Thankful Bento Blog Hop

Posted on November 15, 2012 by eclecticlamb

I am pleased to join Bento Bloggers and Friends on this “I’m thankful for…” blog hop. After viewing my post, please click on the Thanks button to continue on to the next blogs to see the many bento interpretations of thankful.

Vegetables: Spinach, carrots, and purple cabbage (to represent the color of my house).

Main: The turret is pie crust filled with diced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. It was delicious!

Cookies: Stained glass gingerbread cookies (to represent the stained glass windows on my house). I used this method for the stained glass windows.

I am thankful for my house.

Ever since I was a kid and read Anastasia Again by Lois Lowry, I wanted to live in a house that had a turret. For awhile I had a hobby of photographing houses with turrets. Six years ago when my husband and I looked for a house, a purple Victorian home with a turret was available. Purple would not be my choice of house color but it does not need to be painted yet. I love our home and am thankful to live in such a unique and beautiful house.

My turret

Please click on the Thanks button below to see the bentos done by Lunches Fit For a Kid.

Thanks Blog Hop

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , , , | 55 Comments

Week 45 Open Base Needlewoven Picot

Posted on November 14, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The stitch for week 45 of TAST was the Open Base Needlewoven Picot stitch. It is similar to the Closed Base Needlewoven Picot but it has a wider base. I enjoyed learning this stitch.

Posted in Embroidery | 11 Comments

Mickey Bento

Posted on November 12, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This was a quick and easy lunch. In the time that it took to cook the pasta, the rest of the meal was ready.

The Mickey pasta was a gift from my 10 year old niece. The watermelon was inspired by this cute bento from Bento School Lunches.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Pasta: Mickey Pasta with a little butter and Parmesan cheese. I used a spinach leaf to highlight Mickey and his glove.

Vegetable: Carrot slices and cucumber shaped as Mickey’s glove with dried blueberry accents.

Fruit: Watermelon shaped as Mickey.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 12 Comments

My First Flower Show Entry

Posted on November 10, 2012 by eclecticlamb

My garden club district held a flower show during their semi-annual meeting. I am glad that I entered. It was a great experience. I made the above three brooches and picked the one to submit in the parking lot of the flower show.

I know that my brooches are very simple. My design aesthetic tends to be simple. So in hindsight a typical brooch is not suited to my aesthetic. I should have pushed myself out of my comfort zone. But I like my brooches and I did not enter to win. I entered for the experience. I do not have design experience so my goal was to not be disqualified. There are many ways an entry into a flower show can be disqualified before the judge sees it. But I followed the rules and my entry was submitted for judging.

I signed up to clerk during the flower show. Clerks assist the judges by holding up or moving the item to be judged. Clerks also attach ribbons and do other tasks as necessary. I could not clerk for judges that were judging my entry but the judges I was assigned happened to be close to the judges evaluating the brooches. I was able to hear a little and watch in a mirror. I could see in a mirror that they spent a long time judging but did not spend time looking at mine. They focused on the other three.

My entry was in the Artistic Crafts section, Class 1 “Sparkling Friends”. I consulted the contact for the flower show and was told that my brooch did not need to be sparkling. But the judges focused on the word “sparkling” during their review.

Some things I was able to hear the judges say (I am assuming that it was about my brooch).

  • “Not sparkling.”
  • “Not enough plant material.”
  • something about the “proportion of a bow.”
  • “My 3 year old grandson could have done that.”

Ribbon and Comment Card

Some comments and observations from attendees of the flower show.

  • “I like this one”
  • “Very nice”
  • “That is too delicate!”
  • Some visitors took photos of it.

First place brooch

Second place brooch

Third place brooch

Honorable mention brooch

Posted in Crafts | 12 Comments

Cornucopia Bento

Posted on November 9, 2012 by eclecticlamb

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Vegetables: Sugar snap peas and carrots

Bread: French bread shaped as cornucopia (see note)

Fruit: Seckel pear

Protein: Colby jack cheese cut into fruit and vegetable shapes

Note: Over the years I have made many cornucopia shaped breads. The first time I made a bread cornucopia I used directions from a magazine. There are many different directions available on the internet. I make the shape out of aluminum foil. I then spray the foil and shape the bread around it. After it is baked, I carefully remove the foil.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged | 2 Comments

Week 44 Closed Base Needlewoven Picot

Posted on November 8, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The stitch for week 44 of TAST was the Closed Base Needlewoven Picot stitch. As is typical when I learn new stitches this stitch took some practice. My last try worked out the best. The Closed Base Needlewoven Picot stitch would be great for leaves and flower petals.

Posted in Embroidery | 1 Comment

Italy Bento

Posted on November 4, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This was made in the summer. My niece and I made this easy lunch. She was 13 at the time but is now 14.

