First image: A hand wearing two silicone bracelets that look like twisted liquorice sticks curled into a loop, one red and one black. The hand is held over a wooden table as the background.
Images 2-5: A hand wearing a black silicone liquorice bracelet and holding the red liquorice bracelet, twisting it into different shapes.]
Appe-Teethers (Liquorice Bracelets) - $6.64 AUD + $7.00 AUD shipping to Australia
pros:
cute and discreet to wear!
the twisted texture is nice to rub and chew
has quite a bit of give, but seems tougher in the centre (the product listing describes these as being like biting down on fingers)
flexible enough that i can twist it around in my fingers, sort of like a tangle
easy enough to fold in half to chew with back teeth
if any random stranger sees you they’ll just think you’re eating liquorice
you get two!
#redinstead
cons:
the twisted texture does catch some saliva (but the grooves are wide enough that it doesnt get stuck)
no ends to chew on and hold in my mouth for hands-free chewing (this is just a personal preference for pendants over bracelets - the perfect chewable would be these but as a small ring-sized loop or a short stick of liquorice, as a pendant)
since its a baby teether im not sure how well it will hold up over time, but its not showing any signs of wear and tear under my chewing (for reference; i chewed a hole through stimtastic’s dulcimer pendant in under 3 days)
may be too small for people with larger hands (my hands are small-ish and it’s a perfect fit to get them on)
you can’t pick other colours to match outfits, or to go with a collection of stim toys of a certain colour
[Individual image descriptions of images 2-5 under cut.]
[Second image: A hand wearing the black liquorice bracelet and holding the red liquorice bracelet.
Third image: A hand wearing the black bracelet and holding the red bracelet twisted into a figure-eight.
Images 4-5: A hand wearing the black bracelet and holding the red bracelet twisted into tight loops.]
I purchased this from my local university’s bookstore/gift store for $4.95; I still haven’t found an online source for them that doesn’t have a minimum quantity.
The product is intended to be inflated and played with as a ball and deflated to be used again later, but the best parts about it (in my opinion) are the unintentional side effects of the gimmick.
pros:
When not fully inflated, it’s pretty much like a frondless puffer ball with customisable Squishy factor
When the nozzle is inserted into the valve, the ball will fill itself with the ‘default’ amount of air that will fill it without stretching the rubber - this means that you can squeeze it over and over again and it will fill itself back up with air.
It also makes a quiet hissing noise as you squeeze all the air out, which i like
If you partially inflate it, it can end up sort of lopsided with one side of the ball stretching more than the other. while technically it’s not working the way it’s supposed to, it also means that the ball will be heavier on one side, which means no matter how you push it or knock it over, it will always rest lighter-side-up.
think those training dummies with the weighted bases that always bounce back up
Glows Really Brightly in the dark. The picture really doesn’t do this justice - it’s the kind of glow in the dark that actually lights up small areas. I used it as a makeshift torch/flashlight once to find something on my bedside table
it’s also really fun to squish in the dark, as the stretched out material appears darker and vice versa, so you can make it brighter and darker as you squish it
deflates and folds up pretty small for storing
cute bright colours!
cons:
The packaging doesn’t say anywhere on it what it’s made of, so anyone with a latex allergy might not want to risk this one. (if it helps, it does feel similar to a puffer toy)
This thing picks up dust like crazy. I haven’t tried cleaning it with water or the cornflour trick as of yet, so I’ll keep you posted on whether either of those works
Getting the nozzle into the valve to inflate it was pretty hard the first time, although it has gotten easier the more i do it. You might want to get someone to hold the ball for you as you insert the nozzle, or vice versa
Actually inflating the ball to beyond its ‘default’ size (the one it inflates itself to as soon as you insert the nozzle) is a Bad Sensory Feel (at least for me), to the point where I haven’t actually tried inflating the ball to its full size yet
Doesn’t come with a resealable bag of any kind, which you really need in order to keep it from getting too dusty, and to prevent losing the nozzle. I just put mine in a small snap lock bag, which works fine
[Image descriptions under cut.]
[First image: a gif of a hand holding a blue ball with a white straw-like nozzle attached. The hand is squeezing the ball repeatedly and the ball re-inflates itself to its standard size each time.
Second image: a gif of the same ball inflated into a larger, slightly misshapen oval shape. The ball rests on the less-inflated, denser side of the oval and repeatedly returns to the same position as though weighted when pushed. The white straw-like nozzle rests on the surface beside it.
Third image: a still image of a hand holding the blue ball with nozzle attached, as it is in the first gif. The ball resembles an oversized lollipop about the size of a stress ball with a stick about as long as the diameter of the ball.
Fourth image: a still image of a hand holding the ball partially inflated as it is in the second gif. The ball resembles a small balloon.
Fifth image: a hand holding the same ball completely deflated of air.
Sixth image: a completely dark image showing the ball glowing green in the dark. The silhouette of a thumb can be seen pressed over the centre of the deflated ball.
[First image: a blue chenille ‘wand’ duster with a silver metallic telescoping handle and a blue handle grip. The duster is held up against a wooden table as a background by a hand wearing a long yellow sleeve.
Second image: a gif showing the duster braced against the table by its handle grip and a hand wrapped around the duster end and running up and down over the chenille fronds.
Third image: the duster with its telescoping handle partially expanded. A hand is holding the duster by its grip.
Fourth image: the duster with the handle expanded to its full length. The duster (including the chenille-covered duster section itself and the handle grip) is roughly as long as the dining table is wide. ]
This is a duster i got at my local $2/bargain store (a chain store called Bargain Mania although that may not be a help - the whole place’s stock changes pretty randomly and this particular store is pretty cluttered and disorganised so I’m not sure how consistent stock is across stores) and it’s pretty much my favourite stim toy right now.
The chenille fronds are consistent around the duster (no rough scourer back or zipper in the way) and because it’s on a handle, it’s easy to rub it over my face and arms (and legs when sitting).
It cost me something like $2-3 (AUD) and the chenille fabric isn’t the densest/most high quality (there’s about a fingertip’s width between fronds) but the edges are all finished and it’s held to me constantly messing around with the fronds/brushing them back and forth/gently tugging at them etc.
The telescoping handle is also good to slide in and out, and the grip of the duster is this really matte/borderline rough texture that’s nice to stroke.
The duster end is also made up of a chenille cover over a dense sponge, and the cover is loose enough that I’m able to hold the duster head in one hand and spin the handle inside it in the other.
The duster cover also shouldn’t be too much trouble to get off, if you wanted to diy the duster telescoping handle for something else (eg. a silicone brush, a soft makeup brush) or use the duster head to make a weighted/crunchy toy or as a cover for a squishy (something i still intend to try) etc.
[Image description: Two images of a hand holding a neon orange silicone octopus with a round head, tentacles and large cartoonish eyes. In the first image the octopus is still in blue packaging with the label ‘Sunnylife Neon Bath Octopus’ and the tagline ‘Eight times cleaner’, all in capitals. In the second image the octopus is out of the packaging and the hand holding it is squeezing the head.]
bought this a while ago! the head is hollow and has a sponge inside it and the holes in the head mean the air can be squeezed out. the tentacles are really stretchy. the eyes wore off pretty fast but i don’t mind that. it does attract a fair amount of dust since it’s made of silicone but it’s easy to clean and safe to get wet since it’s intended for bath use!
