I made my very first bento for my oldest son's 1st day of kindergarten. I had no idea what I was doing, but I had a millennium falcon sandwich cutter, and well let's just say I've come a long way since then.
I had no idea that the bento community was so huge. All I knew is my friend Keitha over at Keitha's Chaos made a lunch based on her son's books every day. She introduced me to this creative collection of bento bloggers over at Bento Bloggers and Friends, and the addiction to flair began.
At first I was very wary at investing too much in a hobby that may fizzle out with my fickle kids...but it didn't. If this were Chotchkie's I'd say last year I was Joanna working with the bare minimum, and this year I'm turning into a Brian.
So for my very first give-away ever, I decided to give away flair...and I couldn't stop at 37 pieces. Nope I looked at the calendar and kept on going month after month with a selection of pieces for a decent starter kit. I'm a big fan of Bento USA All Things For Sale bento supply, she has the cutest selection and it ships fast. So I went back to school shopping over there and decided to share the wealth with one of my lucky readers.
- Mix veggie salad with tomatoes
- Chotchkies shirt - Jalapeno jack cheese
- Trader Joe's Cowboy Caviar
- Trader Joe's Black bean and Quinoa tortilla chips
How about 53 pieces of flair?
Happy Blogiversary!!! My favorite lunch making item is cookie cutters but sometimes I just use a knife and freestyle cut designs for the lunchbox.
ReplyDeleteI love cookie cutters. Your freestyle skills are pretty amazing.
DeleteDefinitely cookie cutters or sandwich presses. Happy Blogiversary!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Sandwich presses are cool too. :)
DeleteHappy Blogiversary! Great Giveaway, and Great 1st year of Bento Blogging!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love the support and creative inspiration from BBF
DeleteHappy Blogiversary!! LOVE the lunch ideas!! I LOVE cookie cutters because it's so easy to make cute lunches!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Cookie cutters make lunch so fast and easy.
DeleteHappy Blogiversary! It's hard to pick a favorite item, but I'll go with food picks ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I can't choose either, it's all so addicting. :)
DeleteHappy 1st year to you! Love Bento Box, but so much cuteness and ideas everywhere. I learn from you all. Many more blog years to come!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am constantly learning from all these wonderful bloggers, so inspiring.
DeleteI'm so in love with that lunch!!! I love my easy lunch boxes! And of course my tower of picks and containers!
ReplyDeleteThanks :) One of my all time favorite movies. I think we're upgrading to ELB's soon too.
DeleteI'm so in love with that lunch!!! I love my easy lunch boxes! And of course my tower of picks and containers!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Picks and containers turn the every day into something fun.
DeleteI love food picks
ReplyDeleteHappy Blogiversary!Picking out flair the best part of making bento lunch in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt sure is fun, so hard to pick :)
Deletei love the separate compartments of bento boxes
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, the yummier the food the happier I am to have portion control.
DeleteHappy First year! Our favorite bento item so far is our Easy Lunch Boxes! We also scored some cool picks at Michaels for $1 that are soccer, baseball and football.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Oh nice I hadn't even checked Michael's, I have gotten some at a local cake shop.
DeleteHappy Blogiversary! My favorite lunch items definitely will be bento box and picks!
ReplyDeleteThanks! For sure the boxes and picks keep things fun and interesting.
DeleteMy favorite is cookie cutters!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite lunch items are cookie cutters and sandwich presses, followed very closely by all the bento bloggers who helped me find a way to get my daughter to actually eat her lunch at school :)
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you. So tired of the food coming back untouched, this craft has really helped all of us. So glad its doing the same for you and your daughter. :)
DeleteI love the cookie cutters and the bento boxes!
ReplyDeleteI love the cookie cutters and the bento boxes!
ReplyDeletewe're new at the idea of bento lunches as my daughter is just starting kindergarten, so far our favorite tool is cookie cutters and lunch punches.....since we're just starting out this would be so awesome to win! (we don't have any picks yet actually)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you two have found this fun way to spruce up lunch.
DeleteHappy first year!I wish you much success!
ReplyDeleteI haven't played with many different tools. I guess my favorite tool so far has been a kitchen knife and food coloring! :D I'd love the chance to up my lunches with some cute things!
ReplyDeleteHow fun =)
ReplyDeleteI love my little heart cookie cutter for cheese :)
ReplyDeleteNice a little love in their lunch :)
DeleteI like to use cookie cutters....heart, butterfly, etc. shapes!
ReplyDeleteSo many to choose from too!
DeleteI use cookie cutters! I have a huge collection and don't even use them for cookies anymore!! sharoo1975@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteHow funny, I rarely use ours for cookies either :)
DeleteI love getting new things to surprise my daughter with!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, a package in the mail is like Christmas.
Deletecookie cutters therannj@sbcglobal.net
ReplyDeleteThey are fun :)
DeleteHappy Blogiversary!
ReplyDeleteI have a habit of collection bento boxes and anything that looks like it could be used to a bento box but I have over 200 cookie cutters as well lol it's a bit addicting
Completely addicting I see bento uses everywhere.
DeleteI love cookie cutters and food picks!
ReplyDeleteHappy blogiversary. I like sandwich cutters and cute picks. I love your 37 pieces of flair bento!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteDefinitely my ELBs and LunchBots. Lunch would be a mess w/o 'em! :) Happy Blogiversary, girl!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks :) Boxes are definitely important and fun!