Container: Sistema Klip It to Go

Main: Penne with Wegmans Pasta Sauce

Decoration: Italy flag and country shape (zucchini)

Fruit: Green grapes

Vegetable: Pan sauteed zucchini (from the garden) with dried oregano, salt and pepper

Country flag picks

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 5 Comments

Halloween Treats 2012

Posted on October 31, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This is some of what we will be handing out to trick-or-treaters this year. Typically we get about 250 kids come to our door seeking treats. I like to give something special to the first 25 trick-or-treaters. This year my Mom and I made and filled candy corn bags. The tutorial was great but it did take us quite a bit longer to make the bags than stated in the tutorial.

Felt Candy Corn Bags

Posted in Crafts | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Spiderweb Pumpkin Cheesecake

Posted on October 30, 2012 by eclecticlamb

  • Pumpkin cheesecake with sour cream topping
  • Spun sugar spiderweb
  • Chocolate spiders

My husband and I made this several years ago before I had a blog. The photo is not great and the spiderweb is not perfect but we were still impressed with it.

The recipe was from an American woman’s magazine but I am not sure which one. I could not find this exact recipe online. I recycled the recipe. It was a lot of work to make the web so I did not think I would make it again. Also my family makes fun of me for not making things more than once. I like to move on to the next challenge.

For a similar but easier version here is a recipe from Taste of Home.

Posted in Food | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Jack O’ Lantern Themed Dinner

Posted on October 27, 2012 by eclecticlamb

My family and I prepared and enjoyed a jack o’ lantern themed meal. Each course had a jack o’ lantern face and all but one course had pumpkin.

Appetizer: Pumpkin cheese ball with crackers, carrots, and sugar snap peas

I did not use a recipe for this. I took 4 oz of cream cheese and added some herbs, black pepper and some shredded sharp cheddar. I put the mixture in a piece of plastic wrap and used my hands to form a pumpkin shape. Then, I attached more shredded cheese to the outside of the pumpkin shape. My Mom decorated it with a sugar snap pea, black olives, and carrot.

Main: Potato-onion blintzes and roasted pumpkin with cinnamon

For the potato blintzes I mostly used the recipe from Sunset Menus & Recipes for Vegetarian Cooking 1981 page 56. But you can use any savory crepe recipe and filling. Our filling includes sauteed onions, homemade mashed potatoes, sharp cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. We decorated with sour cream and roasted pumpkin seeds.

Dessert: No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake with dark chocolate features, puffed pastry with Ben and Jerry’s pumpkin cheesecake ice cream

We used individual graham cracker shells for the no-bake pumpkin cheesecake. The faces were made with melted dark chocolate piped on parchment paper. We let them set in the refrigerator. I cut pumpkin shapes out of puffed pastry, scored with a knife (did not go deep enough), then sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice before baking. The pumpkin cheesecake ice cream went great with the puffed pastry.

Posted in Food, Party Planning | 8 Comments

Week 43 Buttonhole Wheel Cups

Posted on October 26, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The stitch for week 43 of TAST was the Buttonhole Wheel Cup. I did not pay close enough to the directions with my first two attempts (sampler below). The spokes on the wheel need to be close for the cup part to look nice. The photo above is my third attempt.

Posted in Embroidery | 2 Comments

Bagel Jack O’ Lantern Bento

Posted on October 24, 2012 by eclecticlamb

Container: ECO Lunchbox

Fruit: Orange sections with raisins (Jack o’ lantern face)

Sandwiches: Homemade mini bagels with pumpkin cream cheese (cream cheese, canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice), roasted pumpkin seeds (eyes), black olives (faces), sugar snap peas (stems)

Vegetables: baby carrots, sugar snap peas, lettuce (behind bagels)

Linking up at:
Bento Lunch Bento Blog Network

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 5 Comments

Japanese Themed Birthday Party

Posted on October 23, 2012 by eclecticlamb

My niece had a Japanese themed birthday party for her 14th birthday party with family. The focus of the theme was nature (crane, maple leaf, cherry blossom, and bamboo). We planned an Americanized version of Japanese food because many of the party attendees are not adventurous eaters. The guests enjoyed the theme and food.

Decorations:

  • Birthday banner in Japanese
  • Cherry blossom branches
  • Origami cranes
  • Pictures of Japanese nature
  • Chopstick rests – We modified this idea. Instead of scrap booking rub-ons I printed out clip-art (maple leaf, cherry blossom and bamboo) and then used Mod Podge.
  • Origami Nature Centerpieces – We used origami paper and folded bamboo, maple leaf and standing crane. We cut out a cherry blossom shape. I made labels for each nature in Japanese and taped to each cup.We attached the nature item on a stick to the top of a cup.

