DIY Miniatures Frames and Pie

Miniature Photos in Frames

My 11 year old niece and I had a delightful time creating miniatures. We scanned, re-sized, printed, and framed miniature photos of her Grandmother (my Mother).

For some of the photos we used Foil Embossed Stickers from the Dollar Tree. I thought they were $1.00 but when I checked out, the cashier said it was on sale for 1 penny! When I was fishing for a penny, a person behind me in line handed me a penny and said, “Pay it forward.” So it was free for me! We glued some photos on these stickers and glued light cardboard to the backs of these frames.

Foil Embossed Stickers

Foil Stickers

We took the photo off of this frame (see below) and put our own photo in the frame.

Purchased Dollhouse Frame

Dollhouse Frame

Customized Miniature Framed Photo

Ancestor in Frame

We also followed these directions and made miniature pies with bottle caps, beads, and felt.

Miniature Pies

Posted in Crafts | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Bunny Pasta Lunch

Bunny Themed Pasta Lunch

A quick use what we had in the house lunch. I made this for my 11 year old niece. She requested a bunny theme and ate this lunch at home.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Pasta: Star pasta with sauteed mushrooms and bunny (carrot) garnish

Snack: Annie’s Bunny Fruit Snacks

Fruit: Raspberries, chocolate chip garnish

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

On the Road Bento

Car Container Lunch

I actually made this as part of a dinner at home for my 9 year old nephew. I won the car shaped containers from Eats Amazing. I borrowed her idea of putting yogurt and grapes in the car.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Car: Yogurt and red grapes in container with lid

Road: Quesadilla with Mexican cheese blend, lines painted with a little black food coloring and water

Stoplight Fruit: Watermelon, pineapple, and kiwi

Vegetable: Green pepper

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Peach Muffins Bento

Peach Muffins Lunch

Peaches are abundant now. My husband’s favorite fruit is the peach. I thought it would be a special treat to create a peach featured lunch for my him. He said it tasted as good as it looked.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Peach Salad: I loosely followed this Peach Salad with Tomatoes Feta and Basil Vinaigrette. I forgot to add the feta. I omitted the shallot, and used wine vinegar instead of the sherry vinegar.

Peach Yogurt: Wegmans Peach Yogurt with peach garnish

Peach Muffins: Peach Oatmeal Muffins (from Scaling Back) Since I used these muffins as a main course, I reduced the sugar to 1/8 cup in the topping and to 1/4 cup in the muffin. My husband said that next time I should add a little more sugar.

Linking to:

BentoForKidlet

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

Pear Pizza Bento

Pear Pizza Lunch

I wanted to use up some local pears I received from a friend. I made the pear pizza and stuffed pears for dinner and it ended up being a perfect leftovers for lunch meal. The pizza toppings were ingredients I happened to have in the house. I loved it so much, that I will have to make it again sometime.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Roasted Pears: Roasted Pears with Rosemary and Thyme – I did not use the hazelnuts and peeled the pears.

Stuffed Pear: Pear stuffed with a mixture of cream cheese and strawberry jam, with strawberry garnish

Pear Pizza: Pizza dough topped with caramelized onions, sauteed spinach, Sharp Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, and sliced pear – baked at 425 until done.

Linking to:

Leftovers on Fridays

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Back to School Bagel Pizza Lunch

Bagel Pizza Lunch

I made this lunch for my 9 year old nephew on his first day of 4th grade. He is a huge fan of my homemade bagels. I made bagel pizza bites for the first time.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Mini Bagel Pizzas: Homemade bagels cut in half, spread with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese then baked

Fruit: Green grapes

Vegetable: Green pepper, number 4 (Cheddar cheese)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Syracuse Orange Bento

Syracuse Orange Lunch

My 13 year old nephew is a fan of Syracuse Orange. When I found the pasta at Wegmans I knew that I had to make a Syracuse Orange themed lunch for him.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Pasta: Syracuse pasta with orange bell pepper, butter, and Parmesan cheese

Chips: Terra Blues potato chips

Fruit: Clementine with paper and marker details

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Chococat Bento

Chococat Bento

I wanted to make a sandwich version of Chococat from Sanrio. I debated between chocolate bread and pumpernickel bread. I decided on the pumpernickel because I could buy it in my grocery store and it was too hot to bake chocolate bread. I actually made this lunch for myself!

