Growing Like A Weed Heat Pack

My son is going through a growth spurt. I remember when I would get growing pains as a child and how awful it was. Hot baths late at night, mentholatum lotion, but my favorite remedy was a nice warm heating pad. So, I needed to make some up for little J. But, I thought I would try to make them a bit more fun than a regular heating pad. So, I found these great prints in snug fleece and designed some "growing like a weed" tags. This way, it seems like a gift and hopefully my kiddo will be excited to give them a try.

1. First "marinate" your uncooked rice. Fill a bowl with an airtight lid (or ziplock bag) with uncooked rice and your choice of scent. You could drop in some scented oils, such as lavender, or use what's in your spice cupboard such as ground cloves and cinnamon. It's up to you. I like to let my rice sit for about a day so it's nice and smelly... in a good way.

If you wanna get real fancy, you could even make different rice packs for different stuff. My bestie from high school, Melissa, knows all about these things and told me certain oils can be remedies for different ailments. For example:

Lavender: good for leg cramps, anxiety, great for calming and can help with sleep.
Wild Orange: good for colds, anxiety, flu, and to calm.
Breathe: respiratory system problems, coughs, colds, asthma.
DigestZen: Can help balance the digestive system, flu, stomach aches, gas, and colic.

If you want to check out some of these oils, visit Melissa here. She's super.

2. There are two options. There's a SUPER easy version and a little more complicated version. For the super easy version (pictured above), just cut out the fabric to the dimensions of your choice. Simply sew around the edges (kind of in a "U" shape), leaving the top open. Fill it with your rice, fold the rough edges under, and stitch it up. SUPER EASY, right?

3. If you prefer your bag to have sections, it's not much more difficult. I did multiple bags in hope to achieve this look and think I found the quickest way to do it. Sew around the edges of your bag, right sides together, leaving one side open. Be sure the side you leave open is the longest side. See here?

4. Divvy up your bag into sections, the measurements are up to your liking, and sew ALMOST to the top, toward the rough edges. Don't forget to backstitch.

5. Fill the sections up with rice, stopping just about 1/2" short of where your stitching ends.

6. Fold the rough edges under about 1/2" and pin in place. Sew it up. I put a folded ribbon at the corner so little hands can carry the hot bag around without touching the hot part. But, that's really it. SO simple, right? Done.

Now, pop it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and sooth those aches and pains. Although the tag says 1-2 minutes, big boys and girls (aka us adults) can heat it up to 3 minutes. Want to download a pdf of these "because you are growing like a weed" tags and print them out? Go here.

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