Cherry Blossom Branches

Hanging Cranes, Photos of Japan, Cherry Blossoms

Chopstick Rests

Chopsticks on Rest

Party Tables with Centerpieces

Appetizers:

  • Vegetable and cheese tray with rice crackers
  • Almond crush pokey
  • Wasabi dried peas
  • Roasted seaweed
  • Apple swans with caramel dip & cut apples
  • Sushi (from Wegmans)
  • Origami crane wontons

Vegetable Tray with Cheese and Rice Crackers

Close-up of Vegetables

Wasabi Peas in Paper Box

Apple Swan

Wonton Origami Cranes

Main Meal:

Vegetable Gyoza

Black Bean and Corn Wonton Cups

Fruit and Yogurt Wonton Cups

Dessert:

Dessert Sushi

Cherry Cake

Japanese Flag Cookies

Activity:

14 questions about Japan. The winner was the first to get dessert.

Posted in Party Planning | 6 Comments

Cheese and Crackers Butterfly Bento

Posted on October 22, 2012 by eclecticlamb

My friend and I made this lunch for her 4 year old daughter. Her daughter was very happy with this cute lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Crackers: Pepperidge Farm Butterfly Crackers

Cheese: Cheddar cheese

Fruit: Apple slices cut into butterflies with apple skin accent

Yogurt: Wegmans Honey Greek Yogurt with star sprinkles

Linking to:
Eats Amazing World Book Day Linkies

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 1 Comment

Week 42 Italian Border Stitch

Posted on October 21, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The stitch for week 42 of TAST was the Italian Border stitch. I enjoyed working with this easy stitch.

I did not notice until I took the photo that I stitched the words on the wrong side of the piece. It is upside down!

Posted in Embroidery | 5 Comments

Domino Costume Halloween Bento Hop

Posted on October 17, 2012 by eclecticlamb

I am happy to join my fellow Bento Bloggers & Friends on this Halloween themed blog hop. Please follow the hop button on each blog to see all of the Halloween themed bentos.

While brainstorming for this lunch I thought about trick-or-treating as a kid. Three of my costumes immediately came to mind.

  • Fairy: my wings were so large my parents had to turn me to get out of the door (I was 3)
  • Skeleton: my Dad and I made the mask out of paper mache but I cried when I put it on because it scared me
  • Domino: my Dad and I made the costume out of a paper box. It was difficult to maneuver stairs while trick-or-treating

Domino trick-or-treater: cheese and mustard sandwich — hair (wheat spaghetti), head (white bread), eyes (Wilton candy eyes), neck & hands (radish), nose & mouth (sprinkles), green shirt & pants (snow pea), domino (pumpernickel bread & sugar confetti), shoes (black beans)

Pumpkin candy holder: pumpkin (carrot), jack-0-lantern face (food coloring), handle (licorice)

Seeds: pumpkin seeds

Fruit: mini caramel apples with butterscotch chips

Click on the image below to go to Lunch, Snack and “Sninner” to see Tracie’s Halloween themed bento lunch.

Halloween Blog Hop

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , | 40 Comments

Week 41 Knotted Loop Stitch

Posted on October 16, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The stitch for week 41 of TAST was the Knotted Loop stitch. At first I struggled with learning this stitch. But once I figured it out I had fun varying the stitch.

Posted in Embroidery | 1 Comment

Fall Leaf Bento

Posted on October 15, 2012 by eclecticlamb

My friend and I made this lunch for her 7 year old daughter.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Fruit: Apple leaves, Wegmans Fruit Flat (veins on leaf sandwich)

Sandwich: Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jam on wheat bread

Vegetable: Carrots

Dairy: Wegmans Blueberry Greek Yogurt (leaf sprinkles)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 10 Comments

Falling Leaves Bento Lunch

Posted on October 14, 2012 by eclecticlamb

On Columbus Day I went on a hike and picnic with my niece (13) and nephew (8). We went to Linear Park in Penfield, NY. It was a beautiful fall day with falling leaves. The hike was fun and our lunches were delicious.

Containers: EasyLunchBoxes and Mini Dippers

Leaves: Tortilla leaves with assorted herbs. I had fun raiding my pantry to find cinnamon, paprika, oregano, basil, and marjoram.

Vegetable: Salsa

Nuts: Almonds

Fruit: Apple and acorn slices with cinnamon

Close-up of Leaf and Acorn apple slices

Close-up of tortilla leaves

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 7 Comments

Week 40 Beaded Hedebo Edge

Posted on October 13, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The stitch for week 40 of TAST was the Beaded Hedebo Edge. I enjoyed working with this stitch. I am not a beader so I did not have a great selection of beads for this sampler. But I used what I had in my craft room. I can imagine many uses for this stitch using different beads.

Close-up of Beaded Hedebo Stitch

Posted in Embroidery | 1 Comment

Dance Themed Slumber Party

Posted on October 12, 2012 by eclecticlamb

I enjoyed helping with a dance themed slumber party for a 13th birthday.

Invitations

The birthday girl knew she wanted a star shaped handcrafted invitation that folded up. I designed a prototype and once approved, we worked together to make the invitations. It was a fun collaboration.

