A rubber ball used to be one of the cheapest playthings you could purchase. They’re still not all that expensive but, if you buy one from a store that sells workout equipment, or from a place that features stress relief products, you’ll pay a lot more money for that simple ball. There are all sorts of strengthening or stress-relieving squeeze balls you can make and, believe it or not, it won’t even cost a buck for any one of them. When you craft the squeeze ball from a balloon you’ll find it to be just as useful as a store-bought ball, and very simple to create.
Start with a small, round balloon, blow it up, then let the air back out of it. Do that a couple of times to stretch the balloon. Now, decide on what you want to fill it with. Make one type of ball by filling the balloon with flour from your kitchen. Put a funnel in the opening of the balloon and fill to just below the stem of the balloon. Tie a knot then trim the excess mouth off of the balloon, so that you trim very close to the knot.
Use a second balloon to cover the first one. Cut the stem off of the second balloon and stretch the opening to fit over the homemade ball. If you want, cut the stem off of a third balloon, and stretch it over the others. Each time you stretch on another balloon, cover the opening of the previous one, so that none of the balloon openings align.
The stress ball isn’t hard to make with other fillers, instead of flour. Some fillers you can use include rice, sand, beads, beans, dried peas, or cornmeal. Each ball offers a different experience for exercising hands, or for relieving stress. Although the handmade ball can’t be bounced, it can be squeezed, or used in other ways. Massage tired feet by placing two balls on the floor as you sit, laying bare feet on them, and moving them around on the floor. Or, use one of the balls to give someone a back massage.
The material you use inside the ball is pertinent to the way in which you will be using the ball. For example, fill it with beans, peas, or beads, and you have the perfect massage ball. For an hand exerciser, or for a child’s rolling ball, sand or flour work well. Make one or more of the balls today. They’re inexpensive and lots of fun.