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Chococat: – Natural Peanut Butter sandwich –  Head, ears, and pupils (pumpernickel bread), eyes (Sharp Cheddar cheese), ear details and nose (Sharp Cheddar cheese colored with food marker), whiskers (Pocky)

Fruit: Strawberries and grapes

Vegetable: Broccoli

Stars: Sharp Cheddar cheese

Linking to:
Bento-Blog-Network Beneficial Bento

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Back to High School Bento

Back to High School Lunch

I made this lunch for my 14 year old niece during her first week of 10th grade. I used Biology because the word contained less letters than some of her other subjects.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Biology Book: Rice with peas and cheddar in the middle, spine (dried parsley), lettering (carrot)

Pencil: Carrot with food marker details

Fruit: Pineapple

A+ Salad: Lettuce, A+ (green bell pepper)

Linking to:

BentoForKidlet

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Trail Mix Day 2013

Trail Mix

Today is National Trail Mix Day. My 11 year old niece and I designed our own trail mix and went on a hike. We went to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. (See photos below.) The Sistema Split Food Container was wonderful for us as we we wanted different food but only had to carry one container.

My Trail Mix:

  • Brazil Nuts
  • Pretzel Snaps
  • Dried Apricots

Niece’s Trail Mix:

  • Popcorn
  • M&M’s (blue and purple)
  • Almonds
  • Craisins
  • Pretzel rods

Beaver Tree Trail

Five Rivers

Wildflowers

Posted in Food | Tagged | 4 Comments

Midsummer Stitchalong 2013 Complete

Midsummer Stitchalong 2013 Complete

I completed my version of the Midsummer Stitchalong with Studio MME at Feeling Stitchy. It was a relatively quick and fun piece to stitch.

Posted in Embroidery | Tagged | 6 Comments

Crafty Birthday Gifts from Nieces

Birthday Pillow Case

My nieces gave me amazing handmade gifts for my birthday this year.

I received this hand decorated pillowcase (see above and below). My 8 year old niece used fabric markers to decorate both sides of a pillowcase. I love it! I think that her little lambs are very cute. She also made a letter K for me. So special!

Other Side of Pillowcase

Pillow Case Skate

Handmade Letter K

K

My 11 year old niece made a lamb ornament for me. She did it all herself. She made the pattern, cut the felt, embroidered the eye, stuffed, and sewed it. I love it! She also made a special bookmark. She drew and stitched two sheep. She sewed one and left one for me to stitch. So cute!

Handmade Lamb Ornament

Sheep Ornament

Special Bookmark

Sheep Bookmark

Completed Bookmark (stitched by Niece and Aunt)

Completed Bookmark

Posted in Crafts, Embroidery | Tagged | 17 Comments

Avocado Salad Shells Lunch

Avocado Salad Shells

For a long time I loved the idea of making a vegetarian salad in a pasta shell. I finally made one. I don’t use avocados very often but I enjoy them. They are delicious in this filling meal.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Spinach

Shells: I mostly followed this recipe but I used pistachio instead of walnuts because I had some leftover from another meal. I used chives from my Mom’s herb garden.

Vegetable: Radish

Fruit: Green grapes

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Zucchini Bento

Zucchini Bento

It is zucchini time! I don’t bother growing zucchini because I can count on receiving it from my grandmother-in-law, mother-in-law. and sister-in-law. I made this lunch for my husband. It has zucchini in each course.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Zucchini Pie:Zucchini and Cheese Pie, lettuce leaf

Salad: Zucchini, Tomato, and Corn Salad – I did not exactly follow this recipe but I used it as a guide (I did not use sugar, used a large tomato instead of cherry tomatoes and I did not exactly follow the amounts for each ingredient)

Dessert: Chocolate Zucchini Cake – did not use this recipe but it was similar (no honey, and I sprinkled chocolate chips on top)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Moose Themed Pizza Dinner

Moose Themed Dinner

My 11 year old niece flew by herself to her Grandparents (my parents) house for the first time. Of course I was there to make a moose themed pizza dinner in her honor.