Outside of Invitations (stamp, stickers, and silver ribbon)

Inside of Invitation

Decorations

The birthday girl and I worked together on the cardboard cut-outs. I love how they turned out.

  • Star and musical note cardboard cut-outs
  • Jazz positions silhouettes
  • Paper circle garlands
  • White lights
  • Dance costumes hung with mantel stocking hangers

Star & Musical Note Cardboard Cutouts

Mantel Decorations

After School Snack

  • Town House crackers
  • Strawberries and grapes
  • Colby-Jack and Mild Cheddar Cheese
  • Water

Dinner Table

Dinner Menu

  • Salad with carrot stars
  • Ballerina croutons (used a ballerina cookie cutter with this recipe)
  • Linguini and Penne
  • Tomato and Alfredo sauces
  • Garlic Bread
  • Fruit Kabobs
  • Punch
  • Cupcake fondue with mini chocolate cupcakes, chocolate glaze, and assorted sprinkles

Star Salad

Ballerina Crouton

Fruit Kabobs

Punch & Personalized Cups

Cupcake Fondue

Activities

  • Take photos of birthday girl with each guest (for thank you cards)
  • Customize journals (used composition notebooks)
  • Just Dance
  • Movie – Another Cinderella Story 2008 with Selena Gomez

Close-up of Breakfast Table

Breakfast Menu

  • Mini bagels (cinnamon sugar and plain)
  • Butter, plain cream cheese, and strawberry cream cheese
  • Make own breakfast parfait (yogurt, cereal, granola, fresh pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, and grapes)
  • Hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles

Mini Bagels

Parfait Ingredients

Parfait

Favors

Post-it Notes with Cover

Posted in Party Planning | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Week 39 Knotted Buttonhole Stitch

Posted on October 10, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The stitch for week 39 of TAST was the Knotted Buttonhole stitch. There are many different types of knotted buttonhole stitch. We learned the version with the knot at the bottom.

I found this stitch to be easy and enjoyable.

Posted in Embroidery | 3 Comments

Buffalo Bills Bento

Posted on October 9, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This week the Bento of the Week (BOTW) theme at the Bento Blog Network is “Favorite Team”. I don’t follow sports but my 8 year old nephew follows several teams. He requested a Buffalo Bills themed lunch.

Container: EasyLunchBox

Sandwich: Wheat bread with Raspberry jam

Lettering: Carrot

Logo: Stencil, blue and red sugar

Protein: Almonds

Fruit: Kiwi football

Linking up at:
Bento Lunch Bento Blog Network

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Napkin Ring Tutorial

Posted on October 9, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This past summer my in-laws celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with a country barn dance. It was held at their farm and my mother-in-law self-catered a majority of the meal for 300 guests. I designed and created napkin bundles.

The napkins and plates were an elegant green/gray. I decided on corn and 40 as the two choices. I came up with two prototypes and let my mother-in-law choose.

For the 40 napkin ring choice I scanned in the napkin and modified this from Merriment Design. The design is a modification of a Martha Stewart napkin ring.

Prototype of 40 Napkin Ring

As you already know since at the top of this post is an image of the corn napkin rings, my mother-in-law decided on the corn.

Close-up of Corn Napkin Rings in Basket

I needed to make 300 paper circles. I first bought the Martha Stewart 1.5 inch circle punch. I had a lot of problems punching clean edge circles. Since I live in the countryside I had to drive an hour back to the city to buy another hole punch. I bought the Fiskars punch and was relieved when I got home that it worked great. It was easier on my hands and the result was a perfectly cut circle.

Left: Fiskars Punch, Right: Martha Stewart Punch

Instructions to make napkin rings:

1. Draw and color image of your choice.

2. Scan image and create a transparent background.

3. Create page of images (to print many at one time).

4. Print images onto card stock color of your choice.

5. Use Fiskars 1.5 inch punch to cut out circles.

6. Use small hole punch to punch holes on either side of disk. (See image below)

7. Thread ribbon through circle. (I used 1/8 inch ribbon – 10 yards on the roll)

8. Fold napkin with knife, fork, and spoon inside.

9. Tie napkin ring on napkin bundle.

If you want to use my corn napkin rings, just leave a comment and I will send you the file.

Linking at:
Tip

Posted in Crafts | 3 Comments

World Animal Day Lamb Bento

Posted on October 4, 2012 by eclecticlamb

In celebration of World Animal Day I am happy to join my fellow Bento Bloggers & Friends on an animal themed blog hop. Each blog  is featuring a different animal themed lunch. Of course I choose lambs.

I am excited that this is my first time using EasyLunchboxes. My lamb themed bento is a quick and easy lunch to prepare.

