Ease your Valentine’s anxiety with a homemade stress ball! This isn’t just any stress ball – it’s an olive, because “olive being your friend.” Also, “olive you.” This DIY is relatively quick, doesn’t require many supplies, and will be super cute with all of the olive puns available.

I love that it is so functional too! Or should I say “olive” that it is functional? ;) It’s a nice alternative to passing out candy, and the teachers will love your child for not contributing to the Valentine party sugar high!

• Flour
• Funnel
• Small plastic bottle
• Spoon
• Balloons (red & green)
• Scissors
• Hole punch (small)
• Baker’s twine
• Cardstock
• Printer or marker (not pictured)

Step 1
Use a spoon and funnel to place flour in a small, (empty and dry) water bottle. Fill the bottle a little more than halfway.

Step 2
Place the end of the red balloon over the mouth of the water bottle, and hold it in place. Squeeze the bottle and shake the flour into the balloon. Once the balloon is full of flour, squeeze off the “neck” of the balloon before pulling it off the water bottle. It may have some extra air in it, so slowly let the air out over your kitchen sink, as it may also shoot out some flour! Make sure the opening is facing downward into the sink. Tie off the end of the balloon. Re-shape the water bottle before filling the next balloon.

Step 3
Cut off the excess neck of the balloon after you have tied it off. Cut off the entire neck of the green balloon, and slightly below the neck.

Step 4
Stretch out the green balloon over the flour-filled red balloon. Make sure the tied end of the red balloon goes in first. Shape the balloon a bit with your hands, until it is oval-ish and olive-ish!

Step 5
Print off an olive pun on white cardstock, such as “Olive you” or “Olive being your friend.” Cut the words out in a strip, and cut a triangle into each end of the strip. Punch a small hole into one end of the tag, and use baker’s twine to tie the saying to your olive stress ball.

Now your Valentines are ready to de-stress your friends while expressing how much you love them! Olive Valentine’s Day, don’t you? Happy crafting!