The moose pizza had tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and some moose had mushrooms. My niece requested shaped pizzas because she enjoys my tradition of making shaped pizzas for Christmas. I looked through my extensive cookie cutter collection and decided on my large moose cutter. I got this cutter a long time ago on a business trip to Minnesota (bought it at the Mall of America). This was my first time using it.

Moose Shaped Pizza

Moose Pizza

I used this recipe for the moose cookies. I used a plastic sandwich bag and cut off a small corner. Then I piped the outline of the moose. I used a basic butter and confectionery sugar frosting with some cocoa powder.

Moose Cookies

Moose Cookies

Linking to:
Eats Amazing Fun Food Friday

Posted in Food | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Spaghetti Lunch

Spaghetti Lunch

I made this lunch for my teenage nephew as part of my Tips for Packing Food for Active Teenagers guest post for Diana Rambles. This one did not make the cut but my nephew enjoyed it. This is a LOT of food. It was heavy. I know that some people may not like to eat cold spaghetti but he did not mind. In fact, he requested this meal.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Plum

Bread: Pretzel roll (I made a pretzel lunch the same day and used some dough to make rolls)

Vegetable: Cooked broccoli with melted cheddar

Spaghetti: Spaghetti with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

State Capital Lunch

State Capital Lunch

When I found the States and Capitals Educational Snacks at Whole Foods, I knew that I had to make a state themed lunch. When I was a kid, I was the nerd with the state capital cards trying to teach the other kids in the neighborhood. I made this lunch for my 11 year old niece.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

States & Capitals: Dick and Jane States & Capitals cookies, toasted white bread cut into state shapes – not to scale (Georgia, Colorado, Tennessee, and Kansas) with Nutella

Vegetable: Fresh from the garden cucumber and cherry tomato

State Fruit Medley: Blackberries (Alabama & Kentucky), blueberries (Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina), and strawberries (Louisiana, North Carolina)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Princess and the Pea Guest Post

Princess and the Pea teaser

I am happy today to once again guest post for Jackie at Loving Lunches. Please click here to see the Princess and the Pea lunch that I made.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Save a Penny Earn a Penny Guest Post

Penny Saved Penny Earned Teaser

I am thrilled today to have my first ever guest post for Jackie at Loving Lunches. Please click here to see the Uncle/Nephew themed lunches I made.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Mini Stuffed Animals

Teddy and Moose Stuffed Animals

My 11 year old niece and I made these miniature stuffed animals. We used a large moose cookie cutter to make the pattern for the moose. My niece drew the pattern for the Teddy Bear. My niece stitched the eyes and mouth on the moose and Teddy. She used black seed beads for the Teddy’s eyes. We used fleece and a little poly-fill stuffing.

Small Teddy Bear Stuffed Animal

Miniature Teddy Bear

Small Moose Stuffed Animal

Miniature Moose Stuffed Animals

Posted in Crafts | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Lego Cheese and Bricks Lunch

Lego Cheese and Bricks Lunch

My 9 year old nephew loves Legos. When I noticed that the BOTW theme this week at Bento Blog Network will be Lego, I knew that I had to make another Lego themed lunch for him. I found the Lego pick idea at A Boy & His Lunch.

10 Lego Lunches

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Bricks: Pepper Jack Cheese and homemade crackers with cheese and carrots (recipe is from Baking Makes Things Better) I shaped them to look like Lego bricks. They were delicious!

