- Easy
- 20–30 minutes
- No glue
- about 4.1 × 3.8 in (10.4 × 9.6 cm)
With wavy layers of golden peanut butter, glossy purple grape jelly, and a beaming kawaii face on toasted bread, this PB and J sandwich paper squishy looks good enough to eat. You get a free printable template in US Letter and A4 with 3 versions: full color, a coloring page, and a blank outline. Pair it with our peanut butter jar squishy and strawberry jam jar squishy for a complete lunchtime set!
What you need
How to make it, step by step
1Print the template
Print your PB and J sandwich template at 100% scale on plain printer paper—make sure to turn off “fit to page”. 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 bread, peanut butter, and jelly now with markers or pencils and let the marker ink dry completely.
2Tape the pieces
Cover only the two sandwich pieces with wide clear packing tape, not the whole sheet. Smooth each strip from the center of the toast outward and don’t stretch it, because stretched tape wrinkles later. The tape makes your purple jelly and golden crust shiny, strong, and extra squishy.
3Cut out both pieces
Cut out the front and back sandwich pieces along the solid black outer line, keeping the narrow white border intact. Take your time around the top bread curves and the wavy peanut butter and jelly bumps on the sides so both cutouts match neatly.
4Add a tape border to the back
Lay the back sandwich piece printed side down on strips of regular clear tape, 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 hold your sandwich squishy together around the curved crust and filling waves.
5Join front and back
Put the smiling front piece on the back piece with the white sides together. Fold the tape flaps over the front edge one by one and press them down firmly around the toast corners and wavy sides. Leave a 4 cm (1½ in) gap open (the pink line in the picture shows where)—that is your gap for the stuffing.
6Stuff it
Tear plastic bags, cotton, or fiberfill into small pieces and push them in through the open gap. Fill the far corners first—the top two bread humps and bottom crust corners—then stop when your sandwich feels soft and puffy. Too much stuffing makes the taped seams pop.
7Close the gap
Fold the last tape flaps over the stuffing gap and tape the gap shut with an extra strip of clear tape. Run your finger along all the wavy edges to press the tape down well.
8Squish!
Done! Squeeze your kawaii PB and J sandwich squishy and watch the puffy bread bounce right back up. Want a slow-rising squishy? Prick one tiny pinhole in the back of the toast.
Free PB and J Sandwich 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 sandwich feels too hard. It has too much stuffing inside the bread. Open the gap, take some filling out, and tape the edge shut again.
- Tape wrinkles on the face. Use shorter strips of packing tape across the wide bread top and lay them on gently without pulling.
- A wavy side edge splits open. The bumpy peanut butter and jelly sides take pressure when squeezed, so put a new short strip of clear tape across the edge, overlapping the old ones.
- Purple or brown colors smeared. Dark jelly and crust markers need a moment to set, so let markers dry fully before taping. Printer ink is fine right away.
Questions
Can I use glue instead of tape on my PB and J paper squishy?
Not for the edges. Glue doesn’t stick to tape-covered paper, so the sandwich seams would pop open—the snipped tape border folded over the edge holds best.
What paper works best for this printable paper squishy template?
Plain printer paper (80–100 gsm / 20–24 lb) works best. Cardstock makes the sandwich stiff and it won’t squish as nicely.
What can I stuff my sandwich squishy with?
Use plastic grocery bags for a crinkly and light feel, or cotton balls and fiberfill for a soft plush sandwich. You can also use small pieces of memory foam for a slow-rising squishy.
Can I make this peanut butter and jelly squishy bigger?
Yes! Print the page at a larger scale, for example 120%, and print the front and back together on the same sheet so they match.
Can I make these with a class or a group?
Yes! Print one sheet per person and cut tape strips in advance so kids can color the sandwich coloring page while you help with taping; plan about 30 minutes.
More paper squishies to make
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