Sponge (foam rubber) squishies
Necessary materials:
- sponge;
- gouache;
- scissors;
- PVA glue;
- shaving foam;
- food coloring.
Algorithm of actions:
- Cut the edges of the sponge and give it the desired shape (cake, donut, cupcake).
- Soak the figure with gouache to match the color of the dough (vanilla - light brown paint, chocolate - dark brown, almost black). Let the sponge dry.
- Preparing the "cream" - mix a small amount of glue, shaving foam and a couple of drops of dye. We mix everything.
- Put the “cream” on a dried sponge, if you wish, you can also sprinkle it with sparkles or sequins on top. Let it dry completely.
In the same way, you can make hamburger-shaped squishies using makeup sponges of different colors. You need to glue several pieces to each other, alternating colors. Decorate the top in the same way.
How to care for squishies?
To make the squishy last a long time, use our tips.
Can I wash squishies?
If we are talking about a store squishy made of special memory foam, then you can wash such toys under running water. Wet the squishy well, then apply shampoo to the surface and lather it up. After the procedure, rinse the accessory thoroughly and dry it in the fresh air.
If you want to wash a homemade toy, be careful, some details, such as paper, may not withstand such washing.
What to do if the squishy is torn
If the toy is torn, you can give things a second life. For example, make a new smaller figure out of a torn squishy, a phone stand or a pin cushion. You can use a toy that has become completely unusable as a makeup sponge by cutting off the paint from the surface.
How to soften squishies
Over time, squishy can harden due to excess moisture or lack of air, for example, if it has been in a box for a long time. There are several ways to soften it. We will tell you about the three most popular ones.
- Preheat in the microwave. Place the squishies on a plate and microwave for 10 seconds. Microwave radiation will soften the toy a little.
- Lubricate with nourishing cream. Apply a greasy hand cream to the squishy and wait for 5 minutes.
- Moisten the squishy with water. The method is considered the simplest and most effective.
How to clean sticky squishies?
It happens that immediately after buying a toy, the squishy sticks to your hands. You can remove such a nuisance with starch or baby talcum powder. Just apply the substance to the surface with a brush.
You have learned about the most popular squishy making methods. Now it is enough to arm yourself with the necessary material and tools, and get to work. Whichever method you choose, the result will pleasantly surprise you, and a new unique stress relieving toy will appear in your collection.
Master class number 2. Sponge Squishy Panda
DIY sponge panda squishy
Step 1. By tradition, you need to prepare in advance all the necessary materials, as well as the tools that will be used in the work. This is a piece of foam rubber (for example, a large sponge or just foam rubber), scotch tape, acrylic paint, scissors and a stationery knife, a permanent marker, white electrical tape, a small plastic bag.
What you need for a sponge panda squishy
Step 2. Next, we need to cut out a piece of the shape that we need from a piece of foam rubber. In our case, it is a volumetric oval, flat on one side. In the process, you can use both a stationery knife and scissors.
A volumetric oval is cut out of the foam rubber Scissors are also used Cut out part of the foam rubber
Step 3. The workpiece must be placed in a small plastic bag, tightly twisted around the future toy.
The blank is placed in a bag, then the bag is twisted
Step 4. The excess "tail" of the bag needs to be cut off.
The "tail" of the package is cut off
Step 5. The resulting shorter "tail" needs to be pressed to the body of the toy and secured with tape.
The rest is secured with tape
Step 6. Next, the workpiece must be tightly wrapped with white electrical tape.
The workpiece is wrapped with white duct tape Almost finished Workpiece is tightly wrapped with duct tape
Step 7. With a simple pencil, you need to outline the face of the future panda toy.
A panda face is outlined
Step 8. Next, you need to circle the resulting drawing with a black marker and color it in.
The drawing is colored with a marker
Step 9. It remains only to add some details to the face with a brush and acrylic paints.
Some details are added with a brush.
Step 10. When the paint is dry, you need to make holes on the back of the squishy with a needle or the tip of a clerical knife so that air can easily escape from them. Then the toy will shrink properly and return to its shape.
Holes are made at the back
Step 11. The squishy is ready.
Ready squishy panda
Making edible squishies
Of course, you can't eat cotton wool squishies, no matter how appetizing they look, but you can make a real edible toy yourself.
For this, the following ingredients and materials are prepared:
- sieve;
- a tablespoon of lemon zest;
- 100 milliliters of water;
- 5 tablespoons of lemon juice;
- one and a half glasses of sugar;
- container for mixing components;
- any favorite juice;
- 40 grams of gelatin.