Vegetable: Cucumber (I attached the small round pieces with spaghetti, it softens by lunch time)

Fruit: Kiwi with Lego picks

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

French Bread Pizza Bento

French Bread Pizza Lunch

I made french bread pizzas for my niece, nephews, and myself one day at home. I thought it would be fun to make a french bread pizza bento. The kids loved their lunches!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Watermelon

Vegetable: Green beans

Pizza: Homemade french bread with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Butterfly Mac and Cheese Lunch

Butterfly Mac and Cheese Lunch

My 11 year old niece ate this lunch. This lunch incorporates some of her favorites. My Mom and I made this together.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Watermelon (stamped with butterfly pie cutter)

Vegetable: Peas

Macaroni & Cheese: Homemade macaroni & cheese with butterfly pasta garnish (carrot details)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Pasta with Walnuts and Edamame Bento

Walnut and Edamame Pasta

I made this the same day my niece had the Flag of France bento. The pasta and toasted walnuts ended up in each of our lunches. This was fast to make and delicious.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Watermelon

Vegetable: Snowpeas

Pasta: Mini Farfalle pasta with olive oil, edamame, roasted walnuts, salt, and pepper

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Lion Pasta Lunch

Lion Lunch

I made this Lion themed lunch when I took my 11 year old nephew to the zoo. He allows me to make any theme as long as he likes the food. He especially loves pistachio nuts and requests them in every bento I prepare for him.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Honeydew melon

Nuts: Pistachios

Background: Wegmans pasta nuggets with butter, peas, and Parmesan cheese

Large Lion: Flour tortilla painted with food coloring, baked until crisp

Mini Lions: Extreme Cheddar Lions Snack Crackers in Mini Dippers

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Triangular Onigiri Box Bento

Onigiri Box Closed

A friend in Japan sent this box to me awhile ago. The text on the box means, “go anywhere together”. My 14 year old niece was here for the day and I wanted an easy lunch. We decided on onigiri in this box. My niece made the entire lunch.

You can see a glimpse of my house in this photo. Yes, I live in a purple house. I still can’t believe that I live in a purple house. We bought it this way almost 7 years ago. It does not need to be painted yet.

Onigiri Box Bento

  • Peach
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Broccoli
  • Onigiri filled with peas and cheddar cheese
Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Potato Football Bento

Potato Football Lunch

Continuing in my series of twice baked potato lunches, here is a football themed meal. I served this to my 16 year old nephew for lunch at home. It was his idea to make the goal post and field out of bell peppers. I love collaborating with my nephew. I think that it turned out great.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Lettuce

Footballs: Twice baked potato riced with a little butter, milk, Mexican cheese blend, salt, pepper, and cooked broccoli (turned upside down), football detail (cheddar cheese)

Fruit: Green grapes

Vegetable: Field (green bell pepper), goal post (red bell pepper)

Not Pictured: Ranch dressing for the lettuce

Other twice baked potato lunches

Potato Blimp

Potato Boat

Mr. Potato Head

Twice Baked Potato Lunch

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , , | 31 Comments

Peanut Butter Pita Lunch

Peanut Butter Pita Lunch

I needed to go shopping so this lunch was made from what I had in the house. The pita was in my freezer. Thrown together lunches can be interesting and delicious!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Main: Peanut butter in toasted Arnold Pocket Thins Italian Herb bread, fresh spinach

Dairy: Cottage cheese with cinnamon

Fruit: Cantaloupe

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Black Beans and Tortilla Chips Bento

Tanabata Party Leftovers for Lunch

I used leftovers from my Tanabata party to make this quick and delicious lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Tortilla Chips: Blue tortilla chips, cheddar cheese (at the party I served the blue tortilla chips with salsa, the cheddar cheese was melted over the star rice balls)

Fruit: Red grapes (from the star fruit cups)

Black Beans: Sauteed onion, black beans, and diced tomatoes (this was the filling in the layered rice)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Train Bento

Train Lunch

I wanted to make a wheel themed bento for the Bento Blog Network weekly theme. My 14 year old niece suggested train, so I made this lunch for her. I delight in making cute and healthy food for loved ones.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Blackberries

Vegetable: Orange bell pepper

Background: Mini wagon wheel pasta and green peas with a little butter and Parmesan cheese

Train: Food coloring painted on a flour tortilla baked until lightly brown and crisp

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Flag of France Bento

France Flag

My 14 year old niece and I made this flag themed lunch. As usual, she did a great job cutting and arranging the food for this meal.

