A washing sponge is an inexpensive but very useful product. With its help, you can create a wide variety of crafts: for beauty, for benefit, for the development of various skills in young children. Many educators and elementary school teachers turn to sponges as a material for creative activities at various stages of learning.
Paint watercolor trees
Mix up some watercolors and dip a sponge into the paint. Then simply dab the sponge where you want the leaves. The sponge texture will create the leaf details for you and all that's left to do is paint the trunk and add a light wash on top of the leaves when everything is dry.
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"SpongeBob"
It is best to make your favorite character from a famous cartoon from a yellow foam sponge. The rectangular shape of the selected ornamental material follows the shape of the main character. Therefore, children will only have to stick on the necessary prepared parts.
For the nose, half a plastic casing from a chocolate egg will do.
The remaining elements of the cartoon character are cut out of cardboard.
All that remains is to glue them to the yellow sponge with PVA glue. The character's arms and legs can be made from wire.
Using a sponge at home
Repaint your brick: If you don't like the color of your brick, you can easily paint over it using a sponge. Paint the entire wall or fireplace a base color, then cut the sponge into a brick shape and press the dark color on top.
The sponge will retain the texture of the brick and will look natural. Remove old wallpaper: Mix hot water and laundry starch to create a paste. Rub the mixture onto the wallpaper using a sponge and let it sit and dry until the wallpaper comes off.
House
You can make a house from several different colored sponges, as in the photo below. It is interesting to build any structure, it all depends on the amount of material and color. Moreover, the sponges themselves will not suffer at all from such work, and they can be used for their intended purpose even after the construction is completed. To secure the parts, use wooden toothpicks.
If you have a large supply of kitchen sponges, then if you wish, you can build an entire city, and by adding wheels from broken cars, you can make transport.
Children's crafts
Make a Sponge Water Bomb: In the summer or just for fun, make an easy homemade water bomb that kids can play with.
Start by cutting the sponges into quarters, then tie the four pieces together with rubber bands and let the kids play with them (more detailed instructions in the link). They are better than water balloons because they can be used over and over again and don't create much of a mess.
Grow plants for a science project from a scouring sponge craft: Cut sponges into desired shapes (trees, leaves, etc.). Soak the sponge and squeeze out any excess water before adding the seeds on top.
Place the sponge in a sunny window and spray water daily. The sprouts will grow on the sponge and this works with lettuce, spinach and broccoli.
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sailboat
Even a three-year-old child can do this craft. Having made the toy himself, he will be able to play with it while bathing.
You will need:
- Sponge of your favorite color;
- colored paper;
- straw for drinks;
- sharp scissors.
How to do it:
- Separate the washing part from the foam base of the sponge. It will serve as the base of the future boat.
- Stick a drinking straw into the soft part, thus creating the mast of a sailboat.
- A sailboat is cut out of a colored sheet of paper and pinned onto a straw.
Growing Salt and Vinegar Crystals
Another easy science project for kids is to grow salt and vinegar crystals on a sponge. Mix water, salt, vinegar and boil before sponging. Use a sponge to decorate with food coloring and place the dish in a sunny, warm place where you can watch the crystals grow.
Make Kids Crafts with a Glue Sponge: For little kids, instead of letting them mess up the glue, make a glue sponge so they can just stick their projects on for an even layer of glue. The best part is that it is ready to use for over a year in any airtight container.
Sponge Crafts - DIY Bath Toys: By cutting sponges, you can glue the pieces together and make your own bath toys for your baby.
For inspiration, check out this sponge boat with cork sailors. In order to make a craft from a sponge, choose a beautiful color and size of the sponge itself.
Pack fragile items:
- wet the sponge and place it around a delicate object (for example, a figurine);
- Use several sponges if it's a larger item (like a vase) and secure everything with a rubber band;
- The sponge will conform to the fragile item and will return to its original shape after it gets wet again. Create an ice pack: Make yourself an ice pack that won't leak by freezing a damp sponge and placing it in the bag;
- Just remember to disinfect the sponge very often;
- Seal envelopes with a stamp: Instead of licking the envelopes or stamps, apply a damp sponge to them for the same effect. Make two sponges from one: Cut the sponge in half. This is a very easy way to save money.
Making animal figurines
Children love creating creative works with friends and adults. Therefore, it is important to choose an activity you like. For example, making your favorite animal images from foam rubber.
Funny kitten
Using foam rubber you can make a playful kitten. For this lesson you will need a washing sponge, white hair ties and a scalpel (or a knife).
