How to color rice with food coloring. How to color rice and pasta for crafts? How to dye wheat for kids

How to color rice

I found several recipes for coloring rice at home. After I try them myself, I will be able to recommend which one is more convenient and of better quality (we are, of course, not talking about painting with a brush and gouache) :)

1. To color rice you need:

Uncooked white rice (long rice is often used, it is harder and more durable)

Food coloring or any water-based paint

Place 1/2 cup rice in a clean, sealable bowl or plastic container. Add a few drops of food coloring and 1/2 tbsp. vinegar to set the paint. Shake everything until well mixed and colored. Place the rice on parchment paper and bake at approximately 200 degrees for 45 minutes.

2. Mix rice with dry dye in gauze or a cloth, and lower the gauze and rice into boiling water for a few seconds. After taking out the rice, rub them a little with your fingers.

3. For the next method you need: rice, food coloring, vinegar, plastic bags with a zip lock, although any other bag can be used, but the seal will not be the same.

Mix a couple of drops of vinegar with a small amount of food coloring. The color saturation of the rice will depend on its quantity. Pour rice and dye into the bag. Release as much air as possible from the bag and, while closed, carefully move the rice and paint. Pour onto paper and let dry.

6. Mix 1 tsp. ethyl alcohol and a fairly large amount of food coloring. Pour about ¾ cup of rice into this mixture and stir well (you can shake everything in a well-closed cellophane bag). Pour the rice onto foil to dry.

6. Water “spoils” rice, so the less water is used, or rather contact with water, the better. For dyes, you can use other solvents (alcohol, glycerin, various oils, etc.). If it is necessary to ensure that colored rice remains hard and durable, then, in addition to the dye, a relatively large amount of salt must be added to the water (make a saturated saline solution). This way, the rice will be saturated with salt and will no longer be brittle and brittle.

8. For company, you can experiment with salt and semolina.

How to color salt:

Mix ¼ cup salt with food coloring in a bowl and let dry. You can dry it in the microwave for 1 minute, spreading the salt in a thin layer over a plate (put a glass of water in the microwave along with the plate).

How to paint semolina. To do this, semolina is ground with colored chalk. The end result should be something similar to colored sand.

There is another option, but it’s more complicated and dirty. You can use it to paint semolina or sand. In small containers (for example, yogurt jars) pour a little water, gouache and PVA glue so that it is not liquid, but the color is bright and there is enough glue. Stir and add sand. Each jar will contain a sand mixture of a different color. It must be applied with a spatula to the prepared drawing, and then dried. As a result, the sand will hold tightly and shine.

For children's games and the development of fine motor skills, cereals, small pebbles, buttons, pasta, beans and peas are used. Elements painted in different bright colors look beautiful. In this article we will tell you how to properly color rice with dyes so that the grains of rice are colored and it is more interesting for the child to play with them. This is quite simple to do; there are even several options for how this can be done.

You can make several separate jars, each of which contains cereal of the same color. Such material can subsequently be used to make DIY crafts, for example, paintings from natural materials. You can mix different colors by combining cereal for a sensory box. Read on to learn how to color rice in different ways.

What is the best way to color cereals?

There are quite a few methods of coloring, but some dyes act for a short period of time; over time, the grains of rice turn pale, the colors fade and acquire a grayish tint. This happens if you paint rice for children with gouache paints or watercolors. In addition, during the game, stains may remain on your hands and things may get dirty. However, if you are making a craft from cereal on a table surface, then this method can be safely used. Staining is simple, and after working with the material it will be enough to wash your hands. To ensure that the craft retains its bright colors, the picture is opened with acrylic varnish after production.

How to dye rice so that it is smooth, evenly colored, and the colors last a long time without getting your hands dirty? High-quality coloring is obtained by using ordinary food coloring. Many have already used them to color Easter eggs. This method can be used to prepare a sensory box, where multi-colored small elements are mixed in a chaotic manner. The brightness of such colors remains for a long period, although the child often touches the rice mass.

There are mothers who fundamentally do not want their children’s hands to touch chemical dyes, so before dyeing rice, they prepare natural dyes. In the article we will explain in detail all the dyeing methods, what additional materials are needed, how to dry rice and where it is best to store dyed cereals.