Container: Blue Box from Japan

Top Tier: Mini Farfalle pasta with olive oil, toasted walnuts, and red pepper

Bottom Tier: Blueberries, apple (dipped in orange juice), and red grapes

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Lake House Lunch

Lake House Lunch

I made this lunch at my family’s lake house in the Adirondacks. It was a beautiful day so I took the photo from the elevated front porch. Lunch with a view!

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Bread: Italian bread

Granola Bar: Kashi Dark Mocha Almond granola bar

Salad: Tomato Mango Salad – I followed the recipe except I did not use the green onions.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Potato Blimp Bento

Potato Blimp Bento

When I asked for twice baked potatoes theme suggestions my 11 year old nephew said, “blimp”. So I made this blimp themed lunch for him. This is my pistachio loving nephew so of course I had to include his favorite nut.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Sky: Blueberries

Blimp: Twice baked potato riced with a little butter, milk, Mexican cheese blend, salt, pepper, and cooked broccoli (turned upside down), lettering (carrot), other details (quesadilla)

Nuts: Pistachios

Vegetable: Carrot sticks

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Kid Made Lunch Farm Bento

Kid Made Farm Animal Lunch

My newly turned 13 year old nephew designed and made this lunch entirely by himself when he was still 12. He looked through my cookie cutters, picked out a box from my collection, drew a sketch in my bento sketchbook, created a shopping list, made the quesadillas and styled this lunch. He enjoyed this lunch at my house.

Container: Sistema Slimline Quaddie Coloured

Background: Lettuce and almonds

Animals: Cheese quesadillas

Fence: String cheese

Fruit: Apples (see below)

Not Pictured: Salsa and ranch dressing in Mini Dippers

Farm Animal Apples

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Twice Baked Potato Lunch

Twice Baked Potato Lunch

I made this lunch for my husband. In this case it was a planned lunch but also became dinner the night before.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Lettuce

Potato: Twice baked potato riced with a little butter, milk, Mexican cheese blend, salt, pepper, and cooked broccoli

Fruit: Green grapes

Cookie: Coconut Balls

Ranch Dressing: (Not pictured) in Mini Dippers

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Winner of 2nd Blogiversary Giveaway

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments and for entering my giveaway!

Giveaway Results

Lindsey you are the winner of the $25 gift certificate to Bento USA by AllThingsForSale.com. I will contact you by email.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Blog | Tagged , | Comments Off on Winner of 2nd Blogiversary Giveaway

Kokeshi Bento

Kokeshi Bento

Kokeshi are Japanese dolls traditionally made from wood. I was excited to win the Kokeshi Bento Box Giveaway hosted by Shirley of Bento Singapore. (see below for an image of this adorable bento box) Shirley is very talented and features amazingly cute bento creations on her blog.

In honor of my first time using this bento box, I decided to make a kokeshi doll out of radish and spinach.

Container: Kokeshi box

Top Tier: Crunchy granola bar

Middle Tier: Nishiki rice with radish kokeshi and radish flowers, hair (spinach), face details (spinach and radish)

Bottom Tier: Blueberries, raspberries, and sliced almonds

Kokeshi Bento Box

Kokeshi Bento Box

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

3 Easy Pony Bead Projects

Easy Pony Bead Projects

Edited: The links I previously shared to the making friends website are no longer available. I now link to a watermelon pattern on another site. For the Smile Face and Ladybug, you should still be able to make these projects using my images and new links provided if you have some patience and knowledge of making pony bead projects. For other patterns go here.

Awhile ago I asked my nieces and nephews if they had an idea of a craft we could do together for my blog. My 11 year old nephew remarked that he would like to make something with pony beads. For his last birthday he asked for pony beads and we gave him some. This was my first time working with pony beads that I remember.

When we started the project I just watched him string on the beads (somewhat boring for me). Eventually we figured out that it was easier when we worked together to pull the strings/wire and to have my hand on the already completed lines of beads.

These three projects are very easy, there are no additional loops, just straight lines. I enjoyed spending time with my nephew while working on these projects. In the future I would like to work on advanced pony bead projects with him.

Watermelon: We used a pattern from makingfriends.com. Edited: the pattern is no longer available on the Making Friends site. A similar pattern is found here.