Manufacturing sequence:
- In a separate bowl, mix the juice with gelatin. The container is set aside until the gelatin swells.
- In a metal bowl, mix lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and water. Then the mixture is heated over low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Then the swollen gelatin is poured into a container on the stove and boiled for some time until it is completely dissolved.
- The mass is filtered through a sieve and poured into molds.
- The product is placed in the refrigerator for solidification.
- Now you can not only play with squish, but also eat it.
There are many options for making homemade squishies. If you show your imagination, then you can come up with your own options for making anti-stress. Homemade toys are even better than store toys, for example, when squeezed, they can crunch or rustle pleasantly.
What is sponge squishy?
Many people are interested in why sponge squishes are popular; in terms of their characteristics, such anti-stress is in no way inferior to purchased toys. It also crumples well, crunches, holds together, and after the game returns to its shape, like a purchased anti-stress.
But such a toy also has an undeniable advantage: you can make squishies with your own hands from a sponge at any time of the day. The main thing is that at home there are some materials at hand, and the creator has inspiration for work.
For adults, sponge squishies help relieve stress and nervous tension, get rid of bad habits, and for children this game is an excellent opportunity to develop fine motor skills of the hands. In general, such a toy provides pleasant tactile sensations, and if you create it yourself, it develops imagination and creative skills.
Separately, it should be said about the lack of a sponge as a material for squishy. It is one, but essential: the size of the planned toy is limited by the size of the dishwashing sponge itself. This fact does not stop real designers, of course, they know how to make a squishy series out of an ordinary sponge, or fasten several sponges into one toy. Individual masters even have entire collections of mini sponge squishies.
Some skeptics say that the sponge itself wrinkles well, why change it? But only those who have never played with real anti-stress can say this. In the game, not only tactile sensations are important, but also the aesthetics of the process. Agree, it is much more pleasant to play with beautiful "crinkles".
To make a beautiful squish out of a sponge, of course, you need a regular dishwashing sponge, or better, a whole package - this is the basic component of the toy, but far from the only one.
Also useful for creativity:
- Scissors or sharp knife, blade. These tools are good for contouring the toy as desired, and a knife and blade are also used to separate the scraper (the dense part of the sponge) from the foam.
- Markers, gouache paints. With their help, we add anti-stress colors, draw details. If paints are used for decoration, remember that the sponge needs to dry well before proceeding to the next step. It is better not to use watercolor paints, as they dry for a long time and do not always give the desired rich shade on the foam rubber.
- Paper and tape, cover for textbooks and notebooks, plastic bag. These materials form the basic shell of anti-stress. In this case, the sponge will play the role of a filler.
- Gun glue. With this glue, you can not only connect different parts of one toy, but also leave "drops" on the surface of the sponge. Once frozen, these drops of pistol glue will form a very interesting texture.
- Glitters and sprinkles. They are used to decorate the finished slime so that the glitter sticks to the sponge squishy made with your own hands, you can mix them with a drop of stationery glue, and then apply anti-stress to the surface. Allow the glue to dry well before playing.
The list of necessary materials, perhaps, is limited only by the imagination of the author of the anti-stress. Depending on your idea of how to make a squish out of a sponge, you may need both light plasticine and bases with foam balls. The combination of several textures makes the anti-stress game very fun.
You can decorate the finished squish with any decorative elements, not just sparkles. Depending on the conceived design, ordinary buttons and flowers from foamiran can serve as decor. The more experienced the squish author, the bolder the experiments in decor.
Will become a soap box
From the liquid that accumulates at the bottom of an ordinary plastic soap dish, the soap becomes soft, breaks up into pieces, turning into remnants, and it becomes simply impossible to wash with it. We offer you an alternative - a soap dish made of a sponge for the bathroom. Take a sponge and cut a depression in it just for the soap
It is important that the piece "goes" into the sponge completely, but not too deep. By wetting a sponge with soap inside, you can wash without taking it out of an impromptu "soap dish"
In this case, it will never slip out of your hands, and if it does slip out, it will definitely not sink at the bottom of the bathroom.
You can do without scissors - just use a sponge as a support for a bar of soap. And when the soap runs out, you can wipe the bathtub or sink with a sponge, wash it and use it further.
Foamiran squishies
You can make squishes from the airy and light foamy foamiran material. This type of craft differs from paper squishy in that the toy is not afraid of water, firmly holds its original shape and does not fade in the sun. With the help of foam sheets, you can make 3D squishies in the shape of a large and soft candy in just 2 minutes.