Required materials

• The first thing you need to do is buy rice. Some people like to work only with the extended one, but, in principle, you can buy absolutely any one. There is no need to boil the rice; we will work with raw cereals.
• Before coloring rice with food coloring, prepare empty containers for each color separately. These can be plastic cups for yogurt or sour cream, mayonnaise glass jars, etc.
• Metal spoon (it’s easier to clean up after dyeing than a wooden one).

• Paint, depending on your wishes and preferences. These can be sets with food coloring, fresh gouache paints, watercolors in tubes, acrylic paints, or those made independently from natural materials.
• Foil or polyethylene sheets. They are used for drying cereals in the oven or naturally on the windowsill.
• Before painting rice with gouache, purchase ziplock bags. They make it convenient to distribute the paint over the entire grain with your fingers.
• Strengthener.

Additional ingredient

It is not recommended to dilute the above mentioned ones in water, because it will make the cereal soggy, and the rice will take a very long time to dry, and may even spoil over time. How to color rice with food coloring for a child? To stir the powder into the jar, you need to add vinegar or ethyl alcohol (some people use vodka or antibacterial hand gel, which can be replaced with glycerin).

Vinegar makes the paint go on smoothly and does not crumble later, while glycerin or gel will make the colored grain shine beautifully.

Step-by-step instructions for working with food coloring

Food colors of different colors are sold in sets at any supermarket. They are not expensive, so the work will not be too costly.

Step 1. Pour the powder from the bag into separate containers and fill with alcohol. The more liquid in the jar, the paler the color will be. This way you can get delicate or more saturated shades.

Step 2. Using a metal spoon, pour rice into the stirred solution and stir for several minutes until the rice reaches the desired tone.

Step 3. Then use the same spoon to take out the rice and place it on the prepared mat. If you will dry the material in the oven, then take foil or parchment paper for baking. For each color you need to prepare a separate rectangle. If you dry the rice naturally on the windowsill, you can take a plastic bag or an old rag.

Drying times vary depending on the ambient temperature and time of year. It is best to color the rice in the evening, and the next day start playing or making crafts.

Using ready-made paints

Next, we’ll look at how to paint rice using gouache, acrylic paints or watercolors in tubes as dyes. For each color you need to prepare a plastic bag. It is most convenient to use those that have side fasteners, but a more spacious option will do, but you will have to tie it with a strong knot.

Spoon rice into each bag. Then take a tablespoon of paint and place it on top of the cereal. On average, 1 cup of rice requires 1 tbsp. l. paints. Then the bag is zipped or tied and shaken thoroughly. In this case, you can lightly rub the grains of rice through the bag with your fingers so that the paint covers all the elements from different sides. Then the rice is laid out to dry in the usual way.

How to color rice with natural dyes?

If you don’t have store-bought paints on hand, you can take advantage of the gifts of nature and make them yourself. Let's look at some of the most popular colors for crafts and what such paints can be created from.

• The green color of rice is obtained by pouring a little greenery into the bag. Another option is from greens, such as spinach. Pour boiling water into a container and, after cooling, strain through a sieve.
• Orange - from finely grated carrots or tangerine zest.
• Yellow - obtained by stirring turmeric powder with alcohol.
• Red - can be made from any juice of berries that match the color - strawberries, red currants, cranberries, etc.
• The burgundy color is created from cherry juice.
• Beetroot will help make it pink.
• Purple or lilac will come from black currants.
• The brown shade is made from natural coffee or cocoa powder.

Since juices contain a high water content, after lowering the rice into the container, keep it for a short time so that it does not swell too much. Then the cereal is removed from the jar and laid out to dry on a flat surface in a thin layer. This will make the cereal dry faster.

Kitchen interior decoration

A craft with multi-colored rice laid out in layers looks beautiful in the kitchen. To do this, you can use not only a beautifully shaped jar, but also an original bottle.

Rice is poured onto a metal or wooden stick placed in a container in layers, alternating colors. The craft turns out bright and serves as a real decoration for the kitchen shelf.

Children's games with sensory boxes

Recently, all parents and teachers have realized the benefits of children playing with small objects. Tactile and sensory perception of the surrounding reality develops. Children learn not only colors, but also work with their fingers, exploring objects. Multi-colored rice is often used for the sensory box. The colors are mixed in the container, creating a variegated coating several centimeters deep. As a game, you can offer your child a treasure hunt, that is, collect coins scattered in the cereal.