Watermelon Keychain

Smiley Face: We used this pattern from makingfriends.com. We first tried it with cording but switched to wire which gave the design more support. Edited: the pattern is no longer available on the Making Friends site. A similar pattern image is found here. The link it directs to is the same I had so the link does not work.

Smile Clip

Ladybug: We used this pattern from makingfriends.com. Edited: the pattern is no longer available on the Making Friends site. A similar pattern image is found here. The link it directs to is the same I had so the link does not work.

Ladybug Keychain

Posted in Crafts | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Potato Boat Bento

Potato Boat Lunch

When I asked my niece and nephews for ideas using twice baked potatoes, my 14 year old niece said, “boat”. So I made this lunch for her. It was fun to make. If you want to heat the potato, you can easily remove it from this lunch and heat in a microwave.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fish: Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers

Fruit: Green grapes

Life Preserver: Strawberry slice with white chocolate

Background: White rice, blueberries

Boat: Twice baked potato riced with a little butter, milk, Mexican cheese blend, salt, pepper, and cooked broccoli, mast (carrot), sail (yellow bell pepper)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Hot Air Balloon Bento

Hot Air Balloon Lunch

I have a slight obsession with cookie cutters. My collection is so large that I have them organized by type and stored in plastic Ziploc bags. Awhile ago I picked up this hot air balloon cookie cutter. It lives in my “transportation” bag. Sometimes when I am thinking about possible lunch themes I look at my cookie cutters. My hot air balloon theme arose on such an occasion.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Sky: Blueberries

Hot Air Balloon: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread, cheddar cheese details

Vegetable: Snow peas

Fruit: Trader Joe’s Dried Baby Sweet Pineapple

Posted in Bento / Cute Food, Food | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

2 Year Blogiversary Giveaway

Today is Eclectic Lamb’s 2 year anniversary. It also happens to be my 300th post. I am so appreciative of your visits to this blog.

AllThingsForSale.com (an amazing bento supply site) is generously offering one of my readers a $25 gift certificate. Check out this store! There are so many wonderful things available.

This giveaway is open to U.S. and international readers. If you win, the $25 can be used towards purchase and shipping.

bento giveaway

To enter this giveaway just submit a comment. Please make sure that I have your email address so I can notify you if you win. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email. One entry per email address. The contest will end on Thursday July 25 at 8 am EDT. I will pick the winner using a random number generator.

Posted in Blog | Tagged | 68 Comments

Midsummer Stitchalong 2013 In Progress

Midsummer Stitchalong 2013 In Progress

It has been awhile since I stitched something to post here on my blog. I stitched a lot of baptism stoles for my Mom’s church but I already posted about that once. When I read about the Midsummer Stitchalong with Studio MME at Feeling Stitchy, I knew that I wanted to participate.

This is my in-progress photo. I decided to transfer the image with an water-soluble pen. I know that it may not be the best choice for every project but I used DMC thread on a flour sack towel.

I have liked birds since I was a small child. When I was 2, I had an imaginary bird named Tippy. Recently we put a new bathroom in our house and I choose flower wallpaper with parrots. I am enjoying working on this stitchalong.

Posted in Embroidery | Tagged | 6 Comments

13th Birthday Bento

13th Birthday Lunch

This was part of my nephew’s 13th birthday lunch. I am guessing that many 13 year olds would not want a themed lunch at school due to peer pressure but this lunch was served at home and he loved it. He also feasted on french bread pizza and jam tarts for dessert.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Cheddar, corn and zucchini quesadilla (I sauteed the zucchini in a little olive oil and added corn) I painted the number 13 with a little food coloring and water.

Birthday Cake: Mozzarella quesadilla painted blue with food coloring and water, candles (carrot in the shape of the number 13), flames (cheddar cheese)

Snack: Mini Reese’s Pieces and peanuts

Fruit: Green grapes

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Muffin Tin Monday Dinosaur

Muffin Tin Monday Dinosaur

I made this dinosaur themed muffin tin lunch for my nephew who is almost 5 years old. He loved it!