Materials:
- 2 sheets of foamiran A4 in different colors;
- foam sponge, which will serve as a filler;
- 2 silicone rubber bands;
- glue moment.
Instructions:
- Apply glue to the edge of the sheet along one of the long sides, roll the foam into a tube and glue.
- Insert a foam sponge into the center of the resulting cylinder.
- Tie the edges of the future candy with rubber bands and smooth the edges nicely.
- From the second sheet of foamiran of a contrasting color, cut out curly decorations and stick on the resulting candy.
How to make a jute loofah softer?
For me, a person of the principle “what I see, then I sing”, words are very important! And the description of the goods is so completely. Every word of mine, spoken or written, is confirmed by action.
And, if I wrote that my jute sponge is “processed and ready for use, as soon as you remove the packaging,” it means that the washcloth is really processed with the frenzy of a terry perfectionist and it is safe to use it even inside (but it’s better not, because it’s not tasty).
And so I decided to show you the process of this most thorough processing:
2 photos - freshly tied washcloths, hard, prickly, completely unusable (in my opinion)
3 photos - I soak and wash washcloths by hand in a mixture of detergents of a rather aggressive nature (I prefer more or less natural ones)
The water after this process is like that swamp slurry
4 photos - thorough rinsing. The water is already cleaner, but not quite yet
5 photos - washing washcloths with handmade soap in coconut oil. I wash, rub, rinse each washcloth separately.
6 photos - steamed in very, very hot water (almost boiling water) for 20-30 minutes. Then I rinse one last time.
7 photos - washcloths are dried in the sun in summer, in the cold in winter
8 photos - already pleasant to the touch, clean-scented washcloths preening - I sew tags, loops, pack, seal in bags with instructions.
And now, in full bloom and in the best form, sponges go on sale.
By the way, the photo shows very well how the structure of the jute thread changes. Remember this difference well! This will help you distinguish a clean and safe washcloth from a dishonest and unkempt washcloth.
Is it true that squishies relieve stress?
Manufacturers, as well as bloggers and just fans of squishy toys in unison, argue that these squashes really help eliminate stress, relax, or, conversely, concentrate on solving a specific problem and quickly find the best option. But so far this has not been scientifically confirmed in any way - the corresponding studies have not been carried out.
Squishies soothe and relax
But we can say with confidence that squishies by themselves do not relieve stress, especially strong. The process of rolling and crushing the toy itself calms and relaxes a little.
It is important to understand that the effect of using a crush will be small - you should not consider a toy as a therapy option for serious stress or psychological problems. But here's how cute addition-calming in any squishy situation can well be regarded
What is the use of squishy for a child
The brain, when the hands are busy with something, is distracted from daily tasks and begins to process sensory information. As a result, the person relaxes and calms down.
Squishies can be a lot of fun
Growing crystals of salt and vinegar
Another simple science project for kids is growing salt and vinegar crystals on a sponge. Combine water, salt, vinegar and boil before sponging. Sponge the food coloring and place the dish in a sunny, warm place where you can watch the crystals grow.
Make Kids Crafts with Glue Sponge: For young children, instead of letting them mess up the glue, make a gummy sponge so they can just glue on their designs for an even layer of glue. The best part is that it's ready to use for over a year in any airtight container.
Sponge Crafts - DIY Bath Toys: By cutting the sponges, you can glue the pieces together and make your own toys for your baby's bath.
For inspiration, check out this sponge boat with cork sailors. In order to make a sponge craft properly, choose a beautiful color and size of the sponge itself.
Pack fragile items:
- moisten a sponge and place it around a delicate object (such as a figurine);
- Use several sponges if it is a larger object (for example, a vase), and secure everything with an elastic band;
- The sponge will conform to the fragile object and will return to its original shape after it gets wet again.Create an ice pack: Make yourself an ice pack that will not leak by freezing the damp sponge and placing it in the bag;
- Just remember to disinfect the sponge very often;
- Stamp envelopes: Instead of licking envelopes or stamps, apply a damp sponge to them for the same effect. Make two sponges out of one: Cut the sponge in half. This is a very easy way to save money.
Jelly squishies
How to make squishies out of paper, as well as from many other scrap materials, can be done at home. For those who often buy different yoghurts, a squeeze made from gelatin and soap in the form of a watermelon is suitable. To make a toy, you need to pick up 3 cans of a round shape, so that the size of the second can is wider than the first, and the third is wider than the second.
