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1 Tablespoon of Rubbing Alcohol or Vinegar
Food Coloring or liquid watercolors
2 cups of Dry Rice or Pasta
*Gel food coloring and liquid watercolors will produce vibrant colors.
Directions:
Add rubbing alcohol/vinegar and color to a quart size bag and mix. Add 2 cups of rice and mix again.
After they are completely mixed, spread the rice out on a piece of wax paper to dry. Make sure the rice/pasta is completely dry before you store it or it will get moldy. It will smell a bit of alcohol or vinegar but it will get better over time.
You can also color the rice or pasta with Kool-aid. Dissolve the Kool-Aid packet in a small amount of hot water and mix.
To color cooked pasta... Just cook the pasta as you normally would (we like to cook al dente), place in a ziploc bag and add food coloring/liquid watercolors with a tiny bit of oil to prevent sticking.
Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to say thanks as well. I made a bin with 10lbs of colored rice on Friday and my kids absolutely LOVED it. It is the first activity that has kept my son's attention for any amount of time. We poured, dug, buried, scooped -- you name it. :)
ReplyDeleteCan this be done with liquid watercolor instead of food coloring??
ReplyDeleteLove this idea! Sorry for the dumb question but what is rubbing alcohol?
ReplyDelete@Jennie... yes, can be done with liquid watercolor. You don't need to add alcohol if you use that. However, it probably would be more expensive for you as that stuff is not cheap and you would need to use more!
ReplyDeleteWe make colored pasta all the time and use vinegar instead of rubbing alcohol. Works just as great!
ReplyDelete@JT, I used vinegar too! We just made some bow tie pasta colors, but I think I'm going out to get some rice today to make more!
ReplyDeleteIsopropyl alcohol is the same as rubbing alcohol: it is used as a disinfectant (say, for a scraped knee, or before getting a shot) and can be found at most drug stores.
ReplyDeleteMy kids LOVE this. I used pasta rather than rice- the wee teensy pastas, not the big chunky ones. Maybe next time I'll use some of the larger pasta shapes. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of vinegar?
ReplyDeleteWhite
Deletewill this colored rice dye the kids' hands?
ReplyDeleteWe never have a problem. Possible if the rice gets wet.
DeleteIf it gets wet. It's not enough to worry about in my book.
DeleteI wonder if there is a way to do this without dyes? Something more natural?
ReplyDeleteWe have a "Natural dyes" post on our blog....type it into the search bar.
DeleteIt's so fun with different pasta shapes. My son was stoked when I found Thomas the Train pasta. We make all sorts of colors. Then glue it on paper, foam or felt and make pictures when we are done.
ReplyDeleteOk so I coloured rice yesterday using kool aid (well, a no name brand). Let it dry for 24 hours and it's one big sticky mess. What did I do wrong? I used just enough hot water to dissolve the drink crystals, poured it in the baggie, laid it out on wax paper on a cookie sheet to dry and it's super sticky. So frustrated. Can anyone help?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone used white beans?
ReplyDelete