best friend pasta necklaces
Pasta necklaces are so fun! What makes them even better? (Pretend this question is being asked to a two and half year old girl obsessed with pink) Well, when the pasta is pink, of course! I thought it would make them even more special to have a "locket".
The girls LOVED this!!!
First off, coloring the pasta.
Put the pasta in a ziplock bag with a tablespoon of alcohol and 4+ drops off food coloring (depending on how dark you want your color, enriched pasta requires a few more drops of color). Shake it around until it is all coated. Place on tray to dry.
Repeat this step for as many colors or types of pasta you want to use. Shoelaces make for the perfect string for the younger set. I cut one in half so each had the flugelbinder (yes, that is the name of the shoelace tip; impress your friends with that fun fact.) to use to ease in stringing the pasta. I tied a wagonwheel at the other end with a knot.
As for the locket, I cut a heart shape out of a sturdy piece of cardboard. For best results do not use corrugated cardboard as it bends too easily. I traced the heart shape onto pink paper and cut out three more hearts. One to cover the front, one to cover the back, and the third I glued just the top part down on the front, to make a sort of flap so you could "open" the locket. I punched a hole to string it on the necklace, and I glittered the sides to cover up the cardboard. After all was dry, I wrote "Best Friends" Lastly, I cut out pictures of the girls' faces. Two of each.
After the girls were done stringing, we tied a knot to make the necklace complete. Then we sat down with the pictures and a glue stick. We asked the girls to pick out the picture of their best friend, they did, and then picked out the picture of themselves. We glued the cute little faces under the flap, inside the "locket" and using a piece of sparkly pipe cleaner, attached it to their necklace.
"Awww, so cuuute," Clementine said as she raced to see herself and her new homemade necklace in the mirror. Yes, indeed.