More handmade gifts - crayon tote and rice bags

I realized as I was editing blog posts that I still had one post of handmade Christmas gifts leftover that I had never actually gotten around to posting! I use Picasa to edit my photos and then email them to Blogger, and they sit there as drafts, waiting for me to add text and post them...and sometimes I forget they're sitting there!!

Anyway...without further delay...this adorable little pink crayon tote is a gift I made for my 2-year old niece, Emma. I used iron-on vinyl I got at Jo-Ann's, which I applied to the cupcake fabric first. I then used fusible webbing to iron the lining to the cupcake fabric, before I assembled the tote. The tote is big enough to carry a few coloring books.

The other gift is a rice therapy bag. I actually made it using two layers. The inside is a muslin bag, with two channels sewn, to help the rice not get all bunched in one place. I scented the rice with a couple different scents, using essential oils - some were rosemary-lavender, some were peppermint. After filling the muslin and sewing them closed, I placed the muslin bags inside the outer bags and sewed them closed. My original plan was actually to have the outside bag be removable, with a velcro closing, but I didn't plan my measurements correctly and couldn't end up doing them that way. Oh well...live and learn!

The bags can be used for heat therapy or cold therapy. For cold, they can just be placed in the freezer for a while before use. For heat, they can be placed in the microwave for 2 minutes. They are easy to make, easy to customize by scent, size, and fabric, and make great gifts!!