Cindy Crushes Programming: DIY Fruit Squishies

I heard about making Fruit Squishies on a teen service message board. They said all you need is paint and makeup sponges. I knew my teens enjoy squishies and this seemed like a craft I could do. I am crafty but not necessarily artistic . There is a big difference in my mind. I always think if I can ask the teens to do a project then I can do it. I learned fruit is easier to make when it is a fruit with seeds and skin. It helps the appearance of the squishy. Apples and Watermelon are the to make.

Supplies:

• Makeup Sponges ( I got the ones that are triangular)
• Paint (Acrylic)
• Paint brushes
• Paper plates

Steps:

Take a sponge and paint it the base color. For watermelon, I blended red and pink to get more of a watermelon color. For apple I used yellow and white for the inside of the apple. I left the skin white until I added the green of the skin.

Wait 15 minutes to paint the seeds. It will dry faster in some ways since it sucks up the paint but the middle of the sponge will hold the paint more.

Paint the seeds. Try to make them circular. Print out pics for the teens to reference as they paint. For many, painting the seeds and other elements may be the hardest part.

Let it dry 24 hours for it to be completely dry. You can have the teens take them home in plastic baggies to dry or keep them at the library and have them pick them up the next day.

Squish and have fun!

Final Thoughts: This is a craft I think the teens will do better than I did. I think having images of fruits will help them to come up with their own versions. I will bring scissors  in case the teens want to trim the sponges. This is a fun craft and I recommend it.

For More Information: There are a ton of tutorial out there on YouTube and Simon and Schuster has a book that will help you get started.

See Also:

Cindy Shutts, MLIS

Cindy is passionate about teen services. She loves dogs, pro-wrestling, Fairy tales, mythology, and of course reading. Her favorite books are The Hate U Give, Catching FIre, The Royals, and everything by Cindy Pon. She loves spending times with her dog Harry Winston and her niece and nephew. Cindy Shutts is the Teen Services Librarian at the White Oak Library District in IL and she’ll be joining us to talk about teen programming. You can follow her on Twitter at @cindysku.

Filed under: Cindy Crushes Programming, Teen Program in a Box, Teen Programming, Teen Programming in a Box