Make Your Own: Colored Craft Noodles

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Making colored noodles and rice for art projects is easy! 

For one pound of noodles in a single color, you need a gallon sized baggy, a 1 cup of Rubbing Alcohol and a about half a bottle of liquid (NOT JELL) food coloring. 

Hold baggy open, add alcohol, squirt in food coloring, shake baggy to mix it up, and then add your noodles. Fold baggy over before zipping (careful not to spill the liquid). Lay baggy flat on a surface that you will not mind getting colored if the baggy leaks. 

Flip baggy over every 10 minutes for an hour or until you are happy with the color. 

OVER A BOWL, clip the corner of the baggy and drain out liquid, (you can reuse liquid to color rice or more noodles). 

Pour wet, drained, colored noodles onto a plastic trash bag. I used a fan to help speed the drying process. Move the noodles around every 15 minutes to unsure the bottom noodles get enough air to dry. You will know they are done when they are dry to the touch and sound like dry noodles again. 

Mix up different types and shapes of noodles for fun art projects, or use tubed noodles to make colorful necklaces. 

Rice can be done in quart baggies, just use less liquid.

Ready for the crazy messy pics? 

(You might want to wear gloves if you don't want rainbow hands) 

WORD OF CAUTION! 

DO NOT EAT THESE NOODLES AND/OR RICE! 

They have been colored using Rubbing Alcohol and are NO LONGER EDIBLE! These are for craft purposes ONLY! 

Best noodles for necklaces are Penne Pasta and Rigatoni

Pastas great for craft projects are Farfalle, Rotini, Wagon Wheels, and even these cute little Alphabet pasta shapes. 

Colored Noodles and Rice can also be used for a variety of craft uses. How about an ISPY bottle using rainbow rice and Alphabet pasta! 

Children can also use them for sorting shapes and colors. 

Don't want the mess of making your own? I sell Rainbow Rice and Colored Pasta for only $5 a pound plus shipping. Email me at bykamay@yahoo.com

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Volunteering: Raising Money For The Seniors

   

     My mom works at a local senior health and rehabilitation center. A couple times a year, they do fundraisers for the Resident Fund.

This fund helps to pay for things like personal items the seniors can not afford to pay for themselves, outings, and various parties through out the year, including presents for their Christmas Party. Recently, they had a Loaded Brisket Potato Fundraiser. Zoey and I thought it would be nice to come and help. My Mom was already out delivering when we got there. 

Zoey with my mother's boss, the administrator of Sunny Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. 

     The did not have a whole lot for us to do, but we we able to collect money and deliver 11 potatoes to a local childcare center. (Okay, it is the local childcare center where I work at but we did promote, gather orders with help of my office worker friend, collected the money, and then delivered the potatoes by lunch time.)

 The box was really heavy but she insisted on carrying it herself! 

Best Brisket Loaded Baked Potatoes Ever!

     It was my off day, so after we delivered potatoes, we sat down and enjoyed our own potatoes. When we were finished, I had to mail some packages off at the Post Office. On the way there, we drove by a local Methodist Church and the parking lot was quite full for a Wednesday afternoon. My daughter asked what was going on there. I explained the had a Program called 'The Dinner Bell' that opened up the churches kitchen for lunch on Wednesdays. Anyone can come in for a nice hot meal. Zoey lit up and asked, "Can we help?" So after we dropped off my packages, we went back in to find out if we could volunteer for the next luncheon. I'll post our adventure there next week.

     Other ways Zoey has volunteered her time, is decorating a large jar for United Way. She was given a budget of $5 and she went to a dollar store to get supplies. Zoey worked very hard on it using craft foam, cute stickers and some adorable owl felt stickers. Then, she filled the jar with the left over money from her budget and some more change from my car. Her collection jar was super cute. I love her creativity and her giving heart. Her collection jar helped the team fulfill their goal of raising money for United Way.

     Zoey has asked that we find other ways to help in our community. I'll keep you posted! 

Very Proud Mommy Moment

     Very proud mommy moment. For months my daughter has spent time making a Barbie Doll House Diorama made from mostly recycled materials. She gets a lot of her inspiration from My Froggy Stuff. It is a mom and daughter duo that has the slogan "Happy Crafting!" If you would like to get your child's imagination juices flowing, I would definitely check out their blog and YouTube videos!
     Not all of her inspiration comes from what she has seen, however. My child has always had an amazing artistic ability, even back in toddler days. So while most of my friends and family were hiding the markers and scissors, I was buying her paints, drawing kits, glue and craft items. The ONLY time we have ever had a problem with her using any of her supplies, was when she was 3. I told her she could decorate her room with all of her artwork and gave her a bunch of push pins to hang her masterpieces on her walls. Unfortunately, I did not give her enough. When I went in to see her finished room, I noticed several of the pictures did not have push pins holding them up. "Don't worry mommy, I used clear glue. You wont even see it when I take them down!" Uhhh.... Okay... valid reasoning, but NO!
     Every time she was tested in public school, her artistic/spacial reasoning was off of the charts. Teachers and parents have brought me her art work and said how amazing it is. When we are at my job during the day and they are doing a fun craft project, her eyes grow big and her fingers twitch like Dennis the Menace until she is allowed to do it too. This child is an artistic, crafting fanatic! The more I step back and let her do on her own, the better the outcome! Even when she does cookie cutter projects (everyone cuts out the same shapes, glues in the places, and everyone's project comes out the same,) there is always something... special and different about hers.
     She designs her own line of clothing she will one day grow up to make. I have seen her turn water bottle caps inside out with her teeth to create the cutest little bowls for her dolls. She created her own line of doll bedding I sell in my Etsy shop. My daughter has her own sewing machine. Countless times I have found her on her bed pausing her t.v. so she can draw what is on the screen frame by frame. She is amazing.
     Today, she entered her doll house diorama in the Creative Arts Competition at our local county fall festival. I have never seen her so nervous! They closed the exhibit from 10-1 for judging. Every 10 minutes I heard, "Is it 1 yet?" We were going nuts waiting to see if she won a ribbon! I even had my sons friend watch our booth for us so I could go with her. When we got to the conference hall where the competition was being held, the doors were still closed. We waited out side in the hall, our stomachs flip flopping in excitement! Through the tiny windows on the conference room door, we could see her project sitting on one of the display tables. Suddenly, my daughter grabbed my arm tight. "Mommy, look! There is a big purple ribbon in front of my doll house!" She quietly squealed as they opened the doors. BEST IN SHOW for her division! That's MY baby girl! Proud Momma right here! :)

Jar of carrots she made out of a used water bottle and some craft foam.