Make Your Very Own Stress Ball
Friday, January 18th, 2008 | Author: Organic Blogger
If you’re looking for a fun and easy project to help ease stress and tension, check out these step-by-step instructions on how to make your very own personalized stress ball.
What Exactly Is a Stress Ball?
A stress ball is an object that fits in the palm of your hand and can be easily squeezed to decrease muscular and emotional tension. It may be in the shape of a ball, or it may be something a bit more interesting, such as a funny face, a body part, or a pack of cigarettes (for those trying to quit!)
How Does a Stress Ball Work?
Whenever you make a fist, regardless of whether or not you have something in your hand, you create muscle tension. And when you release your grip, your muscles relax. This process of acute muscle tension and relaxation can flush out muscle tension and relieve stress. You can perform this stress management technique without a stress ball, by simply tensing and relaxing the muscles or your hands, or anywhere on the body that tension exists. But a stress ball gives you something to focus on and may aid in relieving stress.
What Other Benefits Do Stress Balls Have?
Stress balls have been used for years for a wide range of medicinal reasons. Stress balls were used in ancient civilizations to relieve stress, improve coordination, prevent arthritis and rheumatism, stimulate blood circulation, help during physical therapy and assist with meditation. Stress balls may also help in the prevention or treatment of carpal-tunnel syndrome.
Type 1: The Balloon Stress Ball
This is a fun and easy stress ball that can easily be made alone, but like many things, it’s usually more fun to make it with a friend. After you finish making this stress ball, decorate it with stickers, or paint a funny face on it. Just be sure to use decorations that will not irritate or rub off on your hand as you are squeezing it!
Instructions:
- Look for a small, thick, round balloon.
- Blow it up until it is about 4-5 inches around. (Don’t tie the balloon yet!)
- Pinch the top of the balloon shut an inch or 2 from the hole.
- Place a small funnel inside the opening of the balloon.
- Using the funnel, pour cornstarch into the balloon.
- Slowly release the top of the balloon so the cornstarch can slide down.
- Continue adding cornstarch until your balloon is about three inches in diameter.
- Tighten the end of the balloon and slowly let out any remaining air.
- Tie the balloon closed as near to the cornstarch as you can.
Type 2: The Dough Ball Stress Ball
Get a friend to help you with this project, as it can be kind of tricky to insert each balloon into the next. Once you are finished, you can carefully poke holes in the outermost layer to create fun polka dots!
Instructions:
- Mix together one half-cup salt, one-cup flour, one-tablespoon oil, one-teaspoon cream of tartar and one cup water.
- Heat dough in a pot on low heat until mushy, stirring constantly.
- Knead dough on floured surface until smooth.
- Allow dough to cool for one hour.
- Gather three or four balloons and cut the neck off of all but one of them.
- Form a ball of dough about two to three inches across.
- Stuff the dough into the balloon. (The more dough you use per balloon, the less squishy your stress ball will be.)
- Stretch the balloon over the dough and immediately insert this balloon into the next one hole first (so that the second balloon completely covers the hole of the first one.)
- Insert your balloon/dough ball into another balloon the same way.
- Insert your balloon/dough ball into the last balloon, and tie off at the neck.
- Decorate your stress ball with a face, legs, or silly sayings!
Whether you make custom stress balls or buy them as gifts, they can be a great way to show appreciation and help relieve stress.
Warning: One reader reported that her cat somehow got a hold of the stress balls while she was away. Needless to say, the cat made quite a mess and left the reader with a house full of sand. So if you have cats or any other pets in the house, make sure you put these stress balls out of their reach.
Related Article
>> http://www.ghchealth.com/stress-effects.html
>> Stress Relief Tips
Thanks for the post, this is very helpful to those who may be on a limited budget. I would definitely give this a try!
I like this… Very simple, yet still very nice!
Great ideas & great post
Now that I know how easy it is to make, I’ll never buy a stress ball from a store again. Great post!
uh, what happens if someone sticks a pin in one of these balloons?
Here’s a little tip…
If you are going to put cornstarch, beans, rice, or whatever into the balloons, pour the contents into a clean, dry, soda bottle. Blow up the balloon, pinch it shut, and fit the hole over the neck of the bottle. Turn the bottle upside-down to pour the contents into the balloon. Remove the balloon and tie it off.
I can just imagine your fingers slipping during the instructions for the first ball above and cornstarch being blown EVERYWHERE.
Another great filling– Elmer’s School Glue + liquid starch. Add the liquid starch slowly to the glue and stir with a popsicle stick or something else disposable. The glue begins to sort of congeal into a non-sticky malleable substance reminiscent of Nickelodeon’s “Gak” from the 90s.
A mess of starch blown all over your kitchen does not promote stress-free living.
A still easier method-
Put the balloon over a 2-liter plastic bottle while the balloon is empty. Squeeze the bottle to fill balloon with air.
Invert, and shake the corn starch down into the filled balloon.
Release the bottle, and work the excess starch back out of the balloon, along with any excess air. This allows the starch to settle and any “spillage” goes back into the bottle.
Flip the bottle back upright and remove the balloon. Tie.
Flour works as well.
Excellent article. Thank’s
yeah we tried the first method from the origional post and it does not work at all!! thanks to the other posters that provided a much better way to make a stress ball.
This is very helpful. It helped me with the stress of the war on Iraq.
Stress balls are great, they are an inexpensive method to relieving stress. Say no to medication!
this is a great way to get out your stress when you are having a bad day or a hard time doing something. when you have stress you can just give it a squeeze and all your stress goes away.
hey! great site! i was just wondering, is it possible to just use cornstarch in the 2nd type of stress ball? thanks
Or you can simply buy an organic stress ball at a health store.
WE R BOUT 2 TRY IT HOPEFULLY IT WORKS!!!!!
can u use powdered sugar?
During the time, I try to eliminate stress by listening slow music at the same time lie down in a balmy place. But, I wish to try the tips that mention in your article. Great tips…
Omg that is amazing im so giving it a go when I get paid and im gona make both of em and prob more than one thanks a million!
Thanks for these great instructions. I bet this would be a fun project to do with kids and grandkids as well. I will definitely keep them away from the puppy dog. I suspect he would follow in your cat’s footsteps.
With things like this, it really depends on who you talk to. My wife changes her mind almost everyday!
I made the “dough-type” of stress ball for my son. I used Playdough (we have a ton) instead of making my own dough. I also used 9-inch balloons and blew them up, then deflated before cutting off the necks.
These instructions suck!!!!!!!! I tried it and i ended up getting corn starch all over the floor !!!!!! The instructions were no help at all do not use these instructions they are not helpful and they basically suck! So thanks for the sucky instructions! but thanks for the idea (the only good thing from this page)