You can play with plastic cups by pouring rice from one jar to another, measuring how many small caps will fit in the large bowl. It is interesting to “plant vegetables” or simply dig holes in the grain with a small spatula.

Older children can be asked to dig an underground passage or build a road that will have holes and rubble that will need to be removed. You can make a whole park out of homemade trees. Imagine with your children, they will find a use for the box. If you have a magnet, you can collect coins with its help.

Craft material

You already know how to color rice, let's look at how you can make a beautiful picture with it. For ease of use, dried rice is poured into different bowls. On the surface of cardboard or fiberboard, a drawing of the future image is applied with a simple pencil.

Then the surface is partially smeared with PVA glue, and grains of rice are laid out in the desired colors. Before the glue has set, you need to use a toothpick or wooden skewer to correct the direction of the cereal. The work will look beautiful not only with the correct placement of flowers, but also when the rice is laid in even rows. This is painstaking and time-consuming work, but the craft turns out spectacular. In order for the work to be preserved and the material not to fall onto the floor over time, the painting must be covered with a layer of acrylic varnish.

As you can see, there are different ways to color rice, but they are all quite simple and cheap. You can play with multi-colored grains and make various crafts from rice, both for children and experienced handmade craftsmen.

Today, a variety of materials and techniques are offered for children's creativity. Such an unusual type of needlework as painting with colored sand is gaining great popularity. Already today you can find kits on sale for creating crafts using this technique at home. The problem is that such kits, consisting of sand and pictures for coloring, are often unreasonably expensive. If you wish, you can do this kind of handicraft at home using colored cereal. How to paint semolina for children's creativity, using available tools and materials?

Making dye at home

One of the options for coloring cereals is using paint and alcohol. Take a small bowl or jar. Mix in it gouache of the selected color (1 tsp), vodka (2 tsp) and water (2 tsp). Pour semolina into the thoroughly mixed coloring liquid. The cereal should be mixed well and ground so that it is evenly colored. How to paint semolina without lumps? It's very simple - knead it thoroughly with your hands. Once you are sure that the cereal is well colored, sift it through a sieve onto a sheet of paper and leave to dry. Since the alcohol evaporates quickly, the semolina will dry in a matter of minutes, and you can start creating.

How to paint semolina with gouache using a blender?

If you have a food processor or blender on hand, you can color the grains without alcohol. Mix gouache with water; paint can be added arbitrarily, depending on the desired saturation of the shade. Pour the resulting mixture into the bowl of a food processor and add the cereal there. Then mix everything well, the cereal should not get too wet. Pour the finished mixture onto paper and leave to dry in a warm place. This option for painting grains is ideal if you want to get a large amount of colored “sand”. If you dye several batches of cereal at a time in different shades, do not forget to rinse the blender well after each color.

Coloring cereals with colored pencils

If you have scrap crayons or pencil leads on hand, they can also be used to make colored “sand.” How to color semolina at home using such dyes? Grind the lead or crayons until it becomes dust. Then mix the resulting paint with cereal. Stir thoroughly, the semolina should become colored. Since this method of painting does not involve adding water, you can use the cereal immediately without wasting time on drying.

Now you know how to paint semolina with gouache, but what to do if you don’t have paint on hand? Theoretically, you can use any other coloring, for example, food coloring. The most important thing is that the paint you choose provides enough color with minimal water content. Try not to wet the cereal too much, otherwise it will begin to swell and you won’t get the “sand” effect. Painting semolina every time before a creative task is not always convenient. It’s easier to have a supply of ready-made “sand” of various colors. Prepare transparent jars of the same size and store the colored cereal in them after drying.

If you did something wrong and the semolina froze with lumps, try to knead them manually or using a rolling pin. Try experimenting with the amount of coloring you use per serving of cereal. By adding more or less paint, you can change the intensity of the shade. Of course, how to paint semolina, in a bright or muted shade, is up to you to decide. But if you wish, even using a basic palette of colors, you can get a whole collection of “sand” of all possible tones.

