Macaroni Animals are a fun and easy craft for kids of all ages to do, even as young as preschool age. There are all sorts of Macaroni Animals you can make with all kinds of dry pasta; as long as the pasta can be strung through pipe cleaner it will work for this craft. This means the pasta will need to be hollow in the middle. Pipe cleaner, along with pasta, is the main ingredient needed to make Macaroni Animals. Packages of pipe cleaner in multiple colors can be found at any craft store. Macaroni can be found at any grocery store. Some pasta that can be used for Macaroni Animals is macaroni, wagon wheels, ziti or rigatoni. Another key ingredient you will need is scissors.
If you would like to color your pasta, there are three recommended ways in which to color them. One way is to hand paint with craft paint the individual pastas to match the color of animal you wish to make. For example, brown for a bear, pink for a pig, or multi-colors for an animal like a fish. This method requires longer time to dry compared to the second method. The quick drying method involves mixing a few tablespoons of rubbing alcohol with the food coloring that coordinates with the color of Macaroni Animal you chose to make. The alcohol will make the pasta dry faster. The third method is to simply use markers. This is the best method because you can get to making your Macaroni Animals quicker.
Next you will need to pick which animal or animals you would like to make. A fun idea is to make an animal that goes along with the upcoming or current season or holiday. For example, for summer you could make a fish. For this I would use macaroni for his whole body, including his back fins. For each Macaroni Animal, the appropriate color of pipe cleaner should be used, since the pipe cleaner will be showing. In this case, making a fish, any color you wish your fish to be is the color you should use.
Using markers to color your fish would be ideal. It may be easy to color after your Macaroni Animal is made. Leaving your pasta in its natural color is very acceptable, however, certainly not as exciting.
The first step in assembling your Macaroni Animal is picking out a pipe cleaner and choosing the length and width you want your fish to be. String your macaroni onto two equal pieces of pipe cleaner. Make an oval using those two pieces and bending the ends around each other to keep them in place. A good way to make your fish more whole and colorful is to string two or three macaroni filled pipe cleaners, cut with your scissors, through your oval, from one short end to the other. Then bend those pieces’ ends onto your oval so they stay put.
The second step would be to attach the back fin. Using a piece of pipe cleaner that is shorter then the oval body, string your macaroni then bend it into a triangle. After making a triangle, attach it to the short side of the oval.
Your fish is complete. You may need to adjust your pipe cleaners to make the fish the shape you want. At this point you may also add details with markers, including an eye on the opposite end the fin is on using a black marker. Enjoy playing with your Macaroni Animal or to make it decorative, attach pipe cleaner, making a loop, to the top of the fish. This allows you to hang it any place you please.
Leave a Reply