- Easy
- 20–30 minutes
- No glue
- about 2.7 × 4.5 in (7.0 × 11.4 cm)
Craft a cute hand sanitizer bottle with this free skincare paper squishy template! The kawaii design features aqua blue gel filled with floating bubbles, a sweet smiling face with a tiny pink heart, and a pink loop strap at the top. Your PDF download includes 3 versions in both US Letter and A4 sizes: the ready-to-make color design, a coloring page, and a blank outline. Pair it with a skincare pump bottle squishy for your desk!
What you need
How to make it, step by step
1Print the template
Print your chosen hand sanitizer sheet at 100% scale on plain printer paper (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 picked the coloring page, color the gel, bubbles, and clip loop now—try pastel purple for lavender or yellow for lemon—and let any marker ink dry completely.
2Tape the pieces
Lay strips of wide clear packing tape over just the front and back bottle shapes, rather than covering the entire page. Smooth each piece of tape from the middle out toward the edges without pulling or stretching it, because stretched tape will wrinkle later. This glossy coat makes your hand sanitizer shiny, strong, and extra squishy.
3Cut out both pieces
Use your scissors to cut out the front and back pieces right along the solid black outer line. Take your time curving around the rounded pink loop at the top and the slight dip by the white flip cap, making sure to keep the small white border intact all the way around.
4Add a tape border to the back
Place the back piece printed side down onto strips of regular clear tape so the sticky side faces up. Cut the tape so it extends about 1 cm (½ inch) past the paper edge, then snip into this tape border every 2 cm (1 inch) right up to the paper. These little flaps will follow the curves of the bottle and hold it together.
5Join front and back
Set the front piece directly on top of the back piece with the white unprinted sides together, lining up the top loop and bottom base. Fold the sticky tape flaps over the front edge one by one and press them down firmly. Leave a small gap open along the side of the bottle (the pink line in the picture shows where): that is your gap for the stuffing.
6Stuff it
Tear your plastic bags, cotton, or fiberfill into small pieces and push them inside through the open gap. Poke tiny pieces all the way up into the curved pink strap loop and the cap corners first before filling the main aqua gel body. Stop when the bottle feels soft and puffy—packing in too much stuffing can make the taped seams pop open.
7Close the gap
Fold the last tape flaps over the open side of the bottle and tape the gap shut with an extra strip of clear tape. Run your finger firmly along the entire outer edge, from the flat base up around the top loop, to press all the tape seams down well.
8Squish!
Your kawaii hand sanitizer is done and ready to squeeze! Give the bubbly gel belly a good squish and watch it puff right back up. If you want a slow-rising squishy, gently prick one tiny pinhole into the back of the bottle so the air escapes slowly.
Free Hand Sanitizer 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
- The top loop feels flat. Tear your stuffing into tiny shreds and push them into the curved pink loop first before filling the wide bottle base. Small pieces travel around the curve much better than a big wad.
- My squishy feels too hard. If the sanitizer bottle feels stiff instead of bouncy, it has too much stuffing inside. Gently open the side gap, take some stuffing out, and tape the edge closed again.
- The tape wrinkles on the curve. Use shorter strips of tape and lay them down gently without pulling or stretching. Around the curved top strap, make sure your border snips are spaced every 2 cm (1 inch) so the flaps fold smoothly.
- An edge splits open. If a seam pops along the neck dip or base when you squeeze it, put a new short strip of clear tape right across the edge, overlapping the old ones. Press it down firmly with your finger.
Questions
What paper squishy skincare ideas go with this?
This hand sanitizer measures about 2.7 × 4.5 in (7.0 × 11.4 cm) and looks adorable in a DIY vanity basket alongside a lip gloss paper squishy. You can also use the coloring page to design different gel scents like strawberry pink, mint green, or peach orange.
Can I use glue instead of tape?
Not for the edges. Glue will not stick to paper that is covered in packing tape, so the bottle seams would open. Folding the snipped tape border over the edge gives the strongest hold.
What paper works best for a skincare paper squishy?
Plain printer paper (80–100 gsm / 20–24 lb) works best. Heavy cardstock makes the bottle stiff, so it will not squish and puff back up as nicely.
What can I stuff it with?
You can use plastic grocery bags for a light, crinkly feel, or cotton balls and fiberfill for a soft texture. Small pieces of memory foam also work well if you want a slow-rising squish.
Can I make these with a class or group?
Yes! Print 1 template sheet per person and cut the tape strips in advance before you start. Kids can color the coloring page while you help with the taping, and the activity takes about 30 minutes.
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