Fall is here!!!

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Tools of the Trade: Cutters...

In my bento supply cabinet, I have 2 kinds of cutters... Sandwich cutters and Cookie cutters.

Sandwich cutters are easy to find, for the most part. I have picked up these ones from Walmart, Target, and Albertsons. They're at pretty much every grocery store:

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The downside to these is that sometimes they don't fit well into the long, skinny bento boxes. The hearts and butterfly do okay, but the other two require a more square container.

I also have this sandwich cutter, which I like better for bentos. I have seen other variations on this idea, but none that have been easy for me to come by, so this is what I have. =D

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It cuts 3 animal faces and a heart at the same time. I would like to get more of these. I don't often use sandwiches in my bentos, though, so I don't know if it would be worth the investment. 

As for cookie cutters, I have some bento-specific cookie cutters that I bought at Daiso. They're really nothing special, though. 

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Maybe my FAVORITE cookie cutters right now are the new cutters I got. They're spring loaded pie crust cutters from Norpro and I originally thought I could use them for sandwiches. I've found, though, that they work GREAT for stacks of sliced cheese!

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I also have picked up cutters designed for fondant in the Wilton cake decorating section. Honestly, I rarely use these, but I thought they were cute!

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Pretty much any small cookie cutter will work for bentos, as long as it doesn't have any teeny tiny intricate spots for food to get stuck and break off. Here's more of my collection...

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Metal cutters are perhaps the nicest, because they cut easily through meat and vegetables. 

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I store my bento supplies in clear shoebox size containers in the bento cabinet. Some of my smaller cookie cutter sets I group together in small containers to keep the pieces together. Everything else gets tossed in randomly.

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Bento*riffic on Etsy!!

Bento*riffic, the etsy shop is LIVE!!! I have been sewing up a storm and making bento straps and they are making their way to an etsy shop near you! Woohoo! Check it out and let me know what you think! You can find me here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/elizabethwickland

A Hearty Picnic Bento

Eliana had a friend come over after school on Friday, so I put together a couple quick bentos so they could take them to the pond for a picnic. Because it was just a quick bento, I decided to bust open the single-use bento boxes I got at Daiso last time I was in WA. I originally got them for a workshop I was going to do, and then that fell through. So today I pulled them out to use.

I was surprised at how flimsy they are, but then again, they are one time use things. They are recyclable, which is more than I can say for ziplocks, so I am still good with it. They don't have any sort of closure, so I used a couple of those shaped rubber band "silly bands" that my daughter is so excited about. Worked like a charm.

I wouldn't use these for every day use, but for a workshop where I teach others some tips and techniques for packing bentos, I would use them. I have one of those dancing around in my mind right now, waiting to be planned, but we'll see when and how that will come together.

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Heart apple, heart sandwich, and carrot slices.

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Bento Straps

Once upon a time I bought a couple bento straps. I bought the cutest one I could find (the heart) and a two-pack of another strap.

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That's when I decided the world needed cuter bento straps. I tried my hand at several designs after looking online at what I could purchase if I lived someplace like Japan or Singapore.

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Ribbon with elastic. Cute, but there are definite limitations to the stretchiness of them. Still, they're functional and I use them regularly.

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Elastic with shaped buttons. These have become by far my favorite. The downside I found is that I don't particularly like white elastic. I found some black elastic, too, but was done making bento straps by that time, so it didn't happen. White elastic is fine, but as you can see by the pink and green bento straps, it gets dirty. Ellie tends to put the straps into the bento box, so food gets on it. You can wash them, but jello just isn't that forgiving. Still, very functional, and pretty stinkin' cute if I do say so myself.

So now I have found a source for some elastic that is fun and there are actual serious plans to open that etsy bento shop I thought about before. Now I'm just trying to figure out how much it really costs to make a bento strap and what a fair price to sell them for is.

Decisions, decisions... 

Starstruck...

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Got a star theme going on today... Shells and "chreese", craisins, star "goldfish" crackers, chicken, and star tofutti "cheese". Might have a cheese theme going on, too. Hmmm. Not the most balanced, but it's all good. =D

Happy Fall!!

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In this bento are... peas, shells and "chreese", chicken, and apples. When Eliana came home from school, guess what was completely gone? Yep. The peas. She'd eaten half the mac and "chreese", but not the apples or chicken. She finished the rest for lunch, but I think it's funny that at 5 years old she would eat the entire set of peas as her morning snack at school and leave the apples there. Not complaining, just funny.