(A version of this post was originally published on KidsActivitiesBlog.com)

 
Shelves and shelves of pasta: fusilli, piccolini fusilli, linguine, penne rigati,penne lisce, mini penne, spaghetti, tortelini, lasagne, bavette, farfalle, fettuccine, regatoni. Then I spot dinosaurs.

Dinosaur Pasta Necklace

 
My boys adore dinosaurs. They love they way dinosaurs look. They love dinosaur names. They love playing with their dinosaur toys. They love pretending to be dinosaurs.

 
You would think this love of dinosaurs would lead to absolute joy when visiting our local dinosaur museum. Instead, you can find our boys cowering behind us, hugging our legs as they gaze up at the gigantic dinosaur models. When dinosaur roars echo through the exhibit, our little guys want to scurry and hide.

 
Still, they do love dinosaurs! As I do our weekly grocery shopping, I spot dinosaur pasta. How could I resist?

 
With so many varieties of pasta, the pasta craft possibilities seem endless. Make a pasta necklace that tickles your fancy.

 
Obviously, the dinosaur pasta tickled our fancy!

 
Materials:
* Dried pasta of your choice. We had some nice large penne and adorable dinosaur shaped pasta.
* Paint of your choice. We couldn’t go past our glitter paint.
* Stiff elastic or cord.

 
Method:

 
Paint your pasta. My boys had two methods of doing this: using the paintbrush; and dumping it in the paint to cover it with paint. Surprisingly, the dumping it in paint method seemed to yield better results.

 
Let the painted pasta dry. We left ours on a plate for a few days. As it dries, the pasta soaks up the paint and becomes wonderfully vibrant.

 
Thread the pasta onto the elastic or cord. Experiment with different colours and patterns - this is the creative part! Play around with the possibilities. At first we alternated the dinosaurs and penne; then we decided to place all the dinosaurs together in the middle of the necklace. We grouped the dinosaurs into colours and threaded them on in a ‘rainbow’ sequence – lighter colours on one end and darker colours on the other. We finished the necklace by placing the penne on both ends of the necklace.

 
When you’re happy with your design, knot the ends together to complete your necklace.

Can’t get enough of dinosaurs?
Check out these other fun dinosaur activities for a roaring good time.

N & M: 4 years, 2 months
E: 2 years, 1 month
August 2012