I don’t care what the calendar says; it’s winter here in central New York! I’m embarrassed to admit to the readers of this blog what our monthly electric and gas bill is, and that’s while on a budget plan, so I will keep that specific dollar amount to myself. Suffice it to say, our house is over fifty years old and so is its original furnace. The only thing that could make heating this house more inefficient is if we opened up a few windows. Some people can feed a small family for what we spend! So why don’t we get a new furnace? It’s on the list, truly. And so is the leaky pipe downstairs, and the new bedroom windows that my children could actually open in the event of a fire, and a new electrical system so we don’t blow a fuse while running the sweeper, and my daughter’s mouth-widening procedure (as if she needs a bigger mouth), and our summer trip to the motherland (which is Wichita, Kansas).

Let’s get back on track here.

Like a lot of people, we turn down the thermostat at night and sleep at a comfortable 62 degrees. As this can sometimes be a bit chilly, especially on those nights when the wind is howling and the snow is flying, my children had grown accustomed to duking it our for the one and only heat pack. That’s enough! I hollered this past weekend, and commenced to make each child his and her own source of warmth.

Each pillow is made with 100% wool felt and stuffed with organic millet hulls. I added a few drops of essential oils ~ lavender for Jacob and ylang ylang for both girls. The packs provide just enough heat to warm their toes or to cuddle close to their body without being too hot. Hannah’s pillow is the biggest ~ groovy colors, eh? She chose those herself. Jacob’s pillow is the small four-square, and Bridget’s is the one that resembles a rather large, talking dinosaur. I had chosen the colors for Bridget’s pillow and, not too sure, asked my husband if they looked okay together.

Those are Barney colors, he said.

Well, of course they are! I’ve got Barney on the brain, even if it’s subconsciously.

edited ~ I purchased my millet hulls here in a 20 lb quantity. When the box arrived, I felt a bit sheepish over my error in judgement. Twenty pounds of millet hulls is A LOT!! I have made many items with my millet hulls and still have too much left. If you are curious about them, let me know and I will add a few listings to my eCrater shop.

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From now on, since I won’t be doing any crafting or sewing of my own, Craftacular Tuesdayposts will consist of links pointing to all the wonderful crafty things going on in my Google Reader. Would you like me to add a link to one of your crafty posts? Just contact me!!

PS - Congratulations to Bill from Ithaca for winning Gary Rith’s miniature piggy bank!! Bill, now you have a piece of Gary’s work to keep for yourself!