How to Make a Crunchy Paper Squishy
Create a satisfying, crinkly paper squishy toy by illustrating a character, laminating with clear tape, and stuffing it with textured plastic materials.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free voice help.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Scissors
- ✓ Pencil and eraser
- ✓ Black fine-liner marker
- ✓ Colored markers or colored pencils
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Plain white paper (8.5x11 or A4)
- ✓ Wide clear packing tape (2-inch width)
- ✓ Clean crinkly plastic shopping bags or cellophane wrappers
- ✓ Polyester fiberfill or cotton balls (optional)
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Keep fingers away from the scissor blade path when cutting through layered tape and paper.
- • Do not use sharp wire ties or rigid plastics inside the squishy to prevent punctures and scratches.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Draw and Color the Squishy Design
Fold a sheet of paper in half so you can draw front and back layers simultaneously. Sketch your character or shape on the top half using a pencil, trace bold outlines with a black fine-liner, and color it completely with markers. Ensure the design is centered and leaves at least 1 inch of margin from the paper edges.
- • Fully colored character with crisp black outlines on folded paper.
- • Clear 1-inch blank paper border surrounding the entire drawing.
- • Drawing too close to the paper edge, making tape sealing difficult.
- • Using water-based paint that bleeds when tape is applied.
Laminate the Design with Clear Packing Tape
Lay overlapping strips of wide clear packing tape horizontally across the entire drawing until it is completely laminated. Flip the folded paper over and repeat on the blank back side so both the front and back are fully covered in smooth plastic tape. Press firmly from the center outward to push out any trapped air bubbles.
- • Glossy, reflective tape covering 100% of both the front drawing and back side.
- • Tape strips overlap by roughly 1/8 inch with no exposed paper gaps.
- • Allowing tape to fold over onto itself, creating cloudy creases.
- • Leaving small gaps of exposed paper between tape strips.
Cut Out the Matching Front and Back Pieces
Cut along the outer contour of your design through both folded layers of laminated paper simultaneously. This ensures the front and back shapes match perfectly in size and silhouette. Keep your scissor cuts smooth and rounded rather than jagged.
- • Two identical laminated cutouts (front artwork and blank back piece).
- • Smooth outer borders without jagged or torn tape edges.
- • Cutting pieces separately, resulting in misaligned edges.
- • Choppy scissor snips that leave notched tape edges.
Tape the Perimeter Leaving an Opening
Align the front and back pieces together with the laminated faces facing outward. Take small 1-inch pieces of clear tape, apply them halfway along the outer seam, and fold them over to the back to seal the edge. Continue sealing around 75% of the perimeter, leaving a 1.5 to 2-inch opening at the bottom or side.
- • Pocket formed by front and back pieces firmly joined around most edges.
- • Clean, open gap of 1.5-2 inches remaining for inserting stuffing.
- • Accidentally taping the entire perimeter closed before adding stuffing.
- • Using long single strips of tape on curves, causing bulky puckering.
Fill with Crunchy Plastic Stuffing
Cut clean plastic grocery bags or crinkly cellophane packaging into 2-inch squares to maximize crunch sound. Loosely push handfuls of the plastic pieces through the pocket opening until the squishy is puffed out but not stretched to bursting. Mix in a small pinch of cotton or fiberfill in the center if you want soft rebound alongside the crunch.
- • Squishy holds a rounded 3D pillow shape.
- • Distinct crinkling sound audible when lightly compressed.
- • Overpacking the squishy so tight that it feels rock hard and strains the tape seams.
- • Underfilling, resulting in a flat squishy that collapses without spring back.
Seal the Final Pocket Seam
Pinch the edges of the opening flat together, ensuring no plastic stuffing is caught between the lips of the paper. Place a strip of clear tape over the opening, folding it tightly over to the back to seal the squishy completely. Gently squeeze the squishy all over to distribute the crunchy filling evenly inside.
- • Completely sealed 3D squishy with no exposed openings or loose plastic poking out.
- • Uniformly distributed filling that crunches and reinflates smoothly when squeezed.
- • Trapping strands of plastic bag in the final tape seal, creating air leak holes.
- • Sealing the squishy while compressed flat.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by Pogeun paper — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Clear packing tape? Clear contact paper or wide transparent scotch tape
- No Plastic shopping bags? Cellophane wrapper, bubble wrap cut into small pieces, or chip bags (cleaned inside)
- No Polyester fiberfill? Fluffed cotton balls or cosmetic cotton pads pulled apart