Most people who know me are fully aware of my vehement love of all things in celebration of

Valentine’s Day!

I have begun my preparations in earnest for this most joyous of days, and my very first gift-project has turned out rather adorably! I found this lovely idea for making pocket-sized bean bags as winter hand warmers on a blog called Practically Functional (thanks you Pinterest).

I started with the main materials: red felt, a needle, and some thread

Using my handy dandy sewing scissors, I cut heart-shaped pairs out and sewed around the edges, leaving about an inch-and-a-half opening. Then I turned it inside out so that the seam did not show. . . and I went to search my kitchen cabinets for some grainy goodness that might hold heat.

Leaving no small amount of rice scattered around my kitchen, I managed to fill the little sachets, then sewed the final opening closed carefully, so that it did not look highly different from the rest. I also used the thread to make a double-seam, sewing carefully around the entire heart a second time. That fnished, voila!

All that remains is to make some cutesy labels and then package them up for my many valentines! They can just pop these little darlings in the microwave for 45 seconds or so, and then keep the now-cozy hearts in their pockets to warm their hands on a chilly winter’s morning.

It kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term heartwarming, doesn’t it?