Fruit: Kiwi

Vegetable: Cauliflower

Background: Wegmans Spinach-Garlic & Pesto Tortilla

Lamb Sandwiches: Arnold Pocket Thins Flatbread (Italian herb) with peanut butter and fruit roll-ups (facial features)

Grass: Sprouts

Click on the button below to continue on the hop and to Sarah’s (More than your average Mom) awesome Owl lunch.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged , , | 33 Comments

Week 38 Drizzle Stitch

Posted on October 2, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The stitch for week 38 of TAST was the Drizzle stitch. I struggled with this stitch. It took me a LONG time to complete the few stitches on this sampler. I normally do not enjoy threading needles and this stitch requires re-threading as part of the stitch. I liked the cast-on part of the stitch but had trouble with getting my needle back through the fabric. I started with the milliners needle as recommended but I had more success without it. I tried different threads and had the most success with 2 strands of DMC. My biggest troubles were re-threading the needle and getting the needle back into the fabric after creating the drizzle.

But there are people who can successfully create beautiful work with the drizzle. I really appreciated this beautiful lamb stitched by Crazy Q Stitcher. Also check out the comments on this post for some beautiful examples of the stitch.

Posted in Embroidery | 3 Comments

Bagel Bento

Posted on September 26, 2012 by eclecticlamb

I made this for my 8 year old nephew. It was a simple and quick lunch assembled from breakfast leftovers (I added the pistachios for protein and crunch). It was  not a cute lunch but my nephew thought it was delicious.

Fruit: raspberries

Protein: pistachio nuts

Starch: homemade mini sesame bagels with homemade apricot jam

Linking up at:
Bento Lunch Bento Blog Network

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 4 Comments

Bento Blog Network Anniversary

Posted on September 22, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This week is the 1 year anniversary for the Bento Blog Network. In celebration I made this simple bento. I discovered Diana’s site about 6 months ago. I enjoy creating bentos to fit her weekly theme. Some of my most successful bentos were created for the Bento Blog Network weekly contest. Happy blogiversary Diana!

Main: cheese quesadilla with green pepper lettering

Candle: pretzel stick, cheese, Wegmans fruit flat

Yogurt: plain Greek yogurt with sparkling sugar confetti

Fruit: sliced apples

Bento Blog Network

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 6 Comments

Talk Like A Pirate Bento Blog Hop

Posted on September 19, 2012 by eclecticlamb

Treasure Chest with Vegetable Treasure: French bread baked in a mini loaf pan, mini corn, peas, carrots, and peas & carrot necklaces

Skull: White chocolate with milk chocolate features (cheddar cheese under skull)

Pirate Monkey: White cheddar, Sargento ultra thin mild cheddar, Wilton candy eye, M&M, licorice, dried blueberries

Fruit: Pineapple, strawberries and grapes with pirate lingo picks

Every Blogger Buccaneer in this here Hop has a piece of the treasure map! You’ll need to “collect” each piece and put them together in the right order to find the treasure! You’ll want some parchment and a quill, to keep a log with each clue and each number, because there are 39 scurvy pirates running amok with 39 pieces o’ the map to collect! 37 pieces will guide you to the hidden treasure (by spelling out the URL where you can enter to win!) and there are 2 bonus pieces with the “secret passwords” to get two chances to win some pirate booty!

This here’s my piece o’ the map! Good luck, Mateys!

Kathy

The Giveaway runs this week only, ending Sunday September 23 at Midnight EST.

Click on t’ Jolly Roger below t’ see t’ avast lunch Sarah o’ Zoe’s Lunchbox created.

Photobucket

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 38 Comments

From the Garden Bento

Posted on September 14, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This lunch was fresh from the garden (mine and my grandmother-in-law’s). The Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese is a typical summer staple for me. I added the crackers for an extra “crunch” factor.

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 2 Comments

Weeks 36 & 37 TAST Catch-up & Pistil Stitch

Posted on September 13, 2012 by eclecticlamb

Week 36 was a catch-up week. I was already caught up so I spent time stitching the baptismal stoles.

The stitch for week 37 of TAST was the Pistil stitch. I found this stitch to be easy and fun and expect to use it again.

Posted in Embroidery | 2 Comments

Ballet Positions Bento

Posted on September 12, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This week the Bento of the Week (BOTW) theme at the Bento Blog Network is “Dance”. I made a stencil for the first three ballet positions.

Bento Box: ECO Lunchbox

Fruit: Apples with music picks

Main: Rice with carrots, green pepper, and tomatoes (vegetables fresh from the garden)

1, 2, and 3rd Positions: Kraft Three Cheese Blend (Parmesan, Romano, & Asiago Cheeses)

Ballet Positions Stencil

Linking up at:
Bento Lunch Bento Blog Network

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 6 Comments

Hand Embroidered Baptism Stoles

Posted on September 10, 2012 by eclecticlamb

I embroider Baptism stoles for my parent’s church. Several members of the church hand embroider these Baptismal garments. My parent’s church baptizes over 150 babies each year.

