Coloring (staining) wood?

[Purplehaze]

I have seen those waldorf style "elements" (one looks like a flame, another a rainbow, another reminds one of water et cetera...) . We already own the rainbow one but I was thinking of asking my dad about making the other ones, but would need to dye the parts of it differnt colors.... what makes a good stain for wood that is non toxic and holds up well plus gives nice color? my dad offered to buy some powder stain but it is jsut regualr wood working stuff and I am afraid it might have some pretty harsh chemicals in it... so we are going to avoid that, but the color is what makes a lot of the effect of what I want.

Anyone have any ideas? Would the Kool aid work?

Thanks!

[greenjenny]

Kool aid might work, so might tempra paints. Im not sure about toxicity but I have stained wood with acrylic paint and then just washed off the excess, it left a nice light color, but I did this for non-kid use. Good Luck

[E&Gmommy]

I'm pretty sure kool-aid would work as long as you seal it with something (oil or beeswax) I would make the kool-aid into a paste then paint it on, let sit for a while, then wipe off. I've done the acrylic paint thing too, they say they are non-toxic but I think the kool-aid would work just as well.