- Easy
- 20–30 minutes
- No glue
- about 3.3 × 4.5 in (8.3 × 11.4 cm)
Bring some sunshine to your craft table with this kawaii lemonade cup! With its big lemon slice, floating ice cubes, dome lid, and sweet smiley face, it is a bright addition to your paper squishy drinks and makes a puffy 3.3 × 4.5 in (8.3 × 11.4 cm) pillow. The free printable PDF includes 3 versions—full color, a coloring page, and a blank outline—in US Letter and A4 sizes. Pair it with our pink drink squishy for a cute summer cafe set!
What you need
How to make it, step by step
1Print the template
Print your lemonade cup page 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 lemon slice, ice cubes, and rosy cheeks now, and let marker ink dry completely before moving on.
2Tape the pieces
Cover only the front and back lemonade cup designs with wide clear packing tape instead of taping the whole sheet. Smooth each strip from the middle outward without pulling, since stretched tape wrinkles later. This glossy layer makes the dome lid look like real clear plastic and keeps the paper strong and extra squishy.
3Cut out both pieces
Cut out the front and back cup pieces right along the solid outer line, keeping the narrow white border all the way around. Go slowly around the sticking-out straw at the top and the wide rim of the dome lid so both shapes match up cleanly.
4Add a tape border to the back
Lay the back cup piece printed side down onto strips of regular clear tape with the sticky side facing up. Trim the tape about 1 cm (½ inch) past the paper edge, then snip this border every 2 cm (1 inch) right up to the paper so the little flaps will hold your cup together.
5Join front and back
Place the front piece right on top of the back piece, white sides together, lining up the straw and lid rim. Fold the sticky flaps over the front edge one by one and press them down firmly. Leave a 3.5 cm (1½ in) gap open along the edge of the cup (shown by the pink line in the picture) for stuffing.
6Stuff it
Tear your plastic bags, cotton, or fiberfill into small pieces and push them in through the gap. Fill the far corners first—like the straw tip and dome lid rim—then stuff the lemonade cup until it feels soft and puffy. Stop before it gets too tight so the seams don’t pop.
7Close the gap
Fold the last tape flaps over the open edge of the cup and tape the gap shut with an extra strip of clear tape. Run your finger firmly along all edges, pressing down the lid rim and bottom corners so the tape holds well.
8Squish!
Done! Your sunny lemonade cup is ready—squeeze your squishy and watch the cheerful face puff right back up. Want a slow-rising squishy? Prick one tiny pinhole in the back of the cup to let the air out gently.
Free Lemonade Cup 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
- My cup feels too hard. If the lemonade cup feels stiff instead of pillowy, it has too much stuffing inside. Open the gap, pull a few pieces out of the middle, and tape the edge shut again.
- Smooth tape over the lid. If the packing tape wrinkles across the yellow lemonade design, use shorter strips and lay them down gently from the center without stretching.
- Fix a popped rim corner. The side corners where the dome lid meets the cup take extra pressure; if an edge splits open, press a new short strip of tape right across it, overlapping the old ones.
- No smudged yellow markers. Bright yellow and dark brown marker ink can smear under tape, so let your colored cup dry completely before laminating (printer ink is fine right away).
Questions
What can you put in a paper squishy?
You can stuff your lemonade cup with torn plastic grocery bags for a light, crinkly feel, or use cotton balls and fiberfill for a soft pillow texture. Small pieces of memory foam also work well if you want a slow-rising squishy.
Can I use glue instead of tape on the edges?
Not for the edges. Glue doesn’t stick to tape-covered paper, so the cup seams would open when squeezed. The snipped tape border folded over the edge holds best.
What paper works best for paper squishy drinks?
Plain printer paper (80–100 gsm / 20–24 lb) works best because it stays flexible under the tape. Cardstock makes the cup stiff and it won’t squish as nicely.
Can I make this lemonade cup squishy bigger?
Yes! Print the page at a larger scale, for example 120%, and make sure the front and back print together on the same sheet so they match.
Can I make these paper squishy drink ideas with a group?
Yes! Print 1 sheet per person, pre-cut the tape strips, and plan about 30 minutes so kids can color the lemonade cup while you help with taping. You can also pair it with our lemon soda can squishy for a fun refreshment stand theme.
More paper squishies to make
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