Rice of Many Colors

My children love all things crafty.  They constantly have paper, pencils, crayons, markers, stickers, glue, and a vast variety of other supplies out, fashioning the intricate creations that their little minds conjure up on a whim.  Alec and I both have "secret stash" boxes full of pictures and creations that the kids have made for us when they get a creative itch.

Being on the brink of summer (two days away!), I've been trying to allow them more freedom in this area.  We do school year round, but we're more relaxed about taking time off, lingering on fascinating subjects, and doing things that are just plain fun.  We've played with baking soda and pipe cleaners and now we're moving on to rice!

This economical food is good for more than stretching casseroles and filling tummies!  You can use it as an art medium in a similar fashion to glitter!  How?

By coloring it!

First pour about a cup of rice per color you want to use into a bowl.

Then add between 8-10 drops of food coloring and 4 tablespoons of white vinegar to each bowl.

Mix it all up well, making sure there aren't any hidden clumps of white that have missed the saturation of the dye.

Spread the rice out on baking sheets and bake at 200 degrees for approximately 45 minutes so that the color is good and set and the rice is dry.

You can use the rice for all sorts of things like mosaics, patterning, decoration, etc.

When you are all finished with your crafty fun, store the remainder of the rice in an airtight container at room temperature so it's ready for you next time! (I'll show you another use for it in an upcoming special post!)

What sort of nontraditional craft supplies do you use?