Lavender Rice Bags

 Wouldn't you love to snuggle up with one of these minky covered lavender rice bags? They feel just as good as they look. AJ the beagle and I are using one right now! Cost per bag? A budget friendly $1.70 each!!!! You won't find those prices in any shop I can tell you!!

 Here is where we started. Some leftover muslin in my stashed. Cut (2) pieces 14x10. Now sew up 3 sides leaving the 14 inch top open

 I wanted to do channels on rice bags this big so the rice wouldn't all settle to one side.  I folded the fabric in 1/2 then ironed. The second fold was folded into the first fold from each side.

 Once the fold lines were ironed just sew a seam along the ironed line making sure to lock the stitches at the top and bottom.

 I made  8 rice  bags using 15 pounds of white rice I had from a super sale way back when. Five pounds for $2.90@. These babies are gonna be priced right!

 Five pounds of rice fits perfectly in a gallon zip lock baggy. I added 1/3 bottle of lavender oil (.05 ounce bottle) found in  the candle/soap making section at a local craft store for under $2.00. Only fill the channels 1/2 full so there is room to do the top seam and have movement in the rice.

 Once you mix that bag of rice up good I used a glass measuring cup to pour the rice into each channel. Putting the rice bag in a bowl helped hold the bag and keep the spillage from going all over the kitchen. Wild child Kara was my helper for the day even with her 3 year old abilities we did a pretty darn good job.

 Check it out. Eight naked rice bags waiting for slip covers.

 I tried 2 different ways to close the bags. The first (bottom bag in this photo) was to turn under around the top and stitch it closed, The problem with this method for me was the bags slipped around a lot with all that rice in them : ( I ended up having to go back and zig zag over the stitching. The second one (top bag in this photo) I did a simple double fold then a straight stitch which worked so much better. Then it was on to making minky slip covers for each bag.

My assistant got pretty good at poring rice in bags after the first few few messy tries. She was happy to be paid with a yummy Carmel candy apple for a job well done.

What to do on a cold rainy day locked in the house with an active toddler and a Nanny in a funk?  What the heck might as well dig around in our scraps to see what we could come up with in the line of frugal gift giving.  A friend gifted a bunch of us gals a set of rice bags years ago that are still working great. They are WONDERFUL on a cold rainy day to cuddle with, great for any pains as they work hot (microwave) or cold (freezer). Our DD's love lavender in any way shape or form. We use lavender bath wash for the grands night time bath. Can't go wrong with lavender.

Lori over at Bee In My Bonnet has a GREAT tutorial for rice bag hand warmers.Sew darn cute and using charm squares is a great idea. Check out her post she is sew good at tutorials!!!

We are a dirty family.. No really we must be as it seems like I am always washing floors, doors, faces, and fingers. I wanted the rice bags to be "Dirty family friendly" sew rather than use cute fabric that we couldn't wash when the bags got dirt (they will get dirty) I decided to stick with the cheap ugly muslin then do slip covers in leftover Minky fabric. Flannel would have been nice as well but Minky is what I had in my stash sew minky it was.

Never made a pillow slip cover before? Check out this U Tube tutorial from Kris. They are so darn easy to make.

I had a 3 hour break from Kara today before she returned for the evening so Mommy and Daddy could attend a Christmas party. I don't think DD#3 was even out of the driveway before I was on the sofa for an afternoon nap. Oh a nap on a rainy cold day, is there anything better than that? Once Kara returned we went out for dinner. A rare treat as Kara isn't always the best dinner companion to say the least. To my delight she was as nice as she could be. We followed up that pleasant dinner with a ride around town looking at Christmas lights. What a joy to live this season through they eyes of a child.

What started out as a grumpy I don't want to do this sorta day turned in to a day of memories with this little wild child I will cherish forever :)