Handy Sand: DIY tutorial for stress relieving creations

The nearest beach is hours away, but you can still get your hands into some gritty, soft sand, which will be a perfect way to whine down from a productive or stressful day.

This tutorial is an easy method to making some DIY kinetic sand. Kinetic sand is combination of three simple ingredients; water, cornstarch and dish soap. Once combined, it then compacts the loose grainy substance into a firmer sand that has a soft and squishy texture similar to wet sand.

Mesmerizing Effects

One added bonus is that the sand is mess-free and easy to make in under five minutes, which gives you more time to mold and shape the substance. Another benefit comes from the act of conducting a hands-on activity to reduce stress and relieve anxiety.

Stress can put a toll on your overall health, such as increased risk from heart attacks, over eating, sleep deprivation and more, according to the The American Institute of Stress. A great way to combat frustration and release unnecessary tension is through small breaks.

By taking some time to perform an enjoyable yet simple task, like listening to music, coloring or anything else creative, you are helping the body relax. Taking a timeout is a method suggested by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, and it requires removing yourself from a difficult situation and allowing time to problem solve.

Customizing your sand will create a vibrant and mushy substance, and by making shapes and mixing colors, you are able to create something that matches your personality. Plus it will feels great between your hands.

Get Sandy: Step by Step Instructions

Materials

• This tutorial requires a medium mixing bowl; to make more sand; use a larger bowl
• A measuring cup
• Water
• Dish Soap; such as Ajax or Dawn
• Cornstarch
• Sand; small bags of sand can be found at Home Depot, or pre-colored sand available at craft stores like Michael’s
• Food coloring or clothing dye can be a substitute, but it will require gloves and newspapers
• Container with a lid; store your sand and use it later

Step 1: Pour one cup of sand into the measuring bowl. You can either purchase sand that is already colored or you can add a few drops of food coloring into the sand. To do this you will need a separate container or mason jar. Add your sand into the container, then add a few drops of a preferred color. Close the container, make sure there are no cracks, to avoid getting sand everywhere, and shake it.

Step 2: Add ⅓ cups of cornstarch. Using a spoon, mix the cornstarch into the sand until it’s has completely dispersed into the dry substance.

Step 3: Mix three tablespoons of water and ½ teaspoon of dish soap into the measuring cup. Then pour the liquid solution into the sand.

Step 4: Stir the dry and wet ingredients together until the mixture is no longer lumpy.  

Step 5: Get your hands in into the sand, and have some fun.

If you enjoy playing with squishy stress relieving sand, try making an orbeez stress ball. Orbeez are small water-filled polymer balls, that can be purchased at Walmart or Target. They come in assorted packages with vibrant colors. All you need to do is add water to develop the polymer balls; stores also offer options for fully grown orbeez.

For this tutorial you’ll need a clear balloon, fully grown orbeez (colors vary based on preference) and a funnel.

Step 1: Place the clear balloon over the small end of the funnel.

Step 2: Once the balloon is over the funnel, you can pour the orbeez into the funnel. The balloon should began to expand as the polymer balls take up space (For this tutorial 600 fully grown orbeez were used).

Step 3: After pouring all the polymer balls into the balloon, you can remove the funnel and tie off the end of the balloon.

With three easy steps you can now shake and squeeze your new stress ball.The squishy and soft feeling of the orbeez filled balloon makes it lots of fun. One of the benefits of stress balls, is to help ease tension when necessary.