It’s that time of year again! Eeeek! The Holidays! Thanksgiving…Christmas…New Year’s…I love it all! Right now I should be packing for our trip to Utah, but I just have to share what I have been working on (instead of packing!). Making microwavable feed corn heating pads!
Last year I blogged about making rice heating pads using pillow cases. They really are simple to make and we love using them. After being over-heated too many times, however, the burned rice smell can get a bit nauseating, so I decided to try something different: Feed corn.
My friend Patrice told me about feed corn heating “bags” years ago and how they don’t smell like rice does and how they hold the heat longer than rice. I decided to give corn a whirl.
Just so you know, feed corn is dirt cheap. I paid $12 for a 50 lb. bag. For the fabric, I found a really nice heavy full size flat sheet with a plaid pattern that is a dream to sew on. I love plaid because the lines make it easier to cut and sew straight lines. I like to start out with a piece of fabric that is about 25 inches by 14 inches, but really, you can make these any size and shape.
With this size, I add 2 scant cups of corn to each of the outside edges and 2 1/2 cups to the larger center section. Again you can go to my tutorial to see how to make these. Once you get the hang of it, you could probably rival Santa’s elves in gift making!
Oh, another fabric idea: My son had outgrown his Grinch pajama bottoms, so I just cut off the legs, straightened out the seams to form rectangles and made microwavable heating pads out of them, as well.
As a side note, these take a bit longer to heat up than the rice ones do. I would start with 2 1/2 minutes, but I like how it feels after 3 minutes. For heaven’s sakes, don’t overheat them and fry yourselves! Or anyone else!
If you are stumped about what to get for anyone this Holiday season, I guarantee that these microwavable feed corn heating pads will be a hit. Moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, siblings, friends, children of all ages will love them. They are great for aches and pains, for warming cold tooties and pre-warming a bed on a cold winter night. Trust me on this one…these heating pads are a popular commodity in our home.
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armchairdecoratorblog 
What a great idea. I have made them with rice, too, but you are right about the smell. Boy! You sure wouldn’t want to buy pop corn by mistake, LOL.
Thanks for sharing.
Connie 🙂
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The funny thing is that I have used popcorn before and it worked! We had a big bag of popcorn that mice had gotten to and rather than eat it, I made popcorn pads out of it. You know those kernels that refuse to pop? I decided to try something and it worked: I tempered (my word, I’m not sure if it is correct or not!) the popcorn by repeatedly heating it in the microwave for just a minute at a time, then I let it cool for a few and then put it back in the microwave for another minute. I did this process 5 or 6 times tempering maybe 3 or 4 cups of popcorn at a time. We have been using those popcorn pads for years now.
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Oh I need to make these. I just tossed our rice one because it was too smelly. Happy to have you sharing at Welcome Home Wednesdays!
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The feed corn doesn’t smell at all. I bought a heavy duty plaid sheet at a thrift store and have made about 15 of these so far, and I still have half of a sheet. Such an inexpensive, easy, quick gift to make and everyone loves them. Thanks for stopping by!
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DIY heating pads have been on my craft list for a while now. I like that you make yours nice and big. Thanks so much for sharing this on Merry Monday.
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They really are quick and easy to make. Our family can’t do winter without them! Thanks for stopping by!
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