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!
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