What you'll need

1. Some dried penne pasta quills.
2. Paint and brushes and a jar of water.
3. Thin string or strong thread or twine and a needle with a large eye and a fairly blunt point.

As always where children and paint are involved, it's probably a good idea to
cover the area where they are working
with newspaper. Younger children should also protect their clothes with an overall or an old shirt. Another tip is to have one damp cloth on hand to wipe messy fingers, and one to dry the brushes a little after they've been dipped in water between changing colours.

What to do

1. Paint the penne in a variety of different colours - these are the "beads". If you are using the sort of powdered paint that you mix yourself, make it fairly thick. If you are using block paints then have the brush quite dry and load on the paint to get nice bright colours. Be warned - little fingers get very messy doing this so wipe them between colours.
2. Let the pasta dry, which will only take a few minutes. Put all the coloured beads in a bowl.
3. Thread your needle with some thin string or strong cotton or twine. To stop the beads falling off as you are threading them on, tie a button or big knot at the end.
4. Let the children choose which colours they'd like and in which order. Older children will be able to thread the beads on themselves but younger children will obviously need help.
5. You could ask the children if they'd like to make a recurring pattern with the colours.
6. When the bracelet or necklace are the required length, tie a strong knot in the two ends of the thread. It's a good idea to measure them against the children, particularly with the bracelet. It must be long enough to be put on comfortably, but small enough not to fall off.