With the rainy Spring days upon us, what better way to spend your time trapped indoors than to dye sprinkles! I've gotten asked a few times where I buy most of my sprinkles, so today I'm spilling the beans (or should I say spilling the sprinkles?) about where I find these tiny bits of fun.
My sprinkle collection originated years ago when my family would visit nearby Amish shops each summer. Their shops were filled with bulk goodies, but the tubs of super cheap sprinkles were my main plan of attack each time we visited. I'd walk out of those cute little shops with a plastic bag filled with about every color they had for sale (all for about $10!) and get strange looks from people who probably already knew sprinkle hoarding was in my future.
Now that I'm older, we don't make those trips as often as we used to, so it's safe to say that my sprinkle sources have changed. Now days, I usually just hit up Amazon to buy a big bag of white sprinkles & food coloring to concoct a palette of DIY sprinkles . Oh, how times have changed this 90's child.
I bought this set of gel food coloring a few months back, and it has been sitting on my craft table for this exact day. I used to use these type of gel colors when I was big into cake decorating, so I already knew how well they performed in the vibrancy department. I'll warn you now that this post is probably going to sound like a big sponsored advertisement for AmeriColor.
But considering they don't even know I exist, it's merely a happy customer who happens to have a sprinkle obsession. But seriously, the AmeriColor gel coloring is the best I've found and they pack a huge color punch, in even the tiniest drop of gel. Meaning, they will last forever because you don't have to use half a bottle in order to get the color you want!
Since it is a gel rather than a liquid coloring, it's a little tricky to get the correct amount of gel simply by squeezing drops into the bag. So what I like to do is remove the cap, dip the end of a toothpick into the gel, and then toss the whole toothpick into the bag of white sprinkles. After giving the bag a shake & shimmy, you can then decide if you need to add another toothpick to brighten up the colors even more.
For lighter/pastel colors, you seriously only need the tiniest amount of gel on the toothpick (about .25 inch). If you're wanting a more vibrant color, you can dip the toothpick further into the bottle. This method assures that you don't drown your sprinkles in too much dye, and it also helps you control the color more!
I use generic plastic bags to mix the sprinkles in, so that I can contain the mess and toss the bag when I'm done. For the colors you see above, I just added 1 tablespoon of white jimmies to each bag, and then about .25 - 1 inch of gel on each toothpick. I didn't even use half the bag of white sprinkles and I was able to get all the colors you see here.
Materials/Where to Buy Supplies:
White Sprinkles // Food Coloring Gel
Plastic Ziploc Bags // Sturdy Toothpicks (Avoid flimsy ones that could break off)
I'm planning to use all these sprinkles in upcoming photoshoots, and the best part is that I can always mix more if I'm missing a certain color! If you're looking for a few ways to use these DIY sprinkles, hop on over here for some fun ideas! I hope this post was informative & helped all you curious cats who have been asking about this method.
This method also works for any type of white sprinkle (pearls, nonpareils, etc.), so have fun with it, and experiment with different kinds (although I haven't tried sanding sugar yet!). If you have any questions, leave them below and I'll be happy to help!
This is NOT a sponsored post by Americolor. All materials are personally recommended & loved!
Jessica Nunes says
Hi, won't the color bleed when you put them on top of cake icing? Thanks!
Melissa says
Hi Jessica! I haven't had that issue but I could see that maybe happening if the cake is somewhere warm. To prevent it though, you could add a drop of vanilla extract (or any alcohol based extract) to bag and it will help them dry even faster.
I'm going to make a note to do a more official test on this though and will add the notes to the post!
dian says
nice...can i permission to share?Thank u..
Melissa says
Hi Dian - Sure! With all features, all I ask is that only one image is used from the post and the link directs back to the actual post link (and not the printable PDF page).