Candle and embroidered stole

Dove and trinity symbol stitched with variegated thread

Dove and paschal lamb

Shell and trinity symbol

Trinity symbol and dove stitched with variegated thread

I would be happy to hand embroider a stole, bib, or other christening / baptism garments for you. Please contact me to discuss details.

Patterns we use to hand embroider the baptism stoles

Posted in Embroidery | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Summer Tea Bento

Posted on September 4, 2012 by eclecticlamb

  • Unsweetened Iced Tea with lemon
  • Mini bagels with cream cheese, pepper, and cucumber slices
  • Watermelon and blueberries
  • Apricot and Oat scones (Martha Stewart Baking Handbook)
  • Apricot jam (low sugar, homemade – I picked the apricots myself), and fresh whipped cream
  • Dill and mint from my herb garden
  • Container – Single Serve Hefty EZ OvenWare (has a cover)

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 2 Comments

Week 35 Sheaf Stitch

Posted on September 2, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The TAST stitch for Week 35 was the Sheaf stitch. It is an easy and quick stitch.

Posted in Embroidery | 3 Comments

Doctor Who Bento Blog Hop

Posted on August 31, 2012 by eclecticlamb

When I was a child my dad watched Doctor Who. I was often drawn into an episode but I don’t think I ever watched an entire show. I found parts of Doctor Who too scary to watch. I have not seen it as an adult but I am nostalgic for it and enjoyed making this themed bento.

I am happy to join my fellow Bento Bloggers & Friends on this Doctor Who themed blog hop. Please follow the hop button on each blog to see all of the Doctor Who themed bentos.

Doctor Who Lettering: carrot

Background: tortilla

Dalek: pumpernickel bread, wheat bread, silver Wilton color mist, angel hair pasta

Vegetable: crinkle cut carrots

Fruit: champagne grapes

Click on the image below to go to Molly’s Lunch Box to see Shannon’s awesome Doctor Who themed bento lunch.

Doctor Who Hop

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 10 Comments

Week 34 Linked Double Chain Stitch

Posted on August 30, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The TAST stitch for Week 34 was the Linked Double Chain stitch. I was not fond of this stitch but I don’t think I like any stitch that involves the twisted chain.

Posted in Embroidery | 1 Comment

Back to School Bento

Posted on August 29, 2012 by eclecticlamb

I made this bento for my 10 year old nephew. It was his first day of 6th grade at a new school. My nephew enjoys math so I decided on a math theme. The carrots and cucumber are supposed to show an equal sign.

  • Pistachios
  • Ranch dip
  • Tortilla background
  • Grade and name of school cut out of cheddar cheese (dried blueberry between number and letter)
  • Peanut butter puzzle sandwich with Wegmans Fruit Flat math operation signs (second time to use my lunch punch puzzle cutter)
  • Raspberries
  • Cucumber and carrot (equal sign)

Linking up at:
Bento Lunch Bento Blog Network

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 7 Comments

Mouse Bento

Posted on August 22, 2012 by eclecticlamb

My 8 year old nephew planned this bento. I gave him my animal cookie cutters and the mouse inspired him. His sister and I just helped a little with styling.

Background: tortilla

Mouse hole: red pepper

Border: Wheat thins and pepper jack cheese

Mouse: wheat bread and pepper jack cheese sandwich with Wilton Candy eye on a spinach leaf

Rainier Cherries

Mouse trap: Wheat thins and pepper jack cheese with pistachios

Linking up at:
Bento Lunch

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 4 Comments

Dinner with Edible Bowls

Posted on August 19, 2012 by eclecticlamb

My 15 year old nephew wanted to make a meal with edible bowls. This is the same nephew who when he was young wanted to make a dinosaur shaped bread that stood up. (we made it happen)

Since I am a vegetarian I required that this dinner be vegetarian. My nephew did almost all of the cooking. I mostly just gave some advice and helped clean as he worked.

During the photo shoot I came up with the idea of adding a sage leaf to the soup. I ran out to my herb garden to get a leaf. If I had planned ahead, a sage leaf pan fried in butter would have been great.

The Parmesan cup recipe is here from Food and Wine. My nephew designed the salad: romaine lettuce, mandarin oranges, toasted walnuts, and Wegmans Raspberry Vinaigrette.

The bread bowl recipe is from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. The soup is a Potato Cheddar Chowder from Vegetarian Times.

Salad in Parmesan cup

We had a lot of trouble with edible bowls for the ice cream. We tried the balloon dipped in chocolate idea. Our balloons stuck to the chocolate. There was no way to separate them. So we gave up on the chocolate bowl and tried a cookie bowl. Nephew found a chocolate chip cookie bowl recipe and directions from Michael Ruhlman. We also struggled with this. We tried a few times without success. The cookie tasted amazing but we could not release the bottom of the cup in one beautiful piece. Our ice cream was served in the cookie rings. Not exactly a bowl but it looked cute and tasted great.

Black Raspberry ice cream topped with whipped cream served in a cookie ring

This was an ambitious meal but a great activity for a teen nephew and Aunt.

