Handmade gifts definitely warm the heart. This easy-to-create idea will warm hands as well!
What you need:
- Large piece of felt in color of your choice
- Cookie cutter or shape template (we used a heart for Valentine's Day!)
- Sharpie/permanent marker
- Good scissors
- Rice
- Glue gun and hot glue
- Felt appliques for decorating shape (optional)
What to do:
Lay felt flat on a hard surface. Outline your shapes with marker. Remember you will need two shapes for each hand warmer. Cut out all shapes while warming up your glue gun.
Once all the felt has been cut and the glue gun warmed up, make a thick line of glue along the edges of ¾ of one of the shapes. Place a second shape on top and hold for a few seconds to secure. It will now look like a pouch. The opening left is where you will add the rice with a small spoon. Once all the pouches are made, use a small spoon and add rice until the pouch is just about full. The felt will stretch a little in the process which is normal. Trim any excess felt around the edges and reglue any spots necessary now that the hand warmers have ben stuffed.
Seal up the opening with hot glue and attach the appliqué if desired.
Include these instructions with each hand warmer:
“Place your hand warmer in the microwave for 30-45 second. The rice inside will heat up and stay warm for several minutes.”
Note: Hand warmers can also be sewn instead of using hot glue. We have microwaved ours many times and have not had a problem with the glue releasing once dry. You can also add essential oils to the rice for a nice scent. A few drops will go a long way.
