This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy
Did you know you can make homemade stress balls with playdough?! These playdough stress balls are super moldable, squishy, and SO EASY to make using dollar store supplies!
Homemade Stress Balls with Playdough
Have you ever made a stress ball with playdough?? Simply add a tub of playdough to a balloon and voila! These stress balls are really squishy and moldable. They have a similar texture to flour stress balls, but are a little bit more firm.
Stress balls help reduce anxiety and provide a focus for excess energy. Making a homemade stress ball, and even playing with it, can help increase fine motor skills and hand strength in younger kids.
We’ve made a lot of stress balls in our house, and all of them are fun to play with – but this one has one benefit over the others: if it breaks, there’s no mess! No flour or rice going everywhere with this stress ball!
Check out our Playdough Stress Ball video tutorial:
*Note: Scroll down for the step-by-step photo tutorial.
Here’s what you’ll need:
This post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something we may earn a small commission which helps us run this website.
The full printable instructions are at the end of this post, but here’s a list of products on Target that are similar to the supplies we used:
How long do these stress balls last?
Playdough stress balls should last at least a month, if not longer – it will all depend on the age of your playdough and how much the balloon is squeezed.
Our balloons typically break after a few weeks, but the playdough has always still been soft. Simply take the playdough out of the broken balloon and add it to a new balloon!
Can I use homemade playdough?
Yes, using homemade playdough makes this DIY stress ball even more inexpensive! You can check out our easy microwave playdough recipe or you can make playdough with shaving cream! Have fun playing with your homemade playdough, and then make these awesome stress balls with it.
Can I make a stress ball with playdough by myself?
It’s really difficult to make a homemade playdough stress ball by yourself. We needed two hands to keep the balloon open and another two hands to add the playdough.
If you need to make it by yourself, try cutting the top off a water bottle and stretch the balloon around the mouth of the bottle. You should be able to shove the playdough through the water bottle opening.
What kind of balloon do I need?
You can use a regular 12 inch party balloon (check the package for size) from the dollar store. If you use a smaller balloon you won’t be able to fit the whole tub of playdough in it.
How to Make a Stress Ball with Playdough
It’s so fun to make homemade stress balls with playdough! They’re squishy, moldable, and SO EASY to make.
Materials:
-
1
tub
playdough
(4 ounce size)
-
1
Balloon
Instructions:
-
Open a tub of playdough and separate it into 7 or 8 smaller pieces.
-
Roll each chunk of playdough into a long, skinny “log”.
-
Blow up a balloon and then let it deflate. This stretches the latex (or rubber) and makes it easier to fill.
-
Using four fingers, stretch open the mouth of the balloon.
-
Have a little helper add the rolls of playdough, one at a time.
-
Push the playdough down as far as you can into the balloon as you add each “log”.
-
When you’ve added the full tub of playdough (but before you’ve removed your fingers from the balloon), push the playdough down so it’s out of the neck of the balloon.
-
Push all the air out of the balloon and tie a knot in it, as close to the playdough as possible.
-
Cut off the excess balloon neck.
-
Have fun squeezing and stretching the playdough stress ball.
-
Your playdough stress ball is complete!
Helpful Tip:
An adult will likely need to stretch open the neck of the balloon (it takes quite a bit of strength!).
These playdough stress balls are great for helping you relax, but they’re also so fun to play with! It’s fascinating to squish the stress ball flat and watch it rise back up into a round shape by itself.
Here’s even more DIY stress balls:
How to Make a Flour Stress Ball
Orbeez Stress Ball
Rice Stress Ball
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
My kids love play dough. They love it way more than I do actually. It’s probably the same in your house. No matter how hard I try to keep all the play dough contained, I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve swept and vacuumed the floor only to turn around and find even more tiny little bits stuck to the floor, the chairs, the kids’ socks, and their pants!
Despite my irritation with the mess, I know how much creative and sensory fun my kids get out of play dough. So yeah, we have cans and cans of the stuff. But over time as the colours end up all mixed together, they don’t want to play with the “yucky” ones anymore. What should we do with all the old play dough then? We could throw it out, or we could recycle it into something else. Like these fun DIY play dough stress balls!
