Macaroni seems like the quintessential crafting material for young children. There is so much you can do with it. It’s super cheap and you likely have a reaaaallly old package of pasta sitting around in the back of your cupboard somewhere that will likely never get boiled. I found about 5 boxes of crazy old pasta deep in a cabinet at work (I’m a reggio inspired art teacher), and thought here we go. Right next to the pasta bags were a box of old records. Even better! Macaroni Challenge – Game On.
Have you tinkered with pasta before? It’s really freaking fun and there are about a million and one things you can make with pasta of all kinds. In fact, the Rockin’ Art Moms (aka the RAMS) have put together this awesome challenge called…
#themacaronichallenge
We are inviting YOU, yes YOU, to join us in making anything you can think of either with your little ones or on your own with macaroni. “Macaroni” encompasses all types of pasta and anything goes as far as what you create. It can be a necklace, a sculpture, a pasta hut, anything! Just post on the RAM Facebook page, instagram or twitter and hashtag #themacaronichallenge.
Why should you partake in #themacaraonichallenge you ask?
Because it’s awesome and fun for one. And also because there is a super duper
RAM GIVEAWAY!!!!
All projects posted on the The Rockin Art for Kids Facebook Page will be entered in an amazing Rockin’ Art Moms Book Giveaway and a lot of RAMS have written amazing books! ENTRIES RESTRICTED TO RESIDENTS OF THE US AND CANADA ONLY. (sorry about that but we’d still love to see your macaroni work!) The winner will be selected at random from the entries and announced on Instagram and the Rockin’ Art for Kids Facebook page on Sunday May 3, 2015
SCRATCH THAT! WE’VE EXTENDED THE DEADLINE!!! MAY 11TH IS THE FINAL DAY TO ENTER #THEMACARONICHALLENGE
WHAT WILL YOU MAKE??
We made crazy cool pasta sculptures to kick off the macaroni challenge from a tinkering tray that the kids just loved.
Materials
pasta
glue
cd, record or piece of cardboard for the base
spray paint
Do you have a lazy susan
We’ve been talking a lot about sculpture in the art studio, so these pasta sculptures were a great extension of our conversations. The kids were encouraged to choose pasta that interested them and use it in an interesting way to create their own sculpture.
This one was particularly exciting. It’s a sculpture of “a sunflower,” by a 4 year old. We also saw “pizza sculptures,” and a few funny faces. I think they all came out kind of punk rock.
Once the glue dried, we decided to spray paint the sculptures gold and use the neon paints we had left over from our neon lamp shades to paint them. The results were pretty outstanding. Right now they are pinned up to a bulletin board in our studio. I’d love to figure out an inexpensive way to put each one in a shadow box. We may have to make our own. They’d look so cool and special I think.
So, that’s how we are kicking off the macaroni challenge this week. There are tons of other RAMS participating in this amazing challenge. You have to click over to their posts for inspiration.
Art Bar Blog Art Assemblage with Kids
Handmakery A Modern Macaroni Masterpiece
Mer Mag Re-think the Macaroni Necklace
Tiny Rotten Peanuts Macaroni Mosaics
Willowday Macaroni Pom Pom Necklaces
Buggy and Buddy Pasta Mosaic Art Project for Kids
Pink Stripey Socks Pasta Frames for Kids
Babble Dabble Do Pasta Crafts Stained Glass
Learn Play Imagine Painting Pasta Art
Pysselbolaget Pretty Pasta Pendents
Picklebums Pasta Drawing Prompt
The Artful Parent Pasta Art Activities for Kids
Don’t forget! We’d love to see what you make for #themacaronichallenge Just use the hashtag and enter to win. It doesn’t have to be mind blowing or anything. Just have fun and see what happens. xo Meri
Love love love this!
Thanks Carla!! : )
Ilove everything about this. This is really a project that kids would truly make but you’ve given them such a fun design feeling! Love them.
oh my goodness, this is just too fantastic to even find the right words. the video Meri!!! OMG!! i love watching Gigi break up the spaghetti and glue it around her record. and the fact that you are even gluing on records is just too freakin’ cool. i also love how you spray painted gold. everything…i love it all!! inspiring, you are. xo bar
Thank you Bar! I so appreciate everything you said. Coming from you it’s a huge compliment. Right back at you! xoxo
You are so clever! I love the fact you found a use , not only of old pasta, but of the old cds as well. Beautiful!
THank you Karin! We are having so much fun with these. They keep evolving!
These are so cool! I love everything about them!
Thanks Ana! Go #themacaronichallenge !!!
hey meri cherry, just wanted to let you know that I’m following your blog for maybe two months now and you got me into thinking differently about being arty and creative with my little preschooler. Thanks to you, I broadened the spectrum from painting with crayons (something he doesn’t like tooo much) to playing with colors (his favorite thing are liquid watercolors). It is so much fun to watch him do this more process oriented art, which I enjoy doing myself, too.
Thank you for so much possibilities from Germany.
Take care. Petra
Petra, what a lovely lovely note to receive. Thank you so much for taking the time to write me. I’m so thrilled for you and your son. Crayons are cool, but liquid watercolors are really cool! So terrific. Keep it up. I can tell you’re both enjoying. Thanks so much. Meri Cherry
Oh I bet the kids were mad for the gold spray paint! Such a great combo with the pasta and fluro paint!
Thanks Kate!! Kids love gold anything!
MrsCherry!! These are outstanding!! I am heading out to buy a bunch more pastas (& maybe paint too) to make some MORE pasta art! This is by far thee most inspirational and brilliant collab projects you all have done together thus far!!! You & the Rockin Art Moms really do rock. Thank you for the project plans for the weekend.
Thank you Jeanine! Your comments always make me feel good. Thanks for taking the time to write! Hope you had fun this weekend. Would love to see some pics!
Love this idea, simple, creative and lots of fun! Posted it on our Pinterest page.
Thanks,
Linda
http://www.CooCooLooo.com
Great! Thank you so much! It’s really fun.