Ideas for “sandy” creativity

You now know all the ways to paint semolina for crafts. But what to create from ready-made multi-colored cereals? “Sand” drawing is performed using the following technique: we take a sheet of paper with a printed picture for coloring or manually draw the contours. Next, use PVA glue using a brush to cover all the places that need to be painted. The final stage is the most interesting - the adhesive layer should be sprinkled with multi-colored cereals. Remove excess with a tissue and leave to dry. Set the finished drawing aside for a while, and after complete drying, carefully shake off the excess.

Using the same technique, you can decorate some three-dimensional objects, for example, flower vases or pencil stands. Attention: if you decorate an item used in everyday life with grains, finish it with 1-2 layers of transparent universal varnish. Try to get creative and create some other crafts from this interesting material, because you know how to paint semolina. Creative activities with colored sand are recommended for children from 1.5-2 years old. Offer this interesting type of needlework to your children, and they will definitely like it.

When decorating, the idea arose to use colored pearl barley instead of coffee beans. I decided to look on the Internet - it can’t be that the idea of ​​​​dying cereals only came to my mind!

You can color anything - millet, rice, semolina, salt. Colored grains will make your work brighter, juicier, and richer. For storage, you can use baby food jars or any other containers.

So, we bring to your attention 2 materials with which you can color cereals - gouache and food coloring. Gouache is more accessible, food coloring is safer, this is especially true for kids who may try to explore a new object by taste, but it’s up to you to choose.

Gouache
Painting with a brush

You will need: cereal, gouache, brush, glass (or any container with high walls).

Pour the required amount of cereal into a glass, put paint of the desired color on a brush and begin mixing the cereal with gouache in a circular motion.

The process is not fast, it may seem like you need to add water, resist this urge, keep stirring!

Gradually the cereal will turn a rich color and dry. If necessary, dry the prepared colored cereal.

As a result, you will get uniformly colored cereal, which can be used both for appliqués and for decorating various things.

Coloring in aqueous solution

You will need: cereal, gouache of different colors, containers for soaking.

When you need a lot of colored cereals and different colors, you can use an aqueous solution.

Take a deep container, fill it with the required amount of cereal, fill it with water (or better yet, a saturated saline solution) and add enough gouache to make the color rich, leave the cereal for about half a day.



Next, drain the water and leave the cereal to dry on a flat surface, placing it in a thin layer so that it dries well.

Cereals painted in this way do not stain your hands while working.

Food coloring
Coloring under temperature

You will need: cereal, food coloring (liquid or dry), vinegar, container with a lid.

Place 1/2 cup of cereal in a clean container with a lid (a plastic container will do), add a few drops of food coloring and 1/2 tbsp. vinegar to set the paint. Mix the contents by shaking the container several times to color the cereal, spread the cereal on parchment paper and place in the oven for 45 minutes at 180-200 degrees.

If you have dry dye, then mix it in gauze or a rag with the cereal, then dip the gauze with the cereal in boiling water for a few seconds, then rub the cereal with your fingers so that there are no lumps, and leave to dry.

Painting in a package

You will need: cereal, liquid food coloring, vinegar, bag (it’s very convenient to use ziplock bags).

Mix a small amount of food coloring and a few drops of vinegar, add the resulting mixture to a bag of cereal, empty the bag as much as possible, close it and mix the contents thoroughly. After painting, let the cereal dry on a flat horizontal surface.

Note! Instead of vinegar, you can use alcohol, glycerin, and various oils. It is better to use such solvents for coloring, since contact with water causes the cereal to swell. If water is still used, then add a large amount of salt to the water, make a saturated saline solution. Cereals soaked in salt are harder.

Salt coloring

To color the salt, simply take liquid food coloring and mix it in a container with a quarter cup of salt, then let the mixture dry.

Semolina coloring

Semolina can be ground with colored chalk and thus you will get “colored sand”.

Good afternoon, dear needlewomen!

What to do with a child? There have already been several articles on this topic on our website, for example, we made crafts from buttons, salted dough for modeling and slimes. In this article you will learn what games you can play with cereals, how to paint cereals with your own hands for games with your child.

Have you tried giving it to your child yet? cereals for games? This is a very interesting pastime with a child, and also games with such objects (under adult supervision) influence fine motor skills, enhancing brain function.

Games with cereals

So, we offer you several options for playing with colored cereals and pasta.

