Sponge Balls ~ Summer Kids Craft

When playing a summer water party for the kids, one of the first activities that popped into my head was water balloons. But I dreaded having to clean up all those latex bits in my yard, not to mention filling dozens of water balloons before the party. Then I remembered something I had seen Martha Stewart create – sponge balls. (Thanks Martha.)

Not only are they practical and reusable, they are cute!

I think the ones Martha made were bigger (and probably more awesome somehow), but here is how I did it.

What you need:

• Colorful Sponges
• Curling Ribbon or String
• Bucket of Water

To create your sponge balls, start by cutting sponges into strips. I used small kitchen sponges, which each yielded seven strips about 3/4 of an inch wide. (I did not measure, I just eyeballed it.) Then I gathered my strips and tied them tightly in the center with curling ribbon. (You could use simple string, but I always have a lot of curling ribbon on hand so that’s what I used.) Once your strips are bound, fluff and ta-da.

On the day of the party, I filled a bucket with water, tossed in the balls and let the kids loose. While some of the bigger kids had a blast tossing them, the little kids loved squishing them and pretending to bathe in the bucket. Lol.

Toward the end of the party, some of the girls decided to use the sponges to wash away the sidewalk paint art they created earlier. It was really funny.

For more summer fun make homemade sidewalk chalk paint!