Top Row:

  • Dinosaur nest with egg (corn and Colby-Jack cheese)
  • Mama and baby dinosaurs (strawberries with chocolate eyes)
  • Letter D (Colby-Jack cheese)
  • Dinosaur eggs (green grapes)

Bottom Row:

  • Broccoli
  • Dinosaur pizzas (I made pizza dough and cut with a dinosaur cookie cutter, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and baked)
  • Dinosaur fossil cookies

Linking to:

AnotherLunch

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Mr Potato Head Bento

Mr Potato Head Bento

This lunch was made for my nephew on his last day of being 12. This was a lunch at home. My 16 year old nephew helped me assemble this. This meal has so many possibilities. We choose to make it this way but many fruit and vegetables would make great parts for Mr. Potato Head. The potato can be eaten cold, at room temperature, or heated. You can also have the parts ready to put on after heating the potato in a microwave.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Background: Lettuce

Mr. Potato Head: Twice baked potato riced with a little butter, milk, Mexican cheese blend, salt, pepper, and cooked broccoli (turned upside down) hair (broccoli), eyes (grapes with Wilton candy eyes), ears (sugar snap peas), nose (strawberry), mouth (red pepper), feet (green grapes)

Fruit: Strawberries and green grapes

Vegetables: Green beans, yellow bell pepper, sugar snap peas

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments

Little Red Riding Hood Bento

Liittle Red Riding Hood Lunch

I was inspired by a reader suggestion to make a Little Red Riding Hood bento. I was not sure about how this turned out but my 14 year old niece loved it.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Background: Rice covered with raw spinach leaves

Trees and Plants: Broccoli and asparagus

Little Red Riding Hood: Red Hood (red pepper), hair (spinach leaves), head, hands, & feet (Nishiki white rice), face details (chocolate & red sprinkles), body (Nishiki white rice with tomato sauce)

Grandma’s House: House (Arnold Pocket Thins Italian Herb – toasted), windows & doors (carrot)

Path: Peanuts

Fruit: Strawberries

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Pasta Lunch for Guests

Pasta Lunch

My Mom, brother and two cousins from Ireland visited for a few days. We did a lot of sightseeing but I still wanted to prepare homemade meals for them. I made 5 versions of this same lunch in the morning and it was an excellent meal between visiting attractions. I desired an easy lunch but also wanted my guests to experience my bento lunch because cute lunches have become such a part of my life. I savor showing my love with healthy and cute food. I made this easy and cute by creating simple garnishes for each section.

My Mom prepared the pasta and my cousin Peg helped me assemble the 5 lunches.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Pasta: Mini Penne with Zucchini Pistou (My Mom made this while I cooked breakfast for everyone). We used toasted walnuts instead of pine nuts, reduced the garlic to 2 cloves, and we forgot to add the shaved Parmesan on top.  I added a cherry tomato half and small basil leaf as garnish.

Vegetable: Diced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with a little olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. A mozzarella cheese flower was the garnish.

Fruit: Strawberry Melon Spinach Salad – We added the dressing right before eating. It was delicious! When I prepared the melon for this salad, I cut flower shapes for garnish. I added a fresh blueberry with a small piece of angel hair pasta. It softened by lunch.

 

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Hyena Bento

Hyena Lunch

My 8 year old nephew requested a Hyena lunch for our day at the zoo. He helped by painting on the eye and dots with a mixture of food coloring and water. I made the fact card to go along with this lunch.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Background: Homemade cheese pizza slices, snow peas

Hyena: Cheese quesadilla, eye & dots (black food coloring)

Elephant & Giraffe Picks: Black olives

Nuts: Pistachios

Fruit: Pineapple

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Muffin Tin Monday The Desert

The Desert Muffin Tin

My 14 year old niece requested a muffin tin meal. They are now popular among my niece and nephews. They love my bento lunches and muffin tin lunches provide “something different” for lunches at home.

