Learn how to dye pasta for crafts – it’s an easy way to inject a little extra fun into your kid’s art projects!
Macaroni necklaces and lots of other activities become way more exciting when the materials are a rainbow of different colors!
When I made my first batch of dyed pasta, I did it on my own, while my little ones were asleep.
It’s a super-easy project that could easily involve little hands, but I have a confession: I have a sort of phobia of any sort of mess involving color.
I understand that it sounds a little crazy-I’m no stranger to an array of doubting and incredulous looks when I tell people that I can hardly talk about, let alone look at, smeared paint, sloppy projects and most other color-related messes.
Being nauseated by certain types of messes is arguably one of my biggest struggles.
I can’t explain why it gets to me, and it’s even harder to explain to people that it’s not the “neat-freak” in me that wants to keep my kids and personal spaces clean.
It’s just something in me that physically can’t handle seeing that type of mess in person, on television, in photos or anywhere in my line of vision.
This phobia also a parenting challenge. I understand that creativity is a big part of early-childhood education, and the last thing I want to do is squash that facet of my little ones’ developing minds and personalities.
I regularly do a variety of projects and crafts with Haiden and Piper, and they have a variety of art supplies at their disposal. We love activities like this fine motor straw necklace. But I can hardly write the words “finger paint” without feeling sick to my stomach.
At this point in our lives, the messier materials are left for my kiddos to use with my husband or my super-creative sister.
But, I digress. In short, I think toddlers would love shaking up the bag and have a hand in the dying process. And there are so many different ways to use it after you learn how to dye pasta.
Instructions for everything are just below.
I just needed to keep the mess to a minimum, so my kids will just enjoy the finished product.
How to Dye Pasta or Rice for Toddler Craft Projects
Supplies needed:
- Uncooked pasta or rice (a pound of either works perfectly for the gallon-size bags)
- Food coloring
- Rubbing alcohol
- Gallon-size zip-top bags
- Paper towels
- Dinner plates
- Put three or four paper towels on a clean plate.
- Pour the pasta or rice into a zip-top bag. Don’t fill the bag up to the top, you’ll need some room to shake the materials together.
- Add one tablespoon or rubbing alcohol to the bag and 5-6 drops of food coloring.
- Seal the bag and shake everything together for about 30 seconds, or until all the pasta or rice is coated.
- Dump the bag out onto your prepared plate. Let it dry for 2-3 hours, or overnight. If the weather’s warm it can be put outside to dry faster.
- Have fun with your new and exciting crafty material!
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so I dyed my pasta and rice red for our first project, which I’ll share tomorrow.
The whole pasta/rice-dying process was far cleaner than I expected it to be, which is a big victory for me! I’ll definitely be repeating the process in different colors for new projects going forward!
Now that you have dyed pasta and rice, learn how to make a sensory tub for little hands to learn and explore!
I’d also love to hear ideas on how to get over my hang-ups with paints and messes. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment!
Nichol says
Zoe loves doing macaroni projects! I also had the fear of paint and did not want to let my kids do them, so I used vanilla and chocolate pudding forever lol. When they got too big for that stage, I just covered the table in tons of newspapers and I soon learned that my kids need to do projects, even if it means painting. I’m not much of a help but maybe start outside once the weather is warmer or with that pudding:)
Marybeth Hamilton says
Thanks for your support, Nichol 🙂 Pudding and working outside are definitely a good start!
Jen says
Marybeth, I TOTALLY agree with the mess thing. It is the reason K has only painted 2xs in our house. She is nearly 4 and LOVES projects, but I can’t handle it.
On a side note, you just gave me the best idea ever for my daughter’s upcoming birthday party. Stay tuned, I promise to share with you the results 🙂
Lynsey Jones says
I am a mess- phobia mom too. I am all about arts and crafts that involve nothing “wet” LOL This is awesome!
Marybeth Hamilton says
Jen and Lynsey, thank you both SO much for your comments. It seems like the internet is full of parents who embrace messy projects. It’s nice to feel like I’m not alone 🙂
Paula @ Frosted Fingers says
Great idea! Maybe I’ll get over my fear of mess a little and do this as well.
jlzc says
Crayola sells a box that has 10 little tubs of washable paints in different colors. It is SUPER washable. Comes off with a little swipe of a baby wipe from the table and skin and washes right out of clothes. I used to work in a one-year-old classroom at a preschool. I would sit at a small table with the child standing in front of me in between my knees with some paint on a chubby paint brush so I could quickly grab their hand if it started to veer off the paper or towards their hand or mouth. Keep some wipes right next to you and you can quickly wipe up any little mess they make.
We paint a lot in my house, but only because I know it is really easy to clean. I’d rather wipe off some paint then deal with rice all over the floor personally! And it’s WAY less messy than glue!
Also, you can make colored “sand” by using a fine strainer to grate chalk into salt and then mixing it in. The salt will take on the color of the chalk with just a little bit of it.
gina says
I am one of those moms that thinks the messier it is the better the memory – we love messy crafts in our house =)
I would suggest this summer when it gets warm – take the kids outside in thier bathing suits and give them some huge pieces of cardboard and paint and paint brushes – let them have a ball!!! Then you can just hose them off and the mess stays outside =) Maybe seeing how much fun they have will encourage you to try in inside too =)