Posted in Food | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Week 33 Pekinese Stitch

Posted on August 18, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The TAST stitch for Week 33 was the Pekinese stitch. It is a simple stitch but I struggled with threads and ripped out a lot of stitches. It was not my first time working with the Pekinese stitch.

Pekinese attempted several years ago

Posted in Embroidery | 3 Comments

Bear Puzzle Bento

Posted on August 17, 2012 by eclecticlamb

I made this especially for Fancy Sandwich Friday at Beneficial Bento. It is raining this morning so I could not get good photos.

I assembled this meal quickly with food I had in the house. My husband went out in the rain to pick the cherry tomatoes from our garden. I used my new puzzle Lunch Punch for the first time.

Sandwich: wheat bread, peanut butter, homemade low sugar raspberry jam, cheddar cheese, dried blueberries, and tortilla (to eat with the cheese bear).

Vegetables: green pepper and cherry tomatoes

Fruit: peaches

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 8 Comments

Bake Sale Food

Posted on August 16, 2012 by eclecticlamb

We made caramel popcorn, cheese bread, and cookie pops for a bake sale at my in-law’s church.

Caramel Popcorn

My husband made his family’s favorite caramel popcorn recipe.

Ingredients

3 quarts air popped popcorn

1 1/2 cups peanuts (optional)

Cooking spray

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Method

Place popped corn and peanuts (if using) in large paper bag.

Coat 2 quart microwave-safe bowl with cooking spray. In prepared bowl, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt. Microwave on high 3 – 4 minutes, stirring after each minute until mixture boils. Stir and microwave 2 minutes more. Stir in baking soda.

Pour syrup over popcorn in bag. Close bag and shake well. Microwave on high 1 1/2 minutes. Shake well. Microwave 1 1/2 minutes more. Shake and spread out to cool and separate.

Caution: Microwave cooking times will vary depending on your microwave. Be careful when microwaving popcorn and syrup together as it will burn if left in too long.

Cheese Bread

Sunset Menus & Recipes for Vegetarian Cooking, 1981. I think that this bread is best toasted and buttered.

Cookie Pop

I followed the recipe and directions from Claire K Creations.

My baking did not go as planned. It was 90 degrees with 88% humidity – not ideal baking weather for a kitchen without air-conditioning. I wanted to wrap a box in bright paper and stick the pops into it but I could not guarantee that they would not wilt. Some of the cookies did not end up firm enough to send to the bake sale.

They tasted great. At the bake sale they put the cookies in a mason jar. They sold fast!

Posted in Food | 4 Comments

Lego Bento

Posted on August 15, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This lego themed lunch was fun to make. My 8 year old nephew thought it was fun to eat.

Lego Bricks

  • Blackberry yogurt: I dyed some bricks blue and kept some natural. I froze the yogurt in a building bricks silicon mold. Inspiration was from Veggie-Bento via a guest post on Bentoriffic.
  • Watermelon: I used a large pastry bag tip to make the Lego dots.
  • Cheddar cheese: I used a small pastry bag tip to make the Lego dots.
  • Bread: I baked drop biscuit dough and french bread dough in a building blocks silicon mold. I used both types to see which one turned out better. The drop biscuit dough resulted in holes instead of bumps. The french bread dough resulted in a few bumps and a few holes. The drop biscuit dough was more consistent.

Lego Man with Shield

  • Man: I froze chocolate in a mini Lego figure ice cube tray
  • Shield: I cut a shield from a Wegmans Fruit Flat. I decorated the shield with a sprinkle leaf.
  • I used melted chocolate to attach the shield to the Lego man.

Linking up at:
Bento Lunch Bento Blog Network KitchenFun

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | Tagged | 16 Comments

Week 32 Cast-on Stitch

Posted on August 14, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The TAST stitch for Week 32 was the Algerian Eye stitch.

I enjoyed this stitch and expect to use it again.

Posted in Embroidery | Comments Off on Week 32 Cast-on Stitch

Bento Tips – Sandwich Backgrounds

Posted on August 12, 2012 by eclecticlamb

I continue to experiment with edible backgrounds for my bentos. I make a lot of American food bentos because that is what my nieces and nephews will eat. Many of my bentos contain some type of sandwich. I love the look of a full Japanese bento but it is more difficult to obtain with a sandwich. My goal is a background that looks nice and the kid will eat.

Benefits of putting food backgrounds under a cute sandwich.

