what to do with lots and lots of dyed pasta...

Because I am ridiculous, I had different pasta stations set up for Abby when she woke up from her nap.  I might have had more fun setting it up than she did playing with it.  She is always ready to steamroll when she wakes up so this was the perfect way to channel some of that energy.  

A little bit of sorting by color into any rainbow dish I could find

And then sorting by color on the rainbow silky 

Which turned into this:   HA!  

Scooping, filling, dumping... Scooping, filling, dumping... Scooping, filling, dumping is really important work for toddlers/preschoolers.  AND have you noticed how long it holds their attention???

Stringing necklaces onto pipe cleaners (way less frustrating for toddler hands than string)

HARD at work in her choker pasta necklace 

And last but not least, gluing those lovely noodles onto cardstock 

And today, we have an end product!  The process was pretty fun too.  

Dying Pasta

supplies :

• dry pasta in a variety of shapes (we found the elbow macaroni stuck together very easily... i would avoid next time) 
• rubbing alcohol or white vinegar
• food coloring (we happened to use liquid watercolor, which worked beautifully)
• galloon size zip lock bags
• plastic tablecloth (A LOT of newspaper or wax paper would work as well)
• rubber gloves recommended (alas, i did not use)

directions:

• pour 1/3 cup (2/3 cup white vinegar) of rubbing alcohol into bag.  the alcohol/vinegar lock the color in place so it does not rub off onto your hands.  
• add food coloring - just a few drops will do.  we went a little bit crazy.  and when i say we, i mean me.  the blue didn't make it.  it looked black.  abby kept telling me that was enough but i didn't listen.  let's talk about role reversal. 

• pour about 2 cups of pasta into the bag.  seal and shake so that the liquid covers pasta.  lay the bags flat on your drying surface.  

  

• repeat as many colors as you want.  we obviously needed to make the rainbow.  and then some.  abby really wanted to mix colors so we did this at the end... you might notice the small bags at the end of the line.  
• we let our pasta soak for a few hours, turning half way.  other pasta dying experts say this is unnecessary - just shake and dump out the pasta onto your drying surface.  due to the fact we had to throw out blue because it was sooo dark and soft, perhaps you should listen to the experts.    

• once you have achieved colors you like, dump onto the the drying surface and spread out so each noodle is flat and not touching any other noodles.  this is where the gloves would have come in handy.  
• let dry.  our pasta took overnight to dry (because i was overzealous with the color), but again, pasta dying experts say this should happen pretty quickly due to the rubbing alcohol.  

what in the world does one do with 5 pounds of dyed pasta and two year old?  more on that tomorrow!  

alternatively, if you do not want to take the time and effort to dye your own pasta and your hands and maybe some of your hardwood floors you could buy some here.  although, i think i spent about $5 total because i had the rest of the supplies on hand.  

 

working for the weekend

some of our work to get ready for the weekend.

oh to be two.

true confession: she may get this habit from her mama.

come and join us on monday for some noodle fun.

never as planned

When doing art with young children, do not have an end product in mind.  Or you will be disappointed.  Every time.


This is a fabulous book for art experiences with little ones.  I used it a lot when I taught  - the projects are open ended and focus on the process, not the (end) product.


With that said (to myself), we decided to make big beads.  I envisioned these fat beads with big holes painted in beautiful hues of the rainbow that Abby and I could string on pipe cleaners and stack towers with and use as pretend cookies or something.

Making the dough

Exploring the dough

Making beads.  Even after multiple attempts of showing how to make a bead, Abs just wanted to pull the dough into a million pieces.  I went with it.  My dream of rainbow beads began to die.  

Two day pause to let the beads (or millions pieces of dough) dry... hard thing for a two year old

Painting beads ... and paper... and hands... and arms... 

Example of beads.  Right.  Not what I thought beads would look like either.  And hot pink was the only color little miss wanted.  Okay.    

Add caption

 Which morphed into this:

And that's about what we have to show for our bead making adventure.  No beads.  And that's okay.  It's not about the product.  It's about the process.  

Sounds like a motto for life, right?  

it is finished

it was supposed to be a Christmas present.  and then a valentine's day present.  well, how about a march 4th present?

and now on to more surprises and a few (baby) sweaters, hats, and easter toys.

Best Snack Ever

Kale Chips

Even my most cautious eater loved this.  I won't tell you who it is, but it could possibly be the only man in the house.  Call it a chip and it's a done deal.

Wash and dry kale.

Rip leaves in pieces (think size of a large chip, it does cook down).

Toss with olive oil and kosher salt.

Spread on a cookie sheet.

Bake @ 325 F for 20 - 30 minutes - until crispy.

Enjoy!

Great Indoors/Part 3

Continuing with the snow theme, why not put the melted snow back outside, let it sit overnight, and see what happens in the morning?

It wasn't cold enough to completely freeze the water, but there were really nice flat pieces of ice to play with!

Stomp it out.  

Pound it out.  Breaking the ice with a hammer was very satisfying for Abby... and Mama.