DIY - Herbal Heart Heating Pad

Now that its fall, cooler temps are coming and I’ve been thinking of ways to stay warm these next few months.  Ok, so it’s still in the 90’s here in AZ, but we are all pretending its fall around here.  I came up with a fun little project for you to try this weekend!  Make your own herbal heart heating pad!  I bought an herbal rice heating pack many years ago in a shoulder shape and was always twisting it around trying to get the shape just right for where I wanted it, on a sore leg muscle or tummy.  Then quite a few years ago a friend showed me how to make them myself using flaxseed instead of rice.  Flax is much softer and because it is a flower seed, not a grain like rice, it has much more oil and will hold the heat a lot longer.  I made some for my boys (not heart shaped) for Christmas about 6 years ago and they still use them all the time.

What you need:

3 ½ cups of flaxseed (I found this in the bins at Sprouts for $1.19 per pound)

Dried herbs (I use lavender, chamomile and spearmint - also found at Sprouts for around 69 cents an ounce, you don’t need much, a couple tablespoons per herb depending on your preference)

2 - 10” squares of fabric (I often use flannel, but found some soft pink sweatshirt material I loved for this tutorial, cotton is just fine as well, fleece is too thick)

Matching thread

Sewing machine

Scissors 

Pins

How to make an Herbal Heart Heating Pad:

1.        Cut a heart shape out of your fabric (fold the fabric in ½ so both sides of your heart will match)

2.       Pin inside out

3.       Sew inside out with a ¼” seam around the edges leaving about a 2” opening

4.       Turn right side out

5.       Fill with flaxseed and add herbs to your liking

6.       Finish sewing the opening

Microwave 1-2 minutes depending on the size of your heating pad and the power of your microwave.  Don’t burn yourself!  If it’s too hot, let it cool before putting it on your body.

You can also put your heart in a bag and stick it in the freezer for a couple of hours and use it as a cold pack!

You can make any shape you want, shoulder pads, eye pillows, squares, tubes, small hearts or squares for pocket warmers.  Sew many possibilities. :)

If you don’t have access to a sewing machine or don’t want to attempt this, you can buy an herbal heart heating pack from me here -  Creative Wave Studios.  I’ll also take custom orders for any other shape, eye pillows, shoulder pads, etc.  These make great gifts!

Send an e-mail to creativewavestudios@gmail.com or contact me through my shop on Etsy for custom orders.

If you make a herbal heating pad send me a photo!  I would love to see what you make :)