DeleteI love my egg molds and our Yumboxes.
ReplyDeleteNice! I just got egg molds to try out this year.
DeleteThey are fun, but I am still trying to perfect the size of egg to use... Can't get the bear's ears to come out well.
DeleteYea my bear is the one that broke today the other 3 were fine. I use large eggs and it was full and imprinted nice, just broke in half as I was trying to get it out. I am not the best hard boiled egg maker though I use that magic egg timer from BB&B I still sometimes have soft eggs. Plus I refrigerated a couple days before using them because I had another theme already planned.
DeleteI love cookie cutters, and picks.
ReplyDeleteWe are so far loving the lunch punches we have and I am so in love with my planetbox I can't stop talking about it. Would love to add some FLAIR to those lunches though.
ReplyDeletePlanet box is so cool, can't go wrong with adding flair.
DeleteI love my CuteZcute cutters! They're probably my favorite tool
ReplyDeleteThey are too cute!
DeleteI love picks. I don't think I can/will ever have enough!
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing as enough :)
Deleteanything with a lot of little compartments
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteI like my bento boxes the best. Haven't really done much with picks... but if I won 53 of them, who knows!!!
ReplyDeleteBoxes are so addicting too just changing the size of the compartments makes you rethink the food prep ideas. Can't go wrong with picks after all food on a stick is always fun right?
DeleteI like sandwich cutters, they're such an easy way to add something neat to a kids lunch
ReplyDeleteFast and easy for sure :)
DeleteHappy Blogiversary .. love the lunch (and flair)! It's so hard to pick favorite things, but I suppose cutters are the most fun for me!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Cutters are awesome, and addictive!
DeleteI love the muffin cups and how it keeps everything from touching.
ReplyDeleteMakes adding a variety so much easier.
DeleteBento box
ReplyDeleteBoxes are awesome.
DeleteBento picks and cupcake deco
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love them.
DeleteTracy Meier. I love cookie cutters and all the cute picks!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
DeleteLove that you call it flair, I love picks! And sometimes I do feel like I dont have enough flair, LOL thanks for giveaway and congrats!
ReplyDeleteThanks! That was actually an idea sparked from a discussion thread in our bento group when I was trying to figure out what to giveaway to celebrate. I don't think anyone can have enough flair ;)
DeleteHappy Blogiversary!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the cutters for all the different shapes. My son loves all the ideas I've gotten from your blog thank you so much!
Yay! I love it when others get to play with their food too. I am inspired by a whole bunch of bloggers too. Thanks!
DeleteI love the shorter thermoses for soups or pudding.
ReplyDeletePerfect for winter :)
Deletecookies cutter and bento lunchbox
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteFlair is my favorite of course!! Cookie cutters and sandwich cutters come in a close second though
ReplyDelete:D I know neck and neck race
DeleteCookie cutters are lots of fun and easy. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThey are wonderful. Thanks fro entering!
DeleteI love food picks and cupcake deco picks
ReplyDeleteThose are a great way to dress it up.
DeleteI love cutters!
ReplyDeleteI'v been making food art for years. but had no idea there were specialized utensils for it. So I'm most lacking in egg molds and food picks, also really want the silicone cup cake and pie cups. I have around 200 cookie cutters. And when my first daughter went thru school I was know as that mom with the crazy cute and health and yummy cupcakes. No I think cute bento should be requirement at every school, by every student, and yes even for the kids on free lunch program, it's doable I've done the math, and no jobs lost. Most public schools get their lunch from the same providers that supply the prison system food, same food, my child will not eat like a prisoner and yours should not either.
ReplyDeleteIt is such a fun way to encourage healthy eating through fun presentation. Thanks for entering!
DeleteHappy Blogiversary! Curtis had a snowman on the 1st day of school because I let him pick his shape --- not sure what the teachers thought/ probably didn't notice!
ReplyDeleteOur teachers definitely notice all the cute lunches, whether they get the themes or not is 50/50 :) But who's to say you can't have a snowman in 100+ Tx heat.
DeleteI love the cute containers to put the food in, they have so many cut animals, still trying to find a hippo one
ReplyDeleteI would love a squirrel or monkey silicone, haven't seen them yet.
DeleteI LOVE using all different kinds of cutters (cookie, sandwich, etc.) for my son's lunches! Since school started he's had so many different themed lunches! Pandas, sharks, dinosaurs, teddy bears. Today's lunch was inspired by the return of Hogwarts' students, so he got pumpkin butter pumpkin shaped sandwiches, two whole peeled clementines with celery stems making them look like pumpkins, a carrot wand, a Gryffindor themed section, a Slytherin themed section, and mini owls, wizard hats and pumpkins scattered throughout! I don't know what I'd do without my cutters!! :)
ReplyDeleteI love your Hogwarts theme! Do you blog? I'd love to see them. Our boys (and myself) love HP!
DeleteNo I don't blog unfortunately.. I've been thinking about it but don't know the first thing about it honestly. haha Here is a link to the lunch though: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201259206416600&set=pb.1065029230.-2207520000.1378416134.&type=3&theater
DeleteI made another Hogwarts lunch today, this time with a "picture" of Hogwarts instead of pumpkin sandwiches and I threw broccoli in there with a bat pick as the Forbidden Forest. :) Here is a link to that one: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201271492523745&set=pb.1065029230.-2207520000.1378416134.&type=3&theater
They aren't the best, but it is my first year giving this a go! :)