Ice Packs and Neck Coolers ....sewing project

My MIL was just here for a visit and needed some new ice packs. They are soooo easy to do and are great hot or cold. You can throw it in a ziploc and keep it in the freezer for cold or microwave it for a couple seconds for a moist heat. I use regular white rice (not instant) for the filler and get it in the big bags so it's cheap to make.

The neck cooler instructions I found on the National MS Society's web page originally but they are also on the Watersorb website. They are pretty easy to do also. The only pain is turning the tube inside out! You can order the watersorb on the internet for about $20 for 2 pounds. Each cooler only takes 1 TBSP total....that's a lot of bags !!! The watersorb is like little, clear crystals that absorb a ton of water and puff up. I thought that once it was soaked in water (only takes about 3-5 min) that it would be drippy. But, to my surprise, their really isn't any leakage once it's out of the water. I'm gonna make my mom some for her MS, the heat is really hard on her and I'm hoping this will help. Gonna send some to my dad for mowing etc. These are really gonna come in handy !