Top Row:

  • Camel Animal Crackers
  • Chocolate turtle (I melted chocolate, placed in ziplock bag, cut corner, piped into turtle shape, and put in the freezer until I made the lunch) on sand (graham cracker crumbs)
  • Palm trees (flour tortilla with food coloring, baked in oven until crisp and lightly browned) in sand (couscous)

Bottom Row:

  • Cactus (asparagus) on sand (cashews)
  • Water at the oasis (blueberries)
  • Pyramid (onigiri with corn and shredded cheddar)

Linking to:

AnotherLunch

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Tanabata Party

Tanabata Party Food

Tanabata is a Japanese star festival. According to a folktale, Hikoboshi (star Altair) and Orihime (star Vega) were lovers and separated by the Milky Way to only meet once a year. Typically people celebrate on July 7.

Since I was a kid I loved learning about other cultures and especially holidays. In college I studied Japanese language and culture. I have lived in Japan and visited many times. I love celebrating holidays and throwing parties. I enjoyed my Hinamatsuri party so much that immediately afterward I started planning this Tanabata party. A friend who lives in Japan was amazing and sent me many fun Tanabata things to use. Eight children and three adults attended this party.

We made decorations, wrote out wishes, and hung them from bamboo. I had so much fun searching for, coming up with and making themed food for this party. My young guests were thrilled to celebrate with us and learn a little about this Japanese festival.

Table setting:

  • Black paper plates
  • Black and white paper straws (from Michaels)
  • Black napkins with white stars (from Michaels)
  • Silver plastic tablecloth

Tanabata Table Setting

Tanabata Tablesetting

Drinks:

I choose dark drinks to be reminiscent of the night sky.

  • Chocolate milk
  • Grape juice

Grape Juice

Grape Juice

Food:

  • Blue tortilla chips with salsa
  • Edamame
  • Fruit cups with stars (apple shooting stars, watermelon stars, red grapes, blueberries, pineapple)
  • Alfredo Pasta Pie with Toasted Bread Stars (I did not exactly follow the recipe, I made my own cheese sauce and used cheddar. I did not use the basil, tomatoes, and green onions because I was serving kids. I did not put the bread stars under the pasta.) with Hikoboshi & Orihime (inspired by this.) I made their bodies out of bell pepper, faces out of cheese, and hair details are from dried seaweed. I put the characters on after baking but their faced did eventually melt into the hot pasta.
  • Tanabata layered rice (I was inspired by this.) I filled mine with sauteed onion, black beans, and diced tomatoes. I topped it with snow pea and 2 stars.
  • Roasted Zucchini
  • Make your own Milky Way Pasta (I made spaghetti and tossed with a little butter. The kids put cucumber and carrot stars on top and added paper  Hikoboshi & Orihime picks.) I re-sized this to make the picks.
  • Star shaped rice balls with melted cheese
  • Star dish with Japanese snacks

Tanabata Fruit Cups

Tanabata Fruit Cups

Tanabata Pasta Pie

Tanabata Pasta Pie

Tanabata Layered Rice

Tanabata Rice

Make Your Own Milky Way Pasta

Make Your Own Milky Way

Star Cheese Onigiri

Cheese Star Onigiri

Star Snack

Star Snack

Dessert:

  • MilkyWay candy
  • Star brownies with powdered sugar and sprinkle stars (I used Ghirardelli Double Chocolate mix)
  • Tanabata cookies (I was inspired by this)
  • Grape jam tarts (I made a pie crust, fitted into a mini muffin pan, spooned in grape jam, added 2 stars and baked)

MilkyWay Candy

Milky Way Candy

Grape Tanabata Tartlets

Grape Jam Tartlets

Star Bownies

Star Brownies

Tanabata Cookies

Tanabata Cookies

Decorations:

Tanabata Bamboo

Tanabata Bamboo

Tanzaku (Wishes)

Tanzaku

Tanzaku Paper and Ties

Tanzaku Paper and Ties

Tanabata Net Decoration

Tanabata Net Decoration

Tanabata Decoration Kit

Tanabata Decoration Kit

Tanabata Decorations

Tanabata Decorations

Favors:

Tanabata Folder with Stickers

Tanabata Folders

Back of Tanabata Chocolate

Back of Tanabata Chocolate

Tanabata Chocolate Open

Tanabata Chocolate

Posted in Crafts, Food, Party Planning | Tagged , , | 28 Comments