Macaroni... it's not just for dinner!

This Idea Came From: I totally followed these directions... http://www.makeandtakes.com/coloring-pasta-making-necklaces. Yes, I said I followed directions... but only because I tried this earlier this year and majorly made a huge mess. For this craft it pays not to be a pioneer in the coloring portion... go to town with your wagon wheels and your penne and your elbows... but do yourself a favor and consider yourself warned use the rubbing alcohol.

Our Experience: This has been a craft I have wanted to do with Emma for a while. The first time we attempted to make these necklaces... I skipped the rubbing alcohol step in the food coloring. Huge mistake! The food coloring never dried and oh dear what a mess. Had to scrap it and throw them all out.

 
This time... much, much easier. I just took little sandwich bags tossed the food coloring, macaroni in various shapes, and a little rubbing alcohol.  Emma squished all the bags around and they turned out way more vibrant than I expected! Success so far. We shook them onto a paper towel lined cookie sheet to let them dry.

"Are they ready yet?" Not yet "Are they ready now?" No, not yet "Are they ready now, Mom?" Grrrr.


Ok so eventually in under an hour they were ready to be strung.  This was great.  Emma was able to manipulate the taped end (like a shoelace) through the various sizes of macaroni.  I taped the bottom end flat so they stayed on, once done we tied them, and snipped the freyed ends off. Wha Lah! Really well done. Wish we would have had wagon wheels... oh well.. next time.  We will do this craft again.

The Lesson:  If at first you do not succeed, try try again.