Pasta Landscape

Weeks ago this post at The Artful Parent made we want dye all the pasta in our house. I resisted the urge until I saw Fiori pasta at the store last week. This pasta is flower shaped and just right for this flower hungry time of year.

I put a few drops of food coloring and a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol in a plastic container with the pasta, put the lid on and shook until it was evenly dyed. Then I laid it out on some wax paper to dry. It was dry in the time it took us to make sandwiches for lunch and eat them.

When I was a kid I remember making landscapes with my mom using seeds and beans glued on to paper. We made hills, trees, and always a house. Maybe we only did this once or twice, but it stands out in my mind as a strong memory. So, I outlined some shapes that Erika wanted in her landscape: a tree, a sun, a cloud, flowers, dirt, and, of course, a flower fairy and a stage. Then I applied glue and she stuck Fiori pasta and we talked and worked. What was great about this project was that it required her to place the pasta down one by one. She stayed really focused and told stories about the pasta pieces as she worked. These two are talking to each other, she would say, and these are running away.

Audrey liked the dyed pasta too, as you can see from this week's 'moment' below. She sat and strung this stuff for a very long time, with her little tongue stuck half out in concentration.