heart-warmer tutorial {and a printable!}

One of my dearest friends, Erin recently moved away. I have been so sad and I miss her! Luckily, her move is only temporary, but I still miss our regular dinners out together and takeout lunches at one of our houses. She is such a great friend and I want to be just like her when I grow up. She has way too much creativity and amazing-ness for one person. She made these adorable heart-warmers on her blog, Lovesome (you must go check it out!) and is sharing them with us today! These are the perfect gift for a friend or someone you love. I will be using this to keep me warm and fuzzy while Erin is away.

i've been seeing the sweetest little hand-warmers surfacing around the web lately. what a sweet idea and a great way to keep your hands and the hands of those you love warm on chilly mornings. all you have to do is heat it up in the microwave and drop it in your pocket or mittens. they are so easy and so much cuter (and cheaper!) than those little warming packets you can buy at the grocery store. plus, they are reusable. cute, easy, practical, and environmentally friendly, what more can you ask for?

making one is so simple, and while a sewing machine makes them faster, it is not necessary to use one. in fact, it was so easy that i didn't even take any pictures during the process.

here's how you do it:
1. cut two of the same shape out felt (two hearts, two stars. etc.). make sure they are the same size.
2. sew the pieces together leaving about half-an-inch open.
3. using a funnel, fill the shape with rice through the unsewn opening.
4. hand-stitch the opening closed.
voila! done! so easy and so sweet, right?
i found that about 25 seconds in the microwave is perfect, but you might want to try out a few different cooking times, depending on the size of your warmer. (make sure no metal accidentally gets shoved in the warmer, you don't want any explosions in the microwave!)

i made a cute little tag to add to mine, turning it into the perfect little gift or party favor.
do you want some, too? download your own here.
enjoy!