How to Cut an Intricate Design Out of Nori

First off, a disclaimer: I do not pretend to be an expert on this topic. I am not even sure this is a good way to do it. This is the first time I've tried cutting out anything at all complicated. But below I will show the steps I took to cut out Sally and Jack for my Nightmare Before Christmas bento.

First I found a simple silhouette online and printed it out the size I wanted. Next I cut the major portions with scissors.

At some point, it occurred to me that scissors were probably not the right tool for the job, and I switched to an Exacto knife.

When I had finished cutting out my model (I know, cheating, right? - but who's to say those "bento artists" I see online don't use gimmicks like this? Not everyone can manage things freehand, people...) I paper clipped it to a sheet of nori. (Again, not sure that this is a great way to do it - any suggestions people have on how to attach a guide to nori would be great!)

My first try, Jack's coat-tails broke off. My second try, Jack lost his head:

Not wanting to waste the Sally and landscape I had intact, I just cut Jack off and redid him by himself.

This seemed to work well, and on this, my third try, Jack turned out pretty well.

I would welcome any thoughts if fellow bento-ers have an easier way to do this. Otherwise, I was pretty happy with my first attempt at such a design.

Happy Bento!

Related posts:
Jack and Sally Bento

Jack and Sally Bento

I am so excited to share this next bento with everyone. I am very pleased with how it turned out.

But first of all, a little background info: I am already getting excited about Halloween. I had my "Trick or Treat" mug out this weekend and was sipping spicy teas from it; dreaming up designs for my jack-o-lantern this year. So it was only natural that my mind would turn to The Nightmare Before Christmas when choosing a bento to do for Monday.

(For my mom, who I'm sure will be shocked that this is now a favorite flick of mine, I must say, "It's not really about ghouls - it's a romance!")

I was at home feeling pretty puny all weekend, which gave me plenty of time to mess around with this bento and get it just the way I wanted it. And here it is:

Close-up of the love-birds:

All packed up and ready to go:

Contains:

• Steamed white rice background
• Usuyaki tamago (thin omlette) moon
• Nori cut out of Jack and Sally
• Iceburg lettuce filler
• Homegrown tomatoes (4)
• Carrot shards
• Filet mignon

Happy Bento!

Related Posts:
How To Cut Nori

Smiling Sandwich

Today I made a straight-forward sandwich with a smile:

The face is made of nori, with mayonaise for the whites of his eyes. Wet ingredients were again kept off to the side, so the bread wouldn't get soggy by lunch time.

This time, I managed to fit my hummus into a bento container. I get these little single-serving hummus (what is the plural for hummus anyway? Hummuses? Hummi?) at Costco.

Happy Bento!

Kitty Bento

Here is the first meal with a face I've made all year:

Bento lunch contains a turkey sandwich on flatbread, with tomatoes and pickles to add on.

Kitty's face is made of turkey. Nose and ears detail is ham. Wiskers, eyes, and paw detail done with nori. Mouth drawn on with food coloring.

I was a little disappointed with how the mouth turned out. The moisture from the meat caused the ink to spread out more than I would have liked. But that's okay. Live and learn, right?

Happy Bento!

Introducing... Kyarabenn artist Mitunatumama

Lately I've been enjoying pictures of wonderful kyarabenn lunches. Where have I found these inspiring images, you ask? Japanese blogs. Makes for quick reading, since I don't recognize one character on the screen, right? But it is worth it to see the amazing lunches these Japanese moms are creating.

I received permission from one such kyarabenn artist to showcase some of her lunches, and point you in the direction of her blog where you can see much more. Her name is Mitunatumama. She has been creating bentos for her two children (a boy and a girl) for about two years. Here are some of her lunchtime creations:








Aren't they amazing? Click on any of the photos above to visit the original blog post (in Japanese). Enjoy, and...

Happy Bento!

Wheezy

Another Disney bento for Bento Challenge, this morning I made Wheezy the penguin from Toy Story 2. Here is bento #93:

Contents:

• spaghetti
• olives
• carrots
• sausage
• snap peas
• red lettuce
  
• white rice

And here is a close-up of Wheezy:

Wheezy's accents are made up of nori, carrot, egg-white and red gum drop.

Happy Bento!

Pluto Bento

This week is a Disney theme over at Bento Challenge. So I thought long and hard, and settled on Pluto. I found an image I thought I could recreate, and this morning I got to work.

It wasn't long before I had to actually print the picture out and go find first an Exact-o knife and then tweezers. Now I know I have truly gone off the deep end, right?

But I am pleased with how it turned out. I give you, bento #91:

Bento Contains:

• tuna fish sandwich
• roasted red potatoes
• red grapes
• carrot stars
  

Pluto consists of:

• scrambled egg cooked crepe-thin
• hard boiled egg-whites for the whites of his eyes
  
• ham for his tongue
• lettuce for his collar
• nori accents for ears/nose/mouth/pupils

Happy Bento!

Another Bear Bento

Hello everyone!
This weekend, I spent a lot of time looking at Japanese bento blogs. I learned that what I like the look of most is called charaben (which is short for "character bento"). If it has a face, I'm excited about it. So here is the face I made for my lunch today:

Contents of bento #90:

• brown rice
• grilled chicken
• sausage
• broccoli
• carrots
• corn
  
• nori and ham accents

And here is the whole thing all together:

Happy Bento!

Bear Bento

It is such a beautiful morning! The frost melted away as I made lunches for Bryan and I, and by the time Dioji and I went out for a walk, it was sunny and gorgeous. The birds are singing, the trees are flowering... and I just got to thinking that I am so happy that Easter is early this year. Because I don't know if I could wait much longer to celebrate His resurrection! Everything seems to be coming to life around me.

Whew! Without further twitterings, here is bento #88:

The bear sandwich is peanut butter and (what else?) honey. It is surrounded by trail mix. On the other side of the divider are some left-over oven roasted red potatoes, ample ketchup to enjoy them, and a Rice Krispy treat for dessert. Not pictured is an apple.

I got my inspiration for this bear sandwich here. Want a closer look?

Well, have a great day everyone! (If I come home feeling half as perky after work as I am now, I will feel truly blessed.)

Happy Bento!

The Cuteness Resumes (Hinamatsuri)

Evidently, in Japanese tradition March 3rd (the third day of the third month) is Hinamatsuri, a Girl's Day or Doll Festival. This was the theme of this week's Bento Challenge. (Follow the link to see cute food!)

My little bunny doll getting in on the fun:

And here is bento #84, my entry:

Contents:

• turkey sandwich with decoration made of ham/turkey/nori
  
• banana slices
• Rice Krispy treat
  
• raisins to fill the gaps
  

Here's a close up of my girl:


Even closer:


And special thanks to my friend Andrea whose thoughtful birthday gift made these carrot stars possible:

Happy Bento!

Three Day Weekends Are Great

Hello! Sorry that I have been absent for a few days. I have been caught up in the excitement of auditioning for a new show. It is called Once Upon A Palace Purple. I am pleased to announce that I get to be on stage and even do a bit of singing (as it is a musical). And, best of all, my mom is going to join me. She has been cast as the Fairy Godmother, and I am so excited to be doing a show with her again.

In any case, auditions combined with a lazy three-day weekend are the reason I have been so slow to post bento #60:

It contained a ham sandwich in the shape of a star. Some lettuce for the sandwich, a few stray pieces of jerky (tucked in the shadows below the star), some raisins, a smiling banana, and a few tomato slices.

Have a great day!