These squeeze balls are super simple to make. I seem to always have a bag of birthday balloons hanging around the house, but if you don’t, just pick up a bag of mixed colours from the dollar store.
Stuffing a balloon is way easier with two people. Roll the neck down a bit, then use your fingers to stretch and hold the neck open while the kids drop in chunks of play dough. Fill the uninflated balloon until you have a comfortable handful. Tie the neck into a knot, making sure all the air is squeezed out.
Ta da! These DIY play dough stress balls are hours of fun for the kids to squish, squeeze, stack, and play with!
If you have an anxious kiddo, squeezing or playing with one of these in conjunction with deep breathing could help him or her feel better. Encourage your child to pay attention to the feel and texture and “give” of the squeeze ball as they play with it. The motion of squeezing and releasing the ball can also remind him or her to relax their clenched muscles and breathe deeper.
Read more: 12 Simple Ideas to Help Your Child Calm Down
If you don’t have any store-bought play dough to spare but you’d still like to make some fun and squishy stress balls, you can always make your own homemade play dough with this simple no-cook recipe. Just mix all the ingredients together to make your own squishy dough.
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons cooking or baby oil
These DIY stress balls will last for a while as the balloons are pretty much airtight, but I don’t worry about it too much. Since we seem to have a never ending supply of play dough in our house, there’s always more available to make this project again.
A stress ball is something fun to squish and squeeze in your hand. You don’t have to buy expensive stress balls to get all of the benefits, you can easily make this best Playdough Stress Ball DIY. Here you find how to make a stress ball and several reasons everyone should use them.
DIY Stress Ball
Stress Ball DIY
Stress Balls have so many uses and benefits. The main reason to use stress balls is they help to relieve stress as you poke and squeeze it. This helps to manipulate the fingers and acts as a form of exercise.
Making Stress Balls
What you will need to make your Stress Balls is in this picture below. However, I have it displayed in a recipe list form towards the bottom of the page. Have Fun!
How to Make a Stress Ball
Remove the playdough from one container and break it up into smaller pieces. Using a small amount of playdough fill the balloon. We used about 4-5 smaller size balls.
It’s a little harder with one person, but it’s doable. If you have someone to help, have one person stretch the balloon and hold it open and another person push the pieces of playdoh inside the balloon.
When the balloon is full you’re ready to finish it up.
Release most of the air out of the balloon and tie the balloon knot.
Homemade Stress Balls
Do Stress Balls Help with Stress?
The answer is yes! By using a stress ball you are squeezing and releasing which helps you relieve tension and feel better.
Stress Ball Benefits
- Muscle tension
- Hand exercises
- Building hand muscles
- Carpal tunnel
- Stress relief
- Promote a sense of calm
- Increase focus and attention
Playdough Stress Balls
Squishy Stress Balls
Stress balls DIY are perfect for the classroom, home or office; they’re also great for teachers and homeschooling moms. Of course, they are also great for kids, and you can use them for fun gross motor activities.
Whether you’re in search of a stress reliever or a new fidget toy, these squishy balls are perfect. Smoosh, squash, squeeze, stretch, pull, and toss these stress balls until you feel better.
Stress Balls for Kids
Squishy stress ball relief is useful for all children and adults, but especially those with Autism, ADHD, ADD, OCD, Sensory Processing Disorder, and anxiety.
Simple Squishy Stress Ball Stress Reliever
It only takes a few simple supplies and you’ll have your own DIY stress balls.
How to Make Stress Balls
What’sNeeded
- 6- 3oz containers of Playdoh or homemade playdough
- 6 Latex Balloons
Directions
1.Remove playdoh from one container and break up in smaller pieces(about 4)
2.Have one person hold the balloon open and another person push thepieces of playdoh inside the balloon. Tie the opening in a knot.
3.Squeeze the balloon together so the individual pieces of playdoh moldback together.
4. Ready to squish and squeeze for a stress free day!
If you find your child has poked a hole in one or a little bit of playdough is starting to come out through the hole, cover it with another balloon and you are good to go.
Stress Balls help promote a sense of peace and calm as well as reduce stress and anxiety and can increase focus and attention.
Studies have shown that if you like this, you will also love the following articles. I have pulled them together for you right here!
Are you ready to make stress balls that you can squeeze, squish, toss and stretch? Have fun!