  • Increases calories for a bento with a small cute sandwich (for older kids)
  • Adds volume so less food shifting during travel
  • Raises the fun factor

Blueberries under letter sandwiches

Celery sticks and spinach under a Zebra sandwich

Lettuce under a torch quesadilla

Blue tortilla chips under a Saturn bagel

Popcorn under an airplane sandwich

I have tried and would recommend the following backgrounds:

  • blueberries
  • celery (thinly sliced sticks)
  • lettuce
  • popcorn (air popped)
  • snow peas
  • spinach (raw)
  • tortilla chips
  • tortillas (I used flour)

I have tried and caution against using the following backgrounds:

  • caramel popcorn (not as healthy, only as special treat)
  • M&M’s (not as healthy, only as special treat)
  • pistachios in a shell (takes time to eat and only safe for an older child)

If you have suggestions for sandwich backgrounds, please leave a comment.

Thanks!

Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 1 Comment

Adirondacks Bento

Posted on August 7, 2012 by eclecticlamb

For this vacation themed bento I made a bread canoe. Canoes remind me of summers at our family property in the Adirondacks  (Hamilton County, NY). I love canoeing on a calm lake in the morning or evening.

Canoe: French bread with cheese lettering (see below)

Paddle: pretzel stick with chocolate

Lake: blueberries

Trail mix: Wegmans Berry Pistachio blend

Adirondack Pack Basket: carrots, chives, cucumber (see below)

Supplies used to make a carrot basket

Carrot basket tutorial

Supplies:

  • Mandoline slicer (vertical carrot strips)
  • Vegetable peeler (horizontal carrot strips)
  • Carrots
  • Cucumber sliced to size of desired basket
  • Sharp knife (to cut the carrot strips in half lengthwise)
  • Pins (to hold vertical carrot strips while weaving horizontal strips)
  • Chives (to hold top of basket when pins are removed)

Method:

Start by cutting carrot strips with a mandoline slider. These will be the vertical strips for the basket. Pin vertical strips to the cucumber.

Cut carrot strips with a vegetable peeler. These will be the horizontal strips for the basket. Start at the bottom and weave carrot strips horizontally. Keep weaving strips until you get to the top of your vertical strips.

Tie a long chive around the top edge and carefully remove pins. Insert shorter chive pieces for the basket handles.

I only made one basket. It was very fragile but was fun to make and eat.

Bread canoes after baking

I made my french bread dough and tried different size canoes. I followed a similar method as my alligator. I sprayed aluminum foil with cooking spray and pushed into bread before second rise and baking.

Linking up at:
Bento Lunch Bento Blog Network

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

Pasta and Beets Lunch

Posted on August 5, 2012 by eclecticlamb

This is not a cute bento but it was delicious. I love the combination of pasta, blue cheese, and beets.

  • Farfalle pasta (bow-tie) with blue cheese and a little bit of olive oil
  • Peach
  • Beets (from my sister-in-law’s garden)
Posted in Bento / Cute Food | 1 Comment

Week 31 Algerian Eye Stitch

Posted on August 3, 2012 by eclecticlamb

The TAST stitch for Week 31 was the Algerian Eye stitch.

I enjoyed playing with this stitch!

Posted in Embroidery | 6 Comments

Wild West – Gold Rush Party

Posted on August 3, 2012 by eclecticlamb

Two of my nephews (in one family) have birthdays a few days apart so they have a combined birthday party with family.

The theme this year for their 8th and 12th birthdays was Wild West / Gold Rush.

My niece painted signs on cardboard which looked great!  They had signs with their family name and population, Shooting Range, Chuck Wagon, and Muddy Waters (gold panning pool).

Sign painted on cardboard to look like wood

We set up a shooting range using the paper target idea from Apple Falls. The target on the wooden barrel are tin cans balanced on a thin board.

Cans target practice

Another activity that was a HIT was panning for gold. It was a warm day and many party attendants enjoyed playing in the water searching for gold.

Pool filled with sand, water, and gold (spray painted rocks)

Results from panning for gold

When we had a family planning meeting for this party, my younger nephew came up with the idea for a Wanted poster with his Uncle on it. I found an old photo of the Uncle that I thought fit with the theme. My 15 year old nephew designed the poster.

Wanted Poster

I created this TNT candy favor using these directions from Allie Makes via  Jean’s Crafty Corner. I made a few changes. Instead of Rolos and white rope, I used SweeTARTS and white chenille pipe cleaners. I already had the wooden box.

For dessert we had a nice selection of delicious sweets.

  • Gold Rock Candy – I followed these directions but I lightly sprayed the yellow rock candy
  • Pick axe cake with gold nugget cupcakes
  • Banana Split ice cream dessert with lasso’s and star decorations
  • Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter centers decorated with sprinkle sugar stars
  • Caramel popcorn in muslin bags

Dessert Table

The inspiration for the gold bags was this from One Charming Party. In order to keep down costs we decided not to do an iron-on label because we needed to make a lot of bags. My sister-in-law and niece sewed the bags out of muslin. They created a bag template to fit a plastic zip-lock bag. My sister-in-law hand painted the labels on the bags. They tied the bags with jute string.

Caramel popcorn with gold bag

Linked to: Show and Tell Saturday’s at Be different Act Normal

Posted in Party Planning | 1 Comment