How to make a stress ball without a balloon?
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Author bio
The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
In this brief blog, we will discuss how to make a stress ball without a balloon.
We will also teach you how to make stress balls from different other materials.
How to make a stress ball without a balloon
- You should place the bowl on a stable surface
- Add a bit of glue to coat the base of your bowl
- Then add your shaving cream to be at least 6 times the amount of glue you have just added
- You should then use your mixing tool and mix the solution very well.
- You can now add any paint you like. (This step isn’t mandatory)
- Now add your contact solution and stir until the solution becomes slime.
- Take it out of the bowl and place on a flat surface to let any excess liquid off (remember to clean this surface once you are done)
- Flatten the slime on the surface
- Get your cotton balls and begin to break them down into much smaller balls which are about the size of 3 grains of rice.
- Pace them on and embed them on your flattened slime paste once e cotton balls are broken down
- Fold up your flattened slime paste and roll it up in a ball. It should feel much more solid at this point.
- You should flatten your slime, break down more cotton balls, embed them and roll your slime back into a ball until you are happy with the consistency.
- Once you are happy with the thickness of your slime, roll it into a ball.
Congratulations you have just made a stress ball without a balloon. A slime stress ball.
Your slimeball shouldn’t come apart, stick to clothes, rugs or stain any surface or clothes.
If it does then you haven’t done it correctly.
If you want to use a balloon, you can learn how to make a stress ball with a balloon.
To make a stress ball without a balloon you will need
Shaving cream
Glue
Contact solution
A bowl
Cotton balls
Mixing tool like a wooden spatula
Paint
You can also watch a video on how to make a stress ball without a balloon here.
How to Make a DIY Stress Ball Without a Balloon?
To make a DIY stress ball without a balloon you can follow the following steps:
- In a bowl, pour some glue
- Add shaving cream to the glue, about six times the amount of glue
- Mix the cream and glue solution well
- Add any paint you would like the ball to be
How do you make a stress ball without cornstarch?
To make a stress ball with cornstarch you will need.
What you need:
Balloons
Corn starch
Water
A spoon or stirring tool
Water bottle( which you can squeeze)
A bowl for stirring
Paint or Food colouring (optional)
How to make a stress ball with cornstarch
- Get some water and mix it in a water bottle with two cups of cornstarch. Seal the bottle. Shake it until it becomes a bit thicker. Now unseal the bottle, pour the mixture into a bowl and stir it, it should be hard to stir as there should be a lot of resistance as you stir quickly but no resistance when you stir slowly. If there isn’t enough resistance then add more cornstarch and continue stirring. The way the mixture reacts to stirring is because the mixture is a non-newtonian fluid and turns solid when pressure or force is applied.
2. Pour the mixture back into the water bottle.
3. Attach the opening of the balloon to the top of the water bottle. Flip over and squeeze the contents into the balloon until the balloon is full.
4. Taking care not to let any air bubbles get into the balloon, take the balloon off and tie it in a knot.
5. Take another balloon and cut the end off. Wrap this over the filled balloon to cover up the knot and add more durability.
Congratulations you just made a stress ball with cornstarch.
What is the best stress ball?
There are a lot of very good stress balls but which is the best?
Below are the stress balls we currently consider to be some of the best stress balls available on the market today.
InsidersPro Stress Relief Ball
Elbo Star Hand Therapy Stress Ball
Fitness Insanity Hand Grip Strength Trainer Kit
voidbiov Hand Squeeze Stress Balls Set with Carry Bag
Best Color-Therapy: Stress Ball by Serenilite
Best for Smaller Hands: Dimples Excel Squeeze Stress Balls
What can I use as a stress ball?
There are many things you can use as a potential stress ball if you don’t have a stress ball and don’t have time.
You can use balloons, slime, clay and even make your own stress ball.
What’s good for stress?
If your feeling stresses then here are some good things you can do to relieve yourself of any stress.
