- Easy
- 20–30 minutes
- No glue
- about 3.7 × 3.7 in (9.3 × 9.4 cm)
This chubby pink strawberry mochi has a ripe red berry tucked into the top, rosy cheeks, and a little heart on its face. Grab our free printable mochi paper squishy template to craft your own soft pillow in about 30 minutes. The PDF comes in US Letter and A4 with 3 versions: full color, a coloring page, and a blank outline. Pair it with our dango dumplings squishy or melon pan squishy for a cute Japanese bakery set!
What you need
How to make it, step by step
1Print the template
Print the template at 100% scale on plain printer paper and make sure “fit to page” is turned off. Check the scale line in the top corner: it should measure exactly 2 inches (50 mm on A4). If you chose the coloring page, color the pink rice cake, red strawberry, and green leaves now, then let any marker ink dry completely.
2Tape the pieces
Cover only the front and back mochi pieces with wide clear packing tape, rather than taping the entire sheet. Smooth each strip down from the center outwards without pulling or stretching it, since stretched tape wrinkles later. This clear layer makes your strawberry mochi shiny, strong, and extra squishy.
3Cut out both pieces
Cut out the front and back shapes along the solid outer line with your scissors. Take your time curving around the bumpy green strawberry leaves at the top and the smooth, rounded sides of the mochi, making sure to keep the small white border intact.
4Add a tape border to the back
Lay the back piece printed side down onto strips of tape with the sticky side facing up. Cut the tape about 1 cm (½ inch) past the paper edge, then snip this sticky border every 2 cm (1 inch) right up to the paper. These little flaps will wrap around the curves to hold your squishy together.
5Join front and back
Place the front piece on top of the back piece with the white sides together, lining up the strawberry tops. Fold the sticky flaps over the front edge one by one and press them down. Leave a 3.5 cm (1½ inch) gap open along the edge (the pink line in the picture shows where) as your gap for the stuffing.
6Stuff it
Tear your plastic bags, cotton, or fiberfill into small pieces and push them inside through the gap. Fill the far corners first, starting with the strawberry tip at the top, then work into the wide pink cheeks until the mochi feels soft and puffy. Stop before it gets too full so the seams don’t pop.
7Close the gap
Fold the last tape flaps neatly over the edge and tape the stuffing gap shut with an extra strip of regular clear tape. Run your finger firmly along all edges, especially over the curves around the berry, to make sure the tape is pressed down well.
8Squish!
Done! Your finished strawberry mochi measures about 3.7 × 3.7 inches (9.3 × 9.4 cm) and is ready to play with. Squeeze the plump pink cheeks and watch it puff right back up. Want a slow-rising squishy? Prick 1 tiny pinhole in the back.
Free Strawberry Mochi Squishy Template
- Color
- Coloring page
- Blank, design your own
- Step-by-step guide
One free PDF: the template in three versions (pages 1–3) and the step-by-step guide (pages 4–5). Print the template at 100% on plain printer paper.
Tips for the perfect squish
- Edge splits near the leaves. The bumpy curve around the green strawberry leaves has tighter turns that can pull apart when squeezed. Put a new short strip of tape across the split edge, overlapping the old strips to seal it tight.
- My mochi feels too hard. A mochi should feel soft and doughy, so if yours is stiff, it has too much stuffing. Open the gap, pull out a few tufts of filling, and tape the edge closed again.
- Wrinkles on the pink cheeks. Wide shapes show tape creases easily if the tape was pulled tight. Use shorter strips across the face and lay them on gently without pulling.
- Stop red marker from smearing. Bright red and dark brown markers can smudge under packing tape if they are still damp. Let your colored page dry fully before taping; regular printer ink is fine right away.
Questions
Can I make this mochi paper squishy craft with a group?
Yes! Print 1 sheet per person and cut the tape strips in advance. Kids can color the strawberry mochi coloring page while you help with taping, and the whole project takes about 30 minutes.
What paper works best for a mochi paper squishy?
Plain printer paper (80–100 gsm / 20–24 lb) gives you the softest, most squeezable result. Heavy cardstock makes the squishy stiff and it won’t squish as nicely.
Can I use glue instead of tape on the edges?
Not for the edges. Glue doesn’t stick to tape-covered paper, so the seams would open when squeezed. The snipped tape border folded over the edge holds best.
What can I stuff my strawberry mochi with?
Use plastic grocery bags for a crinkly and light feel, or cotton balls and fiberfill for a soft pillow. You can also use small pieces of memory foam for a slow-rising squishy.
Can I print the mochi paper squishy template bigger?
Yes! Print the page at a larger scale, such as 120%, and print the front and the back together on the same sheet so they match.
More paper squishies to make
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