Step by step execution:
- Using a scalpel, carefully separate the hard part of the product from the soft one. Squishies (squeeze toys) are made from the cut off soft part.
- To form the kitten's ears, place the sponge vertically and secure the two upper corners with white rubber bands.
- To create the body of the animal, attach an elastic band in the middle of the sponge.
- The paws are formed by attaching elastic bands to the two lower corners.
The kitten is ready and all you have to do is draw its face. The child can choose how to do this - with paints, felt-tip pens or using parts made of colored paper.
Cute pig
An excellent toy for a child that he can make himself. When pressed, it does not wrinkle, takes on all sorts of shapes and returns to its original state. This process amuses children and adults.
Necessary materials:
- Foam sponge;
- acrylic paints;
- primer;
- fine-grained skin;
- scissors;
- hot glue;
- felt.
Work progress:
- Draw an oval on the sponge and cut it out with scissors. Since the sponge has a significant width, the oval may turn out sloppy. To remove errors, it is advisable to use a sharp tool to cut thin pieces.
- To give the resulting oval an attractive appearance, it is treated with fine-grained sandpaper. It is important to achieve a smooth and even surface.
- Acrylic primer is applied to the surface of the finished oval and impregnated, kneading the workpiece. You need to act at a fast pace, not allowing the primer to harden. When the surface is completely primed, the workpiece must be dried.
- The stage of coloring the craft consists of mixing red and white paint to obtain a pink color. Apply it to the sponge in two layers. This will give the craft a more saturated shade. After dyeing, leave the product to dry.
- Draw eyes and a snout on the blank, highlight the cheeks and mouth.
- Two ears are cut out of felt and fixed to the finished product with hot glue. At this point the work is considered completed.
Diversified Approach
Pack smaller fragile items by dampening a sponge and placing it around a delicate item (such as a figurine).
Use multiple sponges if it's a larger item (like a vase) and secure everything with a rubber band. The sponge will conform to the fragile item and return to its original shape once it gets wet again.
Create an ice pack: Make yourself an ice pack that won't leak by freezing a damp sponge and placing it in a Ziploc bag. Just remember to disinfect the sponge very often.
Seal envelopes and wet stamps: Instead of licking envelopes or stamps, apply a damp sponge to them for the same effect.
Make two sponges from one: Cut the sponge in half. This is a very easy way to save money.
Furniture for dolls
If you have a growing daughter, then there are always dolls in the house, and the child always asks for new toys to play with. With creative thinking and skillful hands, you can make a whole house with furnishings for dolls. It is easy to make upholstered furniture from kitchen sponges - armchairs, a sofa or a bed, placing them on a prepared base made of cardboard or plywood.
In the sample above, the sponges were joined together even without support, secured together with a furniture cover sewn from fabric. Additionally, cushions-rollers are made from hair. Such furniture will last a long time, and the costs for it are minimal, unlike purchased furniture for Barbie.
beauty
Get gradient or ombre nails: Cut a sponge to the size of your nail and paint your nail the lightest ombre color (or white). Then apply nail polish colors to the sponge, allowing them to overlap each other and using the polish generously. Then apply nail polish to your nail, rubbing it up and down to blend it into a gradient.
Add a glitter tip to your nail polish. After you paint the base color and let it dry, take a makeup sponge and apply glitter polish to the tips of your nails.
Apply the thicker coat to the very tip and the lighter coat towards the center of the nail to create an ombre effect.
Make nail polish remover: Instead of using a million cotton balls, place a sponge in a mason jar and soak it in acetone to make your own sponge nail polish remover.
Keep it sealed in a jar when not in use and when it gets too dirty, replace the sponge and add nail polish remover.
Get an easier pedicure by placing pieces of cut up sponge between your toes to avoid staining your nail polish when painting your toenails.
It's like a salon toe separator, but cheaper. Remove lint from clothes: Just like with pet hair, a damp sponge wiped on your clothes will also remove any unwanted lint - just wipe the lint off with your fingers.
Durable shoes: Cut a round makeup sponge and insert it between the heel and back of the shoe.
If you like the placement of the sponge, you can even use a hot glue gun to secure it permanently.
Keep your earrings together:
- push pairs of earrings through a small piece of sponge, securing them at the back;
- This will keep them together as a pair and will also clean the needles after each wear.
Clean eyes: Soak makeup sponges in alcohol and water, then store in the freezer covered with plastic wrap. The rubbing alcohol will keep the sponges from freezing completely, leaving them extremely cold and pliable—perfect for putting on tired eyes in the morning.
Tank
The boys will be absolutely delighted with simple but interesting creative work made from scrap materials.
