Dyeing Pasta

I'm thrilled that I now have an outlet for my wanna be Martha side of my personality! Manic Mother is hosting a weekly monthly post link up for us to explore our creative sides. Martha Stewart has been inspiring me for many years. I even have a little shrine next to my computer with my Homekeeping bible, my Cooking School book and the current issue of Martha Stewart Living. I often look to the picture I cut out of a magazine and think...What Would Martha Do? My posts will contain photos, kids crafts, some recipes and other fun things that I find to do. Just this morning I was inspired to make something!

My shrine to Martha....

I found this craft project last summer at Tutus and Turtles. My kids are ready to start really learning their colors and to count...Mallory can already count to 10! I tried to make enough of them so that we could do many projects with it. Click on the photos to make them bigger.

bags of green, blue, red, orange and purple pasta

Alex likes to line his up....

many different shapes to choose from

sort them by color, or not....

Dyeing Pasta

What you need:

food coloring
dried pasta (any kind)
lots of rubbing alcohol
ziploc freezer bags (to prevent leakage)

Directions:

1. Place noodles in ziploc freezer bags. Place bags on a plate or cookie sheet in case of leaks.
2. Completely cover the noodles with rubbing alcohol
3. Mix in food coloring, 5-6 squirts in each
4. Let the noodles sit to absorb color, as little as 30 minutes or overnight. The longer it sits the deeper the color.
5. Once desired color is reached, drain liquid (do not rinse) and dry noodles on cookie sheets.

Noodles can be used for sorting colors and shapes and making crafts. Let your imagination soar!