You can listen to music and tune out. This is very good for stress.
You can cook to destress.
You can go for a run as this is very good for stress.
You can go for a workout as this is also very good for stress.
You can speak to your family and friends about the issues which are stressing you out.
If you are constantly feeling stressed, alone or simply miserable then you may have an undiagnosed mental health problem which you may want to get a professional medical evaluation on.
If you are under 18 then CAMHS, an NHS run programme may just be the answer for your mental health struggles.
You should look to see if you meet the CAMHS referral criteria and then fill in the CAMHS referral form.
DIY stress ball
If you want to make your own stress ball, follow this easy guide, that works no matter the filling you choose for your stress ball.
What you will need:
- A balloon or anything from latex material (like a surgical glove), because you want your stress ball to be cute and squishy, don’t you? But if you don’t wish to use such a material, you can always make a slime from the ingredients.
- Flour, starch, sand or other “filling material” – you can safely use this ingredients to make the slime.
- A plastic bottle, if you wish to continue with the baloon
- Markers, yarn and any soft decor
Before starting to work, if you are using a balloon, check that it is intact. Inflate it, wait a bit.
If the balloon does not deflate – everything is okay, release it and continue to work.
How to make an anti-stress ball step by step?
First, you need to make a funnel from the plastic bottle.
To do this, cut off its upper part and get rid of the cork.
If you have a plastic funnel in the kitchen, use it and skip this step.
Pull the base of the balloon over the neck of the funnel (or bottle) and begin to pour the filler in the future anti stress toy.
To make the flour (or another filling) compacted, help yourself with the back of your pencil or pen.
Do this carefully so as not to damage the balloon.
The toy must be durable. To do this, tie the already filled ball with a tight knot and cut off its tip.
For reliability, you can additionally pull the knot with an elastic band or thread. And you are almost done!
You can make the stress ball funnier if you take a small piece of fur or fluff to make the ball a voluminous “hairstyle”, for example.
Also, using superglue, you can attach a ribbon or elastic band to the stress ball so that you can hang the toy.
Make an orbeez stress ball
The first step in making an orbeez stress ball is to “grow” your Orbeez.
Put them in a large bowl, fill it with water and leave overnight, so that the Orbeez can grow into big, squishy water beads.
The next day, fill the empty plastic bottle with the full-grown Orbeez. You can use a funnel to make it easier.
Inflate your balloon, and after that twists its opening to keep the air from escaping.
Pull the base of the balloon over the neck of the bottle, let it untwist, then turn the bottle upside down.
The Orbeez should start falling into the balloon one by one.
Once you are done, remove the balloon from the bottle, make sure there aren’t any air bubbles left before tying it.
Make a mesh stress ball
To make a mesh stress ball, you will need a mesh, a balloon and some type of filling of your preference.
Step #1: Blow up your balloon until it is about 4 to 5 inches (10-12 cm) around.
Do not tie it, but keep the balloon inflated as best you can.
Step #2: Pull the base of the balloon over the neck of a funnel (you can make one yourself from a recycled bottle if you don’t have a kitchen funnel).
Don’t worry if your balloon deflates a little, which tends to happen during this step.
Step #3: Now you can fill your balloon with the cornstarch. It is best if you add a little amount at a time.
What you are trying to do here is to replace the air with cornstarch.
Careful, If you go too quickly, the air leaving the balloon will blow the cornstarch into the air and make a mess (well, a fun mess).
Step#4: You are aiming for about 3 inches (7.62 cm) of filling.
Step #5: Before tying the balloon make sure there are no air bubbles. Secure it tight as near to the filling as possible.
Step #6: Use the scissors to cut any excess balloon.
Step #7: Put your balloon inside the mesh, make a nod, and that is it!
Can you make an isoflex stress ball?
You can make an isoflex stress ball as long as long as you have the necessary materials.
Isoflex is more durable than any other type of homemade filling (such as cornstarch, flour or shaving cream).
