How to dye pasta

I had made Rhea a rice 'sandbox' to play with and she loves it.... but it's quite messy. So in a flash of brilliance I thought I'd dye some pasta and use that instead for easier clean up. First I did some rigatoni to string on shoelaces/yarn, then I did some plain old macaroni for a new pasta box. There are a number of tutorials on the web, but I felt like making our own, enjoy!!

STEP 1: Gather supplies and helper!

You'll need: pasta (any shape/brand/quantity will do)

food coloring, rubbing alcohol, ziplock bags,

measuring cup, towel, wax paper (not shown)

STEP 2: measure out approximately 1/4 c. rubbing alcohol for every

1 cup of pasta to be dyed

(we did 4 different rounds for 4 different colors)

STEP 2B: have your assistant select the color to be used

STEP 3: Add 10 drops food coloring to the rubbing alcohol and swish to mix

STEP 4: add desired amount of pasta to the bag

STEP 5: seal bag and squish the pasta around until the colored alcohol

has contacted all the noodles

STEP 6: Lay bags out to 'cure'. I used a towel underneath to protect from any possible leaks.

STEP 6B: every 30 minutes or so, turn the bags over and swish the dye around in the bag,

the longer you leave the noodles in the dye the brighter the colors get

STEP 7: Lay pasta out on wax paper to dry overnight (or newspaper works too)

STEP 8: HAVE FUN!!!

Teaching moments: textures, colors, weights, measures, hand/eye coordination, counting

Play Supplies: tupperware (varying sizes), measuring spoon/cup, shovel, egg carton, spice jars, coffee cans, buckets, toilet paper tubes, you name it!! Endless possibilities!

*~* MOST IMPORTANT *~*

No crying over spilled pasta

(this tip is more for Mommy than kiddos)