Dying Pasta

First you will need to be able to manipulate the pasta and color it to fit your theme or artistic needs. Here is the basic recipe:

Materials Needed:

Rubbing alcohol

Food colors

Noodles , uncooked

Method:

1.Pour alcohol into large bowl and add food color.

2.Note: the more food coloring the brighter the pasta.

3.Add pasta, stir and let set until desired color.

4.Spoon out, using slotted spoon, onto newspapers.

5.Spread to dry (about 2 hours).

6.Then use for your favorite art project.

Some Simple Ideas

Now that you have the materials, it's time to get crafty! Try these projects on for size:

Pasta People

Materials Needed:

A couple different types of pasta and dried beans, like spaghetti, macaroni, tiny tube pasta, long tube pasta, wagon wheels, long spirals, tiny shells, wagon wheels

A piece of construction paper

White glue

Method:

1.Glue the pasta to the paper using white glue.

2.Have the kids arrange the pasta on the paper before gluing (to make sure that they have room for the whole body on the piece of paper).

3.You can use just about any type of pasta (or dried beans) for the body parts. Experiment with different variations.

Pasta Jewelry

Materials Needed:

A piece of string about 40 cm long

Pasta pieces that you can thread string through

Method:

1.Color about ten to fifteen pasta pieces. Use different colors and/or pasta shapes if you like. Leave to dry.

2.Thread the pasta pieces, one at a time, onto the piece of string. When the string starts to get full with pasta, tie both ends of the string together to form the necklace.

Macaroni Noodle Frame

Materials Needed:

Macaroni or other small pasta

1 - 3 X 3 terracotta tile

Glue

Paint

Plate stand

Black permanent marker

Small flowers

Ribbon

Method:

1.In the center of the tile, draw the shape and size of the picture with the marker.

2.Apply glue to the border of the area you outlined, leaving the center empty.

3.Apply macaroni/pasta.

4.Let it dry (for about 30 minutes).

5.Paint.

6.Once dry, you may apply flowers or ribbon to decorate.

7.Place picture in the empty center.

8.Place tile on plate stand for display.

Have Fun

One of the cool things about pasta is that there are so many different choices and variations. You can control the color of the pasta very easily by adding more or less coloring, and it is a fun way to teach your kids about the different colors and what results if you mix them together. It is a great medium both cooked and uncooked, and cost just pennies per child! So the next time you think about creating a craft, bring out the old spaghetti noodles and start creating some fun!