In addition, you will need:
- gelatin;
- food dyes of three shades: red for the middle (you can choose a dark pink color), white for the interlayer and green for the crust of the watermelon;
- transparent shampoo without the addition of dyes, transparent liquid soap is also suitable;
- permanent marker in black;
- plastic cup.
Instructions for making squishy:
- Dissolve 3 tablespoons of gelatin in a glass of water; for this, the poured gelatin must be left at room temperature for 20-25 minutes.
- Divide the resulting mixture into two parts, leave one in a glass, and place the other in a container and put on low heat.
- When heating the gelatin mixture, you need to add liquid soap and red or pink dye to it, this will be the core of the watermelon.
- After thoroughly mixing the ingredients, the mixture is poured into the smallest mold and left for half an hour in the refrigerator to solidify completely.
- The frozen red circle is placed in a medium-sized mold, and it should be laid strictly in the center.
- In a similar way, a mixture of gelatin, shampoo and white dye is cooked over the fire. You can use regular milk instead of dye.
- The white mixture is carefully poured along the edge of the red frozen jelly, forming an additional color layer on the future toy.
- Place the mold again in the refrigerator until it solidifies completely.
- The last green layer is poured and cooled in the same way as the white one, only the largest form is used.
- The resulting jelly cylinder is cut into separate layers, which, if desired, can be divided into slices.
- In order for the watermelon to have seeds, they need to be drawn with a black permanent marker.
Edible squishies
Antistress toys and food are two things that really calm us down. What if you combine them? Try it - it's really great!
You will need Haribo gummy bears (you can take their own worms, or crocodiles, or cans of cola, according to your taste). You will also need baking tins - in the form of bears, or hearts, or something else.
Pour a pack of marmalade into a bowl, put it in the microwave for a few minutes. When the bears melt and turn into a hot, viscous mass, it is necessary to fill the molds with it. After that, the marmalade should solidify at room temperature. Thus, you get marmalade squishies that will not only be tasty to eat, but also great to stretch in different directions. Double hit on stress!
You can also make an edible squish slime. First, you need to melt 3-4 dozen chewing candies from the microwave. It is better if they are of different tastes and colors, but of the same brand, so that a single consistency is preserved.
Add powdered sugar, confectionery sprinkles and a variety of goodies to the resulting viscous mass: pieces of marmalade, candied fruits, dried fruits, nuts and raisins. Then we form a slime. It can be stretched, molded from it, like from plasticine, and at the same time there is gradually.
Calm, only calm!
Squishies are a great way to relax and relieve stress after a busy school or work day. They do not have to be bought at the store, they are easy to make at home: from paper or sponges, large or small, with different fillers, silicone squishes, single and multi-layered, in the form of soap, even edible squishes!
YouTube is replete with a huge number of ideas, master classes and life hacks on this topic. Join in, fantasize and don't worry about trifles!
What can squishy be made of?
Squishy toys in their classic variation come in three varieties. They are described in the table below.
Table. Varieties of squishy.
Type, photo | Description |
---|---|
Foamed | This option is the second most common in stores. Such toys in their texture resemble a sponge of one density or another. If you look closely, you can see the presence of small pores filled with air on the material, if the toy does not have an additional coating. Actually, such a squishy behaves like a foam sponge: easily crumpled, lightweight, quickly restores its shape after crumpling. Usually very cheap. |
Rubber | The first most common option. This squishy looks like a slime, just not so nasty. It is pleasant to wrinkle, it easily regains its shape and is more durable than foam rubber. It is not afraid of water, it compresses a little harder than the first option. |
Gel | This is usually a transparent toy, inside of which there is a special gel - colored or with various fillers such as sequins. It crumples very easily, squeezes nicely, but feels colder tactilely than other options. Lives less than others, and in case of damage to the shell, it becomes unusable. |
Squishy frog filled with orbis
These are the main materials from which squishes are made in production. However, many needlewomen and craftsmen have learned to make anti-stress toys from other materials. To create a squishy you can use:
- ordinary foam rubber and its derivatives;
- air balloons;
- foamiran;
- plastic bags;
- the cloth;
- paper;
- silicone.
Foamiran
A variety of materials can also be used as a squishy filler, ranging from padding polyester to special fillers or even cotton wool. Sintepon, polyethylene bags, cotton wool or foam rubber are most often used for homemade toys.
