Rice/Flax seed bags

One easier sewing recipe that gets rave reviews from the people I make them for is the rice/flax seed bag. This is a small bag filled with rice or flax seed that you can heat in the microwave. It is good for warming your hands, treating a headache or other aches and pains, or keeping you warm under the covers when you go to bed.

These are a very simple project that a beginner could make very easily. I usually make mine so the the finished project is 10" by 6." Another idea I do is to make a cover to go over the bag. If I do make a cover then the fabric for the pillow itself is not important as it wont be seen and can be any old fabric. If you don't make a case for the pillow then try a fleece or flannel for the pillow as it is nice and soft.

Usually for someone who is making these only once, the inside of the pillow is filled with rice. People who sell these often use flax seed as it is a better choice. Flax seed has oil in it instead of water so when you heat it the heat is retained longer. A good read to see the difference is on this site. Whichever you use, rice or flax, you will need a good 2 1/2 cups of it for this project. You can also throw in a 1/3c dry lavender flowers and or a few drops of lavender essential oil.

First cut out two rectangles of your fabric of choice. They need to measure 10 1/2 by 6 1/2. This leaves the 1/4" for a seem allowance and will leave the finished project at 10x6. Place right sides together and sew up three sides of the rectangle. The fourth side you sew all but 2 1/2 inches, leaving an opening to put the rice in through.

Turn your pillow right side out. Pour in your rice or flax seed. Add any lavender or essential oils you may want to add. With a needle and thread stitch up the opening and you are finished!

Who doesn't like chocolate?

This is an idea we did last year that really looked great yet required little effort or skill. A lot of people do chocolate dipped pretzels, we did them with a twist. We used pretzel sticks instead of twists and then rolled them in colored sugar afterwards. We also dipped the bottom half of a candy cane the same way. The candy cane looked really elegant dipped in white chocolate and rolled in red sugar.

Ingredients:
pretzel rods or candy canes
melting chocolate- milk, dark or white
colored decorators sugar in red or green

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Dip the pretzel/candy cane several inches into the chocolate. You can use a spoon to get the chocolate up higher on the pretzel. Put the sugar on a plate and roll the pretzel in the sugar. Place the pretzel on wax paper to cool. These can be bagged up in a tall skinny plastic bag by the dozen or wrapped up individually with plastic wrap.