Rainbow Rice Review

Thanks to Carrie for being the first to submit to Pin Do Review! I am glad she was brave enough to attempt this pin.

When I saw this beautiful picture, and then saw the wonderful pictures on this blog, I absolutely HAD to make some rainbow rice for my 3.5 year old to play in.

                                                                              Source: shareandremember.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Lacking a tub big enough for the purpose, I went out and bought a tub (with lid), along with a 15 pound bag of rice, 3 packages of food coloring, and some stuff from Target's $1.00 bins.

I decided to start with red.  I measured four cups of rice into a gallon sized ziplock bag.  The directions said to use 3 tablespoons of food coloring and 2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol.  Well....that has to be wrong.  Through trial and error, I've decided the best amount (per 4 cups of rice) is half a teaspoon of food coloring to 1 1/2 teaspoons of rubbing alcohol.

You do not need to lay the rice in the sun, or spread it thinly to have it dry quickly.  I put aluminum foil on a couple of cookie sheets in my kitchen, poured out one color at a time, let it dry about 10 minutes (stirring around with a plastic fork), gathered up the edges of the foil, and poured it into the tub. The alcohol smell is a little overpowering, but it fades quickly. 

I was amazed that the colors were colorfast.  Nothing bleeds onto hands or clothing.

My son loved it.  He stirred it all up and began to play:  making mountains, making birthday cakes, making roads for his cars, planting a garden, filling ice cub trays. 

BUT it's a huge mess.  Do this in an area that is easy to sweep and not likely to bother you if rice gets all over the place (because it will).  I chose my porch.  It's not too cold here this winter, so he can wear a sweatshirt and play on the porch, but I don't need to worry as much about the mess being in a main area.

All in all, I'm glad I did it.  The rice should keep in that covered tub for quite a while.  I can put it away and then bring it out on days he needs some distraction.

Tips:
-measurements in this are off; see mine above
-rice gets everywhere
-rice is colorfast, and fairly easy to make
-use pure white rice (I used yellow and it affected the colors somewhat)

Carrie rated this three pins.