Tagged: art

Does a bear poop in the woods? A Charmin(g) Bento

bearpoop

Yesterday, I was getting the kiddos ready for school and scrolling through my usual websites when a friend showed me a blog post by Baby Sideburns, which was about the pressure she felt from all those Pinterest lunches that she sees. She pointed out my Elsa lunch (in a rather funny matter) as an example of doing too much for lunch time. I totally get that– I know it’s not for everyone and I’ve had people tell me that I’m nuts for doing this at all. I must have too much time on my hands (nope, 3 small children, household, and a job) or I must be trying to make other kids jealous of mine (nope, I know my kid’s whole class — I used to teach them drawing — and every kid who mentioned it to me seems pretty cool about it) or whatnot.

I know I’m rambling a bit. Stay with me here.

I know some people see the Pinterest stuff as one mom one-upping the next. But call me an idealist when I say that I hope that more than making people feel bad, I (and all my Pinterest-posting crafty friends) am really looking to put out inspiration into the world. Not only inspiration to make lunches fun, ( because, I know just as well as anyone that lunch is just lunch), but really, to make some mundane tasks (packing kid lunches!) more fun for me and once in a while, make a kid smile. That ain’t so bad, is it?

So to make myself smile, my kiddo smile (potty humor is big around here), and hopefully some of my followers smile, today I made a bear pooping in the woods bento. And I want to tell everyone, I was inspired by Baby Sideburns’ bento! Thanks Baby Sideburns!

In today’s lunch:


Main A PB & strawberry jam bear sandwich; the toilet roll is a piece of a Pirouette wafer wrapped in a little bit of white fondant. The bear poop is mini chocolate chips ๐Ÿ˜‰
Sides Trail mix and galia melon trees
Also included but not pictured A fuji apple for snack time


Today I used:
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A Frozen Bento: Elsa

elsa

Catching up with some of my favorite shows last night, I was getting a bit restless for some creative time (watch shows/do something with my hands) and so today’s slightly complicated bento was born. I chose Elsa, the snow queen from Frozen because my kiddo, like every other kiddo under the age of 10 has been singing “Let it Go” for about six months straight nowย (I won’t even get into how we duet “Love is an Open Door.”) Anyhow, I have been wanting to do an Elsa lunch since Frozen came out, but Lunchbox Dadย beat me to it, so I gotta give him credit for the great hair idea (he used Yummy Dough, though, while I used marzipan).

I must admit the hair and the eyes took the longest because the marzipan needed to be done in layers and the marshmallow is sticky to work with. It was fun to see her come together though. Next time, Anna ๐Ÿ˜€


Main PB&J sandwich, details drawn on with a foodwriter pen; eyes are cut marshmallows with blue M&Ms. The pupils are drawn on with the foodwriter, and the white highlights are just bits of marshmallow. Hair is marzipan, dyed with a little food coloring.
Sides Blueberries with snowflake shaped marshmallows (used a cherry blossom cutter on a marshmallow and then drew a snowflake on top) and snowflake sprinkles; green grapes on “crystal ice” food picks.
Also Included but not Pictured Applesauce, yogurt


Fly Guy Presents Dinosaurs!

flyguy

Today’s theme was chosen at random by my kiddo. Yesterday morning I had a little extra time (woke up too early!) and decided to do a bento and I asked the kiddo to pick a theme. She happened to be holding “Fly Guy Presents Dinosaurs” in her hand and she loves him, and so I went to work.


Main PB&J Dino sandwich. Fly Guy mini sammie: PB&J for the body and black antennae made with black licorice; eye detail made with a teensy bit of black icing and wing detail with a food marker.
Sides Blackberries and blueberries
Also Included but not pictured Applesauce


Today I used:

May the 4th: An Imperial Lunch

deathstar

I haven’t blogged in foreeeeever! It’s because I’ve been really busy with work and although I’ve been making lunches (and sometimes even photographing them), the will to blog has just eluded me. This week, I took the opportunity that the Bento Bloggers and Friends blog hop for May the 4th, one of the geekiest days of the year when all things Star Wars is celebrated (May the Fourth be with you, get it?) Anyhow, despite having never watched the films, my kiddo loves Darth Vader (and the Dark Side) and has decided he is her favorite character (she knows he’s the bad guy).

So this was my May the Fourth lunch for the blog hop! Stormtroopers and the Death Star in space.

In this lunch:


Main PB&J triple stacked Stormtrooper sandwiches
Sides Carved pink apple Death Star (red because it’s about to explode) and blueberries with star sprinkles
Included but not pictured a banana


Today I used:


Hop on over to the next May the 4th blog post in our hop:
BBFStarWarsRed300px

Word Girl

wordgirl

This week has been a little tiring and so I didn’t get a chance to do a bento lunch for the kiddo. Today, she went to a day camp event, though, and needed to bring a bag lunch. And here it is! The theme of the event was around heroines and so I made the kiddo’s favorite superheroine, Word Girl!

In today’s lunch


Main PB&J Sandwich on whole grain white — her head and the stars; also on her head, a fruit roll up, fruit leather. The eyes are marshmallows (with a black dot done with a foodwriter marker) and they have nori eyelashes. Also included was a nori mouth with a little rolled up bit of bread for the nose.
Sides Mandarin orange with blueberries and two Girl Scout Samoas
Also included but not pictured String cheese


Today I used:

Have a Henry Hugglemonster Day!

henryhugglemonster

Yesterday, I made a My Little Pony bento for my oldest kiddo and my younger kiddo (who stayed home from preschool) complained that I only make “pretty lunches” for her sister. It’s true, I do only do them for the first grader, but mainly because preschool gives her lunch on the days she goes! But she was home, and she begged for a pretty lunch and to help make it. Trying to keep her entertained, I gave in ๐Ÿ™‚

She had been watching Henry Hugglemonster and I suggested that as a theme. She was unsure but I thought she would like the turkey and cheese sandwich (something my other kiddo is only marginally ok with — she’s really a PB&J lover). So we started and this is what we came up with. I think it’s pretty close!


Main Open faced turkey sandwich with cheddar cheese. I don’t have an oval cutter that big so I flexed a circle cutter just enough to make the cut and then eased it back into shape. The horns were made from blue star-shaped marshmallows and the dots on the ends of the big horns are large dot sprinkles (the greenish parts are colored on with yellow foodwriter pen to make it a soft green). I used turkey for the whites of the eyes, the teeth, and the eye highlights, and blueberries for the pupils. His nose is just the end of a baby carrot.
Sides Carrots, oranges, blueberries and pistachios


For this bento, I used:

Today, we graduated Kindergarten

gradcakes

I say “we” because it was a journey fraught with ups and downs, but a good experience for all nonetheless. We couldn’t have asked for a better K teacher than Ms. R and we will miss her. They held the celebration today along with the awards assembly. I brought these for my big Kindergarten graduate ๐Ÿ™‚ I totally got them off Pinterest, I won’t lie. The hat is made from a mini- Reeses cup and a Ghiradelli square; the button is a mini-M&M and the tassel is part of a sour belt! All glued together with some extra melting wafers I had. I didn’t eat one but they looked yum!