Macaroni Art: 25+ Pasta Crafts Kids will Love!

Dry pasta is a cheap and versatile craft supply. Here are 25 macaroni art crafts to get you inspired to use more pasta in your play!

I know it doesn’t happen often, but this is one of those times you are going to tell your kids it is okay to play with their food! Dry pasta is a cheap craft supply you probably have in your pantry right now.

You won’t believe the arts and crafts that kids (and even adults) can create using pasta. There are so many shapes and sizes and some of them even have holes for you to put yarn or pipe cleaners through.

How to Dye Pasta for Crafting

You can make the macaroni art crafts I’ve gathered here using plain dry pasta, but dyeing or painting it different colors will make it much more exciting.

Plus it will make the fun last longer as you dye it one day and then craft with it the next! You may be wondering how you get the various colors. Here are the different ways you can create colored pasta for crafts:

Method #1: Food Coloring and Rubbing Alcohol

Large sealable plastic storage bags (e.g. Ziploc bags)
±10 drops of liquid food coloring
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol (70% Isopropyl Alcohol)
1-2 cups pasta
Paper towels or newspaper

Mix rubbing alcohol and food coloring in the sealable bag.
Add pasta and seal the bag.
Shake the pasta in the color mixture until it is all coated.
Add more food coloring if needed.
Let pasta sit in the bag and turn it over every 30 minutes to redistribute the liquid.
The time you let it sit depends on what color you would like (the longer it sits, the darker the color will be).
When pasta is the color you desire, drain liquid from the bag.
Remove pasta and let it air dry on paper towels or newspaper. Drying times will vary.

Note1: Make sure that your rubbing alcohol is 70% not 90%. 90% may make your pasta sticky.
Note 2: If you are concerned with your child eating the pasta with rubbing alcohol, use method #2 for your macaroni art.

Method #2: Food Coloring and Vinegar

Use method #1 above but replace the rubbing alcohol with 2 teaspoons of vinegar. You may need to add more during the process to fully distribute the color to all of the pasta pieces.

Method #3: Paint

Large sealable plastic storage bags (e.g. Ziploc bags)
1-2 cups pasta
Acrylic paint
Paper towels or newspaper

Add pasta to a bag.
Squirt some acrylic paint into the bag and seal.
Shake the pasta until it is all coated in paint.
Add more paint if needed.
Remove pasta and let it air dry on paper towels or newspaper. Drying times will vary.

Now that you have your colored pasta, you can get to work on your crafts! Take a look at the 25 macaroni art crafts I’ve listed below and let me know which one you’d like to try first.

Macaroni Art

Dried pasta is an inexpensive craft supply that can be used in so many ways. Here are 25 macaroni art or pasta crafts to get you inspired to incorporate more pasta in your play!