last? You will notice, surprise surprise, that it smells like rice. If you use it a lot of have it for a while, it will eventually have a cooked rice smell. At this point you might want to open it up and switch it out for new rice.
This took me about five minutes from beginning to end!!!
P.S. I used Kaffe Fassett fabric :o)

1 comment:

jessicajane said...

my mom was just talking about these the other day! how they wanted to make some cause it was so hot in florida. thanks for the vote and blog comment!