Necessary materials:
- Foam sponge;
- Stationery glue;
- colored paper;
- scotch;
- scissors.
Progress:
- A small red star and three identical small circles are cut out of black paper;
- 1/3 of the blue sponge is cut off;
- The barrel of the tank is formed from black paper and glued;
- the cut out third part of the blue sponge is glued to the larger part;
- Next, glue the barrel, fix the black wheels and place the star on top.
Photos of crafts made from sponge
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bear
A rectangular sponge can be given any shape by tightening the foam rubber. For example, such a cute bear was made quickly. The upper corners were tied with golden rain to create ears. The head was marked with a wider ribbon of the same color. The remaining details of the face were simply drawn with markers.
In the article we looked in detail at how to make crafts from a sponge. This is not at all difficult, because the material lends itself to all types of processing. The sponges are sold in sets, so choosing the right color for the job is not a problem. The variety of crafts depends on your imagination, because you can create anything, from equipment to furniture. Be sure to involve children in working together, this develops motor skills of the hands and fingers, creative and mental abilities, which will later be useful for the child in school.
Here are 11 unconventional uses for an old sponge.
Meat rolls “Gruzinchiki”
Category: Hot dishes Meat dishes Hot pork dishes
My mother often prepared these rolls. The name of the recipe is also from childhood. Simple, but very flavorful and juicy rolls.
Pork Dill Parsley Garlic Salt Black pepper Red hot pepper Onion Vegetable oil
Will become a soapbox
From the liquid that accumulates at the bottom of an ordinary plastic soap dish, the soap becomes soft, breaks up into pieces, turning into soap, and it becomes simply impossible to wash with it. We offer you an alternative - a soap dish made from a sponge for the bathroom. Take a sponge and cut a hole in it exactly for the soap.
It is important that the piece “goes” into the sponge completely, but not too deeply. By wetting a sponge with soap inside, you can wash yourself without taking it out of the improvised “soap dish”
This way, it will never slip out of your hands, and if it does, it will definitely not sink to the bottom of the bathtub.
You can do without scissors - just use a sponge as a stand for a bar of soap. And when you run out of soap, you can wipe the bathtub or sink with a sponge, wash it and use it further.
Features, advantages
Making a homemade rug is an easy way to express yourself through crafts. An original handmade product will decorate any interior and surprise guests. Production costs, in most cases, are kept to a minimum here - the most expensive will be luminous decor, for which you need to purchase a couple of meters of LED strip. Making a rug from all kinds of corks and lids will only force you to visit several friends after the holidays in order to collect more suitable raw materials. A textured item, in addition to decorative purposes, can create a light massage effect.
Making edible squishies
Of course, you can’t eat cotton wool squishies, no matter how delicious they look, but you can make a real edible toy yourself.
To do this, prepare the following ingredients and materials:
- sieve;
- a tablespoon of lemon zest;
- 100 milliliters of water;
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice;
- one and a half glasses of sugar;
- container for mixing components;
- any favorite juice;
- 40 grams of gelatin.
Manufacturing sequence:
- In a separate bowl, mix the juice with gelatin. The container is set aside until the gelatin swells.
- In a metal bowl, mix lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and water. Then the mixture is heated over low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Then the swollen gelatin is poured into a container on the stove and boiled for some more time until it is completely dissolved.
- The mass is filtered through a sieve and poured into molds.
- The product is placed in the refrigerator to harden.
- Now you can not only play with squish, but also eat it.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KPhSqDK_JLA
There are many options for making homemade squishies. If you use your imagination, you can come up with your own options for making anti-stress. Homemade toys are even better in some ways than store-bought ones; for example, when squeezed, they can crunch or rustle pleasantly.
How to care for squishy?
To make your squishy last a long time, use our tips.
Can squishies be washed?
If we are talking about store-bought squishies made from special memory foam, then you can wash such toys under running water. Wet the squishies thoroughly, then apply shampoo to the surface and lather it up. After the procedure, rinse the accessory thoroughly and dry in fresh air.
If you want to wash a homemade toy, be careful; some parts, such as paper, may not withstand such a wash.
What to do if the squishy breaks
If a toy is torn, you can give things a second life. For example, make a new smaller figurine, phone stand or pincushion out of a torn squishy. You can use a toy that has completely fallen into disrepair as a makeup sponge by cutting off the paint from the surface.
How to soften squishies
Over time, squishies can harden due to excess moisture or lack of air, for example, if they were left in a box for a long time. There are several ways to soften it. We will tell you about the three most popular ones.
