How to Use Food Coloring & Pasta to Make Necklaces
Pasta necklaces allow your child to develop math, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Children enjoy stringing the different shapes and colors of pasta onto string, and it lets them be creative. Dried pasta absorbs the dyes in food coloring well, and you can create many different color combinations. Use a variety of tube pastas, such as macaroni, pasta wheels or penne, for the project.
Things You'll Need
- Glass bowls
- Rubbing alcohol
- Food coloring
- Dried pasta
- Slotted spoon
- Paper plate or wax paper
- String or yarn
- Scissors
- Masking tape
Instructions
-
-
1
Set out enough glass bowls for the food coloring you plan to use. If you are dying three different colors of pasta, then you will need three bowls.
-
2
Pour 1 tbsp. of rubbing alcohol into each of the bowls.
-
-
3
Add four to five drops of food coloring into each bowl. Stir the food coloring to combine it with the rubbing alcohol. Add more drops of food coloring until you achieve the desired hue.
-
4
Drop a small amount of the pasta carefully into the bowls. Stir the pasta gently with a spoon and allow it to sit for 30 seconds.
-
5
Remove the pasta from the bowls with a slotted spoon. Place them onto a paper plate or a sheet of wax paper to dry. The food coloring will brighten as the pasta dries.
-
6
Cut a piece of string long enough for a necklace. A 12- to 24-inch piece of string will work fine for the project.
-
7
Cut a 1-inch piece of masking tape. Wrap the tape around one end of the string to make it easier to string the pasta.
-
8
String the pasta on to create a necklace. Place one piece on at a time until 1 inch of the string remains on the other end.
-
9
Remove the masking tape. Tie the string ends together into a knot to create a necklace.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Pour the rubbing alcohol and food coloring into a plastic bag and shake the pasta around in the solution instead of using bowls.
Use leftover dyed pasta for other projects, such as pasta bracelets or macaroni pictures.
Wear gloves when handling food coloring, because it can stain your hands.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