DIY edible squishies
Now for your attention - several master classes on creating the simplest and most beautiful squishy. All options will not take away a lot of money and your time, but they will give you the opportunity to express yourself in creativity and make a completely unique toy that no one else has. Explore, choose and go ahead - create and create the most trendy toy now!
Squishy benefits
What else is the reason for the popularity of squishy, in addition to the fact that they are now in trend? Let's outline the main advantages of these crumbs, and everything will become clear.
Such squishies help to distract
- To some extent, squishy really helps to calm down, distract and relieve stress. A great option for a five-minute break for an adult at work or for a student during a break.
- Squishy makes some people's aggression less pronounced. But there is no documentary evidence for this.
- The squishies are cute. They can have very different shapes, but, as a rule, they are either funny or cute and almost everyone likes them, especially girls.
- Squishies help develop fine motor skills. And it will not be superfluous even for adults, let alone children. The development of fine motor skills also allows the brain to develop, activating some of its centers and making them more active.
- Kneading squishy is a real gymnastics for the fingers. It will be useful for both a healthy person and those who have suffered an injury, it will help to quickly restore physical activity. At the same time, the toy does not exert a serious heavy load on the joints, it is soft and pleasant to the touch.
- Squishy allows you to increase the sensitivity of your fingers.
- Tactilely pleasant squishies are just great to hold in your hands even just like that, to admire them and, to be honest, to brag to your subscribers and friends on the Web.
- These crushers can be a nice gift for any person, moreover, they are inexpensive and will not seriously hit the budget. In addition, they are very easy to make with your own hands.
- Squishies are very small and will not take up much space. You can take them with you to work, on a trip, for a walk, and so on.
Squishy in the form of fries
Antistress toy - pig
Currently, antistress toys - squishies are widely used among children. When you press these toys, they crumple, change their shape, they can be kneaded in the hands in all sorts of ways, which amuses children and many adults very much, after which the toys restore their original shape again.
Just a sponge is the most suitable material for a squish - a pig. For manufacturing, you need to prepare a sponge of any color for washing dishes, building acrylic primer, hot glue, felt, scissors, sandpaper and acrylic paints. Step-by-step instructions for making a piglet are discussed below.
- A sponge is taken, coarse fiber is separated from it. Next, an oval is drawn on the sponge and cut out according to the template. You can not draw an oval, but simply cut off the corners of the sponge, trimming to give it the shape of an oval.
- After processing the edges of the sponge with scissors, an uneven oval will turn out, so you need to go over the workpiece with sandpaper in order to completely clean the shape and remove all irregularities.
- The next step is to apply acrylic primer to the surface of the oval sponge, then wrinkle so that the sponge is saturated with soil. And dry the workpiece.
- After drying, you can start painting the sponge. 2 acrylic paints are mixed: red and white, to obtain a deep pink color and the sponge is painted in two layers.
- Next, on the sponge, draw a pig's face: eyes, a piglet. The paint will need to be dried again.
- Next, the pig's ears are cut out of white felt and glued with a glue gun with hot glue to the pig's face - squish.
The antistress toy is ready.
Materials and tools for work
How to make squishies out of paper and not only is described in detail in the article.
For needlework, the following materials may be required:
- The filler, all sensations when squeezing a toy depend on its quality characteristics. You can stuff the product with foam rubber or padding polyester, cotton wool or foam balls, plastic bags of various densities are also suitable.
- A squishy shell that can be made from paper or a transparent cover by gluing the blank with tape.
- The soft base of the toy can be used without a shell; for such variations, foam sponges, silicone sealant or soft sealant are suitable.
- You can even create squishies using old tights, a plastic bag, or a rubber ball.
- To paint products, you will need felt-tip pens, markers, gouache or food colors.
- Glitter can be used to create a festive mood.
The most popular tools in the squishy making process are:
- scissors;
- gouache brushes;
- Scotch;
- hot melt or PVA glue.
Very interesting paper squishes will turn out if you use non-standard fillers:
Filler name. | Product characteristics. |
Baby diapers cut into small pieces. | Squishies turn out to be quite soft and recover their shape well. |
Small foam balls. | When squeezed, the toy makes the sound of balls rubbing against each other. The product does not regain its shape, however, pleasant tactile sensations perfectly relieve stress. |
Pieces of cling film. | The film rustles pleasantly when squeezed and quite actively restores its original shape. |
Paper bags cut into small pieces. | The toy shrinks well, but does not recover very quickly. |
Scotch tape. | It is pleasant to crumple such a toy; it makes the sound of compressible polyethylene. |