How to Make Paper Squishies Emoji

Today, we are going to show you how to make a paper squishy! This is a simple craft that doubles up fabulously as a fidget toy too. Once you have learned how to make a paper squishy diy – you can make any design you wish! We have made some panda squishies, unicorn squishies and even some candy wrapper squishies (that also double up nicely as an April Fool’s joke!).

My kids have been asking me how to make paper squishies for aaaaages. I confess, it has taken me about 3 months to get around to doing some. I am not sure why… maybe because I worried they wouldn’t be as “cool” as real squishies? Well.. judging by my son’s (10yrs) delight, these DIY Paper Squishies are plenty cool! And of course DIY Emoji Crafts are the best.

Yes, they are not as perfect as the shop bought ones, but they are easy to make and surprisingly satisfying to squish and play with. What’s more.. you can experiment with “slow rising” and “quick rising”, by using different things to stuff your paper squishies with, as well as experiment with pricking little holes into your paper squishies.

You can also experiment with different shapes and sizes. But a general hit: the bigger your diy paper squishy, the better it will will squish and rise again. Also, don’t over stuff them.. and always have a little space for air to escape. Oh how we love a good Paper Craft!

Last year it was DIY Fidget Spinners all Summer.. I think THIS year, these easy Paper Squishies, will be the summer camp activity for kids! Both make great fidget toys for kids. Such a great craft activity that you can then play with.

I hasten to add, that these Paper Squishy DIY is not my invention (I wish it was).. I have been hunting all over YouTube, to see “who made them first” and it has been impossible to find the source. I suspect it was some clever 9yrs old sitting in their bedroom, who first came up with these. Kudos to you!

How to make a squishy from paper – materials

• Paper in different colours (though you can use white paper and colour in your own patterns) but we used yellow paper as a base and scrap paper in black, whit, pink and red for features.
• Clear tape/ scotch tape, you can also use contact paper instead, but liked used tape, as we have lots of it
• A bag of stuffing – it can be any of the following –
  • the insides of an old pillow (what we used!)
  • toy stuffing
  • old plastic bags
• A medium bowl or plate for tracing a circle
• Pen or sharpie for decorating
• A pair of scissors
• Glue stick (for decorations – but again, you can use white paper and decorate it with pens and markers)

Some of you will be coming from our Panda Egg Paper Squishy tutorial video – you can download the Panda Egg Paper Squishy Template here!

I have seen this DIY project made with different coloured duct tapes, but I don’t recommend that, as duct tape really is bad for the environment.

How to make a squishy from paper

Watch our easy to follow paper squishies video instructions on my YouTube channel (scroll to the bottom of this page for the embed.. the youtube video is a long form video which has a voice over with more details), watch the video on auto play (this is a faster version of the video and has no sound) or the how to make a Squishy step by step instructions below!

These are the best DIY Squishies that do not use memory foam or paint!

Your Paper Squishy’s details

Paper Squishies are really easy and fun to make. From experience, we find the bigger the squishy the better! We used an A4 sheet of paper, folded it in half and made the emoji as BIG as possible to fit on that page. The key to your squishy is using two identical shapes back to back. Which is easy with an emoji design.

Trace out your emoji squishy by using the bowl.

Next, cut out two circles.

Cut out your own Emoji details – such as hearts for eyes, or tears…

Draw on your emoji’s mouth (you may want to sketch it out in pencil first).

It is now time to glue on the paper emoji squishies details.

Taping up you Paper Squishy

Once your basic emoji squishie’s parts are done, you are ready to tape it all together!

Align your two squishy’s sides. And start covering the WHOLE paper with tape – and taping it over the edges. Cover the whole emoji – leaving a gap at he top.

Filling your Paper Squishy

Time to fill your DIY Paper Squishy. We used an old pillow stuffing. But toy stuffing works too .. and it also works with shredded plastic bags.

Fill – the trick is to not to fill it TOO tightly.. else it won’t squish as much.

Tape up the top of your emoji.

Congratulations! You are FINISHED!! You can start squishing.

I hope you agree that this is a fun way to make your own paper squishy!

You will notice that the “slow rising” effect comes from little air gaps here and there. If your taping skills are superior and there are NO gaps anywhere, you can make some pin pricks to encourage the escaping and refilling of your slow rising paper squishy’s air!!!

ENJOY!

What other paper squishy designs can you students come up with?

Here are some ideas for you:

• make a pizza slice (a fun way to decorate your plain white paper first pens and markers)
• a strawberry with a cute kawaii face
• experiment with donut-shaped squishies
• make a squishy balloon in bright colors
• or how about a rainbow squishy?

Lots more brilliant DIY Emoji Crafts here 

And lots more Paper DIY Crafts too!

Watch the long form YouTube video squishy tutorials here (approximately 10min long):

This video really shows the slow rising effect of these fun diy squishy craft! As you can see no hot glue needed!