Warm Softies

A few years ago, my sister-in-law gave my daughter a stuffed animal that had some kind of heatable "beads" inside of it.  The idea is that you put said animal into the microwave and warm it up before you go to bed and it keeps you toasty warm.  I absolutely loved the concept and decided that not only did I want one too, but that, of course, I could make them!  I sketched out a few simple templates on file folder paper and then set out to find the softest, most beautiful fabric I could find.

This turned out to be a marvelous thing called Minky.  The texture is just amazingly soft and there are some sumptuous colors and patterns.

Then, of course, I got more whimsical and the result was an adorable cupcake.

We have an amazing rescue bunny at our house so bunny softies quickly followed...

And more bunnies....

And, well, how about butterflies while I'm at it?

These warm softies have been gifted by me to many friends and families and both the adult and child recipients seem to grow fiercely attached to them as a night-time ritual and/or when aches need to be soothed.  

I played around with several "fillings" but flax seed along with some organic dried lavender and lavender essential oil (just a few drops mixed in with the flax) seemed to be the clear favorite.  It's very soft and retains heat for something on order of 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how long it is heated.  

I have realized that with limited time, the classic heart is the way to go.  I can probably get one made in about a half and hour.  I am developing a template for a wrap around neck pillow that should also be pretty quick to make.  

I Hope I have inspired you to come up with your own warm softies!