1. Sensory boxes

2. Sandbox at home (from rice, semolina)

3. Dry painting (cereal appliques on paper)

4. Studying colors

5. Games that develop fine motor skills (find an object, pour cereal into a container, pour it with a spoon)

6. You can make artificial snow, sea, meadow, earth and so on from cereals - this develops the child’s imagination.

7. You can make a sorter from colored cereals (Sort the colors)

8. You can make beads from colored pasta

9. Cereals scattered on the floor - a good foot massage

10. DIY crafts (postcards, panels)

11. “Sand animation” on glass or plastic

13. You can hide metal objects in cereals and find them using a magnet

14. Pastry chef games (colored rice sprinkles)

15. You can make a kaleidoscope from colored cereals.

16. Colored rice in a jar is a beautiful interior decoration.

17. Colored cereals can be poured into a bottle using a funnel.

P.S. So, with the onset of the Easter season, stock up on dyes in the store and paint cereals all year long, make plasticine at home and many other interesting things.

An educational activity for a child with colored objects, bright things and colorful cereals becomes much more exciting!

This type of creativity is very common, especially in kindergartens. Cereal applications have many advantages. Even kids can cope with this task, and the plus is that in the process of creating a masterpiece, scissors are not needed. Motor skills also affect the brain, due to which the baby’s speech develops faster. Also, too much cereal has a good effect on pinch reflexes, naughty hands learn to be obedient.

The cereal is glued onto the paper using PVA glue (glue - pencil). First, draw the outlines on the paper with a pencil, then glue the cereals of different colors.

Cereal application video

The sensory box is a beautiful, useful, exciting toy that develops imagination and fine motor skills. And it's good for the budget. Any parent can make a sensory box for a child. A sensory box is a container with cereal, pebbles or liquid filler and game elements of your choice.

Touch box video

How to color rice

You can use several different options to make colored cereals for games with your child: Use food coloring, brilliant green, iodine, chalk and pastels. In relation to the child, first of all, there should be safety; you can choose for yourself the most appropriate method of coloring cereals, depending on the age of the child. For the little ones, it is recommended to use natural dyes or food coloring; for older children, you can experiment with other coloring methods.

Materials for coloring rice:

• Food coloring How to color rice at home? You can use food coloring to color rice, for example, Easter egg coloring kits. The rice will take on bright, rich colors. Also, the grain will not fade for a long time and will not stain your hands.

• Natural dyes: onion peels will color the rice brown; to do this, boil the peels and keep the rice in the broth. To obtain pink color, squeeze beet juice, add vinegar and color rice. Red rice can be obtained by keeping it in a strong hibiscus broth. You can get yellow rice with turmeric, and you can get a beautiful coffee color with coffee, chocolate or cocoa. You will also achieve an orange color if you soak the cereal in carrot juice. Coloring rice with natural dyes is suitable for those who do not have food dyes on hand or do not want to use them for safety reasons; the disadvantage of this method is that the grains are not as rich in color and the dye fades over time.

• Medications: Zelenka, iodine, potassium permanganate
• Gouache, watercolor, finger paints. Distribute the rice among several containers; it is better to use plastic cups. Add gouache and a little water to them, mix and leave for an hour. After this, pour the cereal onto paper and let it dry for a day. If the rice is dry, you can make appliqués from it. It’s better not to play with this kind of rice, it gets your hands dirty. The rice appears slightly rough to the touch.

How to color rice with food coloring? It’s very simple, besides, the rice turns out bright, smooth, the paint does not fade and does not stain your hands.

We need:

• Rice (round or long)
• Disposable cups or any container that you can throw away later
• Food colors
• Vinegar
• Baking tray
• Baking paper or foil

Pour hot water into cups

Dissolve food coloring, you can mix colors (for example, you can get purple by mixing blue with pink, and light green by mixing yellow with green)

Add a little vinegar to the water.

Then mix the food coloring well and pour the rice into the containers.

Leave the rice in the water for an hour, then drain the water.

Dry the rice a little in glasses, then place it on a baking sheet on foil or baking paper, dry in the oven or in the sun. The second option will take longer.

After the rice is dyed, you can use it for games, applications, sensory boxes! Playing with dyed rice will please the child and can keep the child busy for a long time.

Games with cereals for preschool children should be strictly under the supervision of adults!

Text prepared by: Veronica