- Reheat in the microwave. Place the squishies on a plate and microwave for 10 seconds. Microwave radiation will soften the toy a little.
- Lubricate with nourishing cream. Apply rich hand cream to the squishies and wait 5 minutes.
- Wet the squishies with water. The method is considered the simplest and most effective.
How to clean sticky squishies?
It happens that immediately after purchasing a toy, squishies stick very strongly to your hands. You can remove such a nuisance with the help of starch or baby talc. Simply apply the substance to the surface using a brush.
You have become acquainted with the most popular methods of making squishy. Now it’s enough to arm yourself with the necessary material and tools and get to work. Whatever method you choose, the result will be pleasantly surprising, and a new unique stress-relieving toy will appear in your collection.
Edible squishies
Anti-stress toys and food are two things that truly calm us down. What if we combined them? Try it - it's really great!
You will need gummy bears (you can use worms, or crocodiles, or cans of cola, depending on your taste). You will also need baking molds - in the form of bears, or hearts, or something else.
Pour the pack of marmalade into a bowl and put it in the microwave for a few minutes. When the bears melt and turn into a hot, viscous mass, you need to fill the molds with it. After this, the marmalade should harden at room temperature. This way, you will get marmalade squishies that will not only be delicious to eat, but also great to stretch in different directions. Double hit on stress!
You can also make an edible squish slime. First you need to melt 3-4 dozen chewing candies in the microwave. It is better if they are of different tastes and colors, but of the same brand, so that the same consistency is maintained.
Add powdered sugar, confectionery topping and a variety of goodies to the resulting viscous mass: pieces of marmalade, candied fruits, dried fruits, nuts and raisins. Then we form the slime. You can stretch it, sculpt it like plasticine, and at the same time gradually eat it.
Calm, just calm!
Squishies are a great opportunity to relax and relieve stress after a busy school or work day. You don’t have to buy them in a store at all, they can be easily made at home: from paper or sponges, large or small, with different fillings, silicone squishies, single-layer and multi-layer, in the form of soap, even edible squishies!
YouTube is replete with a huge number of ideas, master classes and life hacks on this topic. Join in, fantasize and don’t worry about trifles!
How to make a jute washcloth softer?
For me, a person of the principle “what I see, I sing,” words are very important! And the description of the product is exactly the same. My every word, spoken or written, is confirmed by action. And, if I wrote that my jute washcloth is “processed and ready for use, you just need to remove the packaging,” then this means that the washcloth is really processed with the frenzy of a terry perfectionist and is safe to use even internally (but it’s better not to, because it doesn’t tasty). And so I decided to show you the process of this most thorough processing: 2 photos - freshly knitted washcloths, hard, prickly, completely unsuitable for use (in my opinion) 3 photos - I soak and wash the washcloths by hand in a mixture of detergents of a rather aggressive nature (I prefer more less natural)
The water after this process is like that swamp slurry 4 photos - a thorough rinse. The water is already cleaner, but not quite yet 5 photos - washing washcloths with handmade soap and coconut oil. I wash, scrub, and rinse each washcloth separately. 6 photos - I steam it in very, very hot water (almost boiling water) for 20-30 minutes. Then I rinse it one last time. 7 photos - washcloths are dried in the sun in the summer, in the cold in winter 8 photos - already pleasant to the touch, clean, fragrant washcloths are being preened - I sew on tags, loops, pack them, seal them in bags with instructions. And now, in full bloom and in the best possible shape, the washcloths go on sale. By the way, the photo shows very clearly how the structure of the jute thread changes. Remember this difference well! This will help you distinguish between a treated and safe loofah and a dishonest and unkempt one.
Is it true that squishies relieve stress?
Manufacturers, as well as bloggers and simply fans of squishy toys, unanimously claim that these squishies really help eliminate stress, relax, or, conversely, concentrate on solving a specific problem and quickly find the best option. But so far this has not been confirmed in any way from a scientific point of view - no relevant studies have been conducted.
Squishies soothe and relax
But we can say with confidence that squishies by themselves do not relieve stress, especially severe stress. The very process of rolling and crushing the toy calms and relaxes a person a little.
It is important to understand that the effect of using the hammer will be small - you should not consider the toy as a therapy option for serious stress or psychological problems. But squishy may well be regarded as a nice addition - a calming addition in any situation.
What are the benefits of squishy for a child?
When your hands are busy with something, the brain is distracted from everyday tasks and begins to process sensory information. As a result, a person relaxes and calms down.
Squishies can be a lot of fun A cute koala makes a great gift
