Day 203 of #365 Creative #Ideas to do with your kids: Who hasn’t tried making these stress balls at home? De-stress and have fun with these squishy balloon balls. Give them facial expressions and borrow ideas for the books of Mr Men.
You will need:
sand, rice or cake flour
empty bottle or paper
funnel
large party balloons
felt tip markers
plastic eyes
cardboard
wool
scissors

How to make a stress ball:
1. Pour about 1⁄2 cup (depending on the size of your balloon) sand, rice or flour into an empty bottle.
2. Blow up a balloon and stretch the opening around the bottleneck.
3. Turn the bottle upside down and slowly fill the balloon. Alternatively, use a piece of paper, folded taco-style, as a funnel to fill the balloon.
4. Once all the filling has been poured into the balloon, carefully remove the balloon from the bottle and deflate slowly.
5. Tie the end of the balloon tightly.
6. Decorate your stress ball by drawing a mouth and nose and paste plastic eyes onto it.

Tip: Use the biggest balloons available, as they are much easier to work with!
Add on: Give your stress ball some crazy pompom-style hair with a few strands of wool, or make a full pompom for each ball.
From my book Kids’ Market Days (Struik Publishers 2014), email me on sam@kidsdecor.co.za if you would like to purchase a book.