DIY Cherry Pit (Cherry Stone) Pack
Instead of paying a ridiculous amount of money for those heat and cold "therapy pillows" at pharmacies, this a simple way to make one for yourself at home.
Once you are done making this:
For a warm pack: heat the inner cherry stone pouch for 2-3 minutes in the microwave. The pack will stay warm for at least 30 minutes.
For a cold pack: You can also place the cherry stone pouch in the freezer and use the pillow as a cold pack.
Step One: Save Cherry Pits, or order them online . This year we processed abotu 40lbs of cherries so I had plenty of seeds to use without ordering any.
If you ordered you seeds online, skip to Step 3.
Step Two: If once I have removed my pits from my cherries I place them in a pot and boil them for 15 minuets. This helps to rid the cherries of any extra gunk and also released the natural toxins within the cherry pit. After boiling them I place them on my dehydrator trays and dehydrate them on the highest setting for three hours. After dehydrating them, I place them on a flat surface and allow them to air dry for another two weeks.
Step 3: I am not super picky about the "fanciness" of these pillows since they will be used for medicinal purposed only. I purchased a 12X12 inch piece of fabric from the Dollar Store for this. My daughter picked out the fabric when we were shopping there for other art supplies.
To make sure the fabric is nice and thick I Folded the square in half and then I folded it in half again. I fold it ensuring that when I eventually turn the pillow inside out, the face of the fabric will be facing out.
Step 4. This step is very easy. It can be done by hand or with a sewing machine. Sew along the entire edge of the fabric, making a solid square. Leave two inches unsewn.
Step 5. Now, using the hole left in the fabric, turn the pillow inside out.
Step 6. Fill your pillow with your cherry pits.
Step 7. Once the pillow is filled, turn the fabric from the hole inward and sew shut. You can stop here if you want. I do step 8 to give it a tiny bit of flair, but again, I'm not fancy with these.
Step 8. Because my daughter loves pink, and she picked out the fabric, I added a pink ribbon on the outer edge of the pillow. We also purchased this as the Dollar Store.
This step is very simple, tuck in the end of the ribbon to prevent fraying. Fold the ribbon in half, around the edge of the pillow, and then sew into place.