Isoflex makes it harder to stop squishing and it is more popular in the industry of isoflex stress balls.
How to make a slime stress ball
It is so easy to make stress balls from slime that anyone can do it!
Step #1: Fill the balloon with the slime
Step #2: Once the slime is inside the balloon, take it and put it inside the other balloon so you have two layers of balloons around the slime.
Step #3: You can make the stress ball funnier if you take a small piece of fur or fluff to make the ball a voluminous “hairstyle”, for example. Also, using superglue, you can attach a ribbon or elastic band to the stress ball so that you can hang the toy.
That’s it! Enjoy your new stress ball!
How to make a squishy stress toy
To make a squishy stress toy we recommend using baking soda and hair conditioner for the filling.
It is recommended to mix two cups of baking soda with half a cup of hair conditioner.
The hair conditioner will make the ball either very squishy or firm, so you can either increase or decrease the amount, depending on the result you wish for.
Pull the base of the balloon over the neck of the funnel (or bottle) and begin to pour the filler in the future anti-stress toy.
Before “closing” the balloon, make sure there aren’t any air bubbles left.
Tie the already filled ball with a tight knot and cut off its tip.
If you wish a personalized toy, you can decorate it with markers.
How to make a fishnet stress ball
Making a fishnet stress ball is not so difficult as you may imagine.
The most important thing you have to do, is to fill in a balloon with your favourite type of filling.
For example, if you want to use playdough, once the playdough is inside the balloon, take it and put it inside the fishnet so you have two layers of balloons around the play dough.
Which will make it both more durable and fun to play with!
Stress balls for kids
Children can make cute stress balls using toothpaste!
To make a stress ball with a balloon and toothpaste you will need a balloon of your favorite color and a tube of toothpaste.
Children should be supervised by an adult while filling in the balloon. It is very simple to do this type of stress ball.
All you have to do is fill your balloon with toothpaste.
Before doing this, I recommend that you inflate the balloon to make sure it is not damaged, and to make it even more elastic.
After that, put the balloon over the toothpaste tube, and start filling it until you think it is enough!
The next step is to tie the balloon as tightly as possible, wipe it with a napkin if it has become dirty, and decorate it as you like!
The best stress ball
The best stress ball is the one that you will enjoy making the most.
Above, we have given you many options on DIY stress balls, so that you can choose which one seems more easy to do for you.
Like we have mentioned, the most common thing to do is to choose a filling and inflate a balloon.
But if you do not have a balloon or perhaps if you are allergic to its material, you can always make a slime instead of a classical stress ball.
Just mix in ingredients such as white-glue or water with flour (or you can model a playdough) and have fun making the best stress ball for yourself.
You can even add food colorant just to make it look more interesting!
DIY stress relievers
If you make your own stress ball we already have plenty examples in this article on how to do it.
But if you are wondering if there are other types of DIY stress relievers, well, you are, there are!
Some of these ideas are: making a stress journal, filling a bottle with water and glue, making a slime, or making your own fidget toys!
You can use materials from your own home such as paper, scissors and glue. You have a great step-by-step tutorial here.
Do stress balls work?
Yes! Stress ball work and they are the perfect solution for the moments when you feel very anxious.
This ball can help you get rid of stress and/or your nerves. Just by squeezing this ball, you will feel your body free of negative emotions.
Making an anti-stress ball is very easy.
You can give them as a gift or have them at home, at school or at the office.
If you want to make someone you love feel a little better, less stressed, and more relaxed, try these Best Gifts for Stress & Anxiety.
Why homemade stress balls are the best
Homemade stress balls are the best, because well..you make them yourself!
It is not only the final product that counts, but also the process.
It can be fun to make a stress ball and you can even make a bunch of them with your kids or other family members.
By making a stress ball you will engage in the process and it will help you take your mind off daily problems, anxiety or whatever else is bothering you.
It is also a great way of connecting with people, of engaging your creative and innovative self!
