I’ve mentioned that I plan out / sketch my bentos before and someone asked me about that.  Basically I have a three ring binder and I jot down my ideas for a bento on a piece of paper and stick it in there.  Sometimes I actually trace around the box I’m going to use and sketch it to scale, other times I just roughly freehand the shape to get the general idea.  I put in some ideas of how I want to fill the space.  If I’ve planned it out specifically down to the last blueberry, I’ll make a list of what I need for the content — which makes it really easy for gathering up my supplies all at once, and speeds up the assembly process.

I don’t have a scanner, so I made do with my camera.  It’s not ideal, but you should be able to see enough to get the general idea.  You can click the thumbnails for a larger version of the photos.

bentosketch2

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This is the sketch that I did for the Sonic bento.   You can see comparing the sketch to the reality that they aren’t identical.  I ended up with less room than I thought I’d have and cut out the broccoli, spread the carrot rings in a half circle around the sandwich, etc.  Lower left of the picture has my list:  Blueberries or Grapes, Strawberries, Melon or