Even people who do a lot of crafts have to buy certain things rather than make them. That’s because there are some things which are nearly impossible for a regular person to make. One of those things is a ball. Who can make one? Whether you need a basketball, football, soccer ball or a plain old rubber ball you simply have to buy it because there is just no way to make it yourself – for the most part. There is one type of ball that is squishy, and rubbery, and fun for kids of all ages, and can actually be made by anyone. With a balloon ball you get hours of fun for just a few pennies and you don’t have to have any special tools to make it. The ball isn’t a bouncing ball, though, but it’s still great for playing beanbag games, playing toss or for just squishing in your hands for fun.
Purchase a bag of 11″, round balloons to make the balls. You’ll need three balloons for each ball. The balloons you use can be all the same color but you’ll achieve an adorable look for the balls if you use at least two different colors for each one.
Take one balloon and blow it up, hold it closed for a half a minute, then let the air out. This will slightly stretch the balloon. Slide the end of a funnel into the neck of the balloon so you can fill it with lentils. Lentils are found amongst the dry beans at your local grocery store and are perfect for making the squishy beanbag ball. They’re not expensive and one bag will be plenty.
Carefully pour ¾ cup of the lentils through the funnel and into the balloon. Although the balloon will be firm the lentils shouldn’t be packed in tightly. Cut off the mouth opening of the balloon but leave most of the neck.
Cut the neck off of another balloon so that you have just the round part left. Stretch the cut opening and slide it over the balloon containing the lentils. Work the bean balloon into the other until the second balloon is fitted over the first and so that the mouth of the first balloon is covered.
Cut yet one more balloon and stretch it, as you did the second balloon, over the ball. When you’re finished, and if you used two different colors, you’ll have a ball of one color which features a large dot of another color on it.
The squishy ball can be use for kids to toss back and forth, for any type of beanbag game, or for just rolling across the floor. It doesn’t bounce but it does provide a whole lot of fun for a lucky kid.