I have been very focused on stress relief, anxiety relief and relaxation this month. I battle with a pretty severe migraine at least once a month, and I've found that using aromatherapy can help quite a bit. This fun, little project is quick, easy, and is such a great way to add some relaxation into your self love/self care routine. They also make great gifts! Once completed, you can heat these up in the microwave or keep them in the freezer. The dried lavender and lavender essential oil makes for a lovely scent, that not only helps to relax you, but is also known to aid in better sleep, helps treat anxiety, nausea and even help with allergies.
Ingredients
2, 6" x 12" pieces of fabric (preferably linen or cotton)
3/4 cup dried lavender
4 cups uncooked rice
6 drops lavender essential oil
Other Materials You'll Need
Sewing Machine or Needle/Thread
Mixing Bowl and Spoon
Directions
I purchased a package of 12" x 12" fabric squares in various patterns for these. It makes life easier because you simply fold the 12" x 12" square in half, cut along the fold, and you have two perfectly sized pieces for this project.
A sewing machine will make this much easier and faster, however, I don't have mine with me here in Florida, so I made these by hand with a needle and thread.
Start by adding your uncooked rice and dried lavender to a mixing bowl, and add 6 drops of essential oil to the bowl. Mix until well combined and set aside.
Take your two pieces of fabric and lay them on top of each other, edges aligned with the exterior of the fabric facing the inside on both sides. If it helps, you can use pins to keep the fabric together while you're sewing the edges.
Sew along the outer edge of your fabric, about 1/4" to 1/2" from the edge. Keep the line as straight as possible, and continue around the edge until you have about 4" in length on the longer side left. We want to keep this unstitched in order to fill the pillow. Knot and tie off your thread.
Snip the corners at an angle with your scissors to give your eye pillow a crisp corner. This helps to avoid bunching once you've turned the material inside out.
Carefully turn the pillow inside out, so that your exterior fabric is now facing the outside. Use your fingers or the back side of your spoon to carefully push the corners out completely.
Now it's time to fill your pillow with the mixture you made earlier. Using a spoon, add the rice and lavender mixture to your eye pillow until it's almost completely full. You want to be sure you have enough room to pull the edges together and complete the stitch on the outside, so the rice shouldn't completely fill the entire pillow. You want something with a little give to it, so you can rest it comfortably on your face or neck.
Once your pillow is full, use a needle and thread to stitch the opening closed. Knot and tie off your thread to complete the stitch.
Voila! You have a beautiful sachet that you can use for your face, neck and eyes. These make great additions to gift baskets or as gifts on their own. They also make great gifts for yourself.
To Use
HOT PACK For heat, place in the microwave for 30 second intervals until you reach the preferred temperature. You don't want to overheat your pillow, so only heat for 30 seconds at any one time. If you overheat your pillow, you can scorch your fabric. Additionally, please be careful when removing the pillow from the microwave as it may be very warm/hot.
Note — If you prefer to use these heated, a great alternative for uncooked rice is flax seed, because it retains the heat for longer than rice does.
COLD PACK
For a refreshing treat, place your pillow in the freezer for 1-2 hours prior to using. You can then use the cold pillow on your eyes for relief, the back of the neck, or even the bottom of your feet.
Let me know what you think of this project, and don't forget to tag @LifeTranscribed in any social media posts. I always love to see your projects!