Tavette says
When I was a kid (long ago) my mom used to make colored sugar for cake decorating. Buying them hadn't been "invented" yet. She had small shaker bottles with a white plastic lid with holes - which she saved from when she bought spices (an early recycler). The only coloring available was regular food coloring. She'd put X number of drops into the bottle with white sugar and shake-shake-shake. She'd start off with only a drop so she could see how dark it would get and also not put too much or the sugar would have gotten soggy. Whala - we had colored sugar.
I read a post recently wherein someone used this method and, after coloring, spread the sugar on a cookie sheet and placed it in a low temp oven for a few min. , being careful the sugar didn't burn or melt. I don't remember my mom doing this, but she may have. There had to have been some way she dried it. Ah - ha.....we always had a gas oven so she may have spread the sugar out on a cookie sheet and just set it in the oven so the pilot light dried it out.
If I saved that recent article, I'll repost.
Thanks for posting the toothpick method of coloring sprinkles. We all end up with way too many bottles of sprinkles. Your method is much more economical as well and you can get the exact color you want. My mom would have been proud of you. :)
Melissa says
Oh, I love this story Tavette! Thanks so much for sharing! I've never thought of coloring regular sugar. I'm going to research this oven method and see what I find! :)
Melissa-in-NJ says
This is fantastic! How clever you were to figure this out! I would have thought the color would be mottled but it's not. Have to agree with you, AmeriColor rocks; I've been using Those Other Guys for 20 years and just switched last year and I am still using the same kit I bought because it's "drops not entire bottles"!!! I am off to subscribe to your posts, your blog looks colorful, fun, and right up my alley :-) !
Melissa says
Thanks, Melissa! I agree, AmeriColor is awesome because the bottles literally last forever. Plus, I always feel weird eating something with half a bottle of coloring in it, so the fact that you can still get vibrant colors without boatloads of dye makes me love it even more!
Andrea @ This Pug Life says
This is the perfect solution for things like cake pops where you might need just a few of a certain colored sprinkle and don't want to buy a whole container!
Lauren says
What a great idea! So nice to be able to customize the colors you want. Sometimes the stock in Walmart just doesn't cut it. Pinning this for future reference! I'd be thrilled if you'd link up at this week's Off the Hook!
Made From Pinterest says
I'm such a sucker for all things colorful! Thanks for sharing, I'll have to try this out!
Natasha says
I never thought about dying my own sprinkles. I need to do this cause I'm always running out of our favorite colors no matter how much I buy (I think I have a sprinkle eater in my house).
sue/the view from great island says
How fun! I've done this with sugar, and I've even made my own sprinkles --- but this looks like a lot less work and just as gorgeous!
Kristina & Millie says
too neat! I love the colors! Glad you shared how to diy! Kind of like tie dye candy!
Lizy B says
Brilliant!! Pinning!
Kelley says
Wow I would have never thought this was possible! So cool :) Thanks for the tutorial!
Kathryn Ferrie says
I've never even thought of dying my own sprinkles. Would it work the same with Wilton gel colouring?
Melissa says
Wilton should work too! I just tried it with the navy blue Wilton gel I had on hand, and it seemed to work just fine! I can't attest to the vibrancy of the colors (considering I only have boring navy blue), but it would be worth a shot!
Kat Curiling says
What an awesome post! I'm so glad to have come across this. I always get sad when I don't have the right color sprinkles and now problem solved! (I put christmas sprinkles on my son's ice cream sundae the other day. lol) I definitely pinned this for lady and am sharing with all of my baking/cake lady friends =)
So glad to have stumbled across your blog today. It's full of all kinds of greatness!
Melissa says
Yes! Coloring your own is the perfect solution to all those colors in between. I was just looking on Amazon and they have another fun set that has more neon colors...which I think I also "need."
PS. I approve putting sprinkles on your son's sundae. Sprinkles belong on everything! :)
Kat Curiling says
I think we agree that sprinkles just make the world a better place haha! I'm going to have to check out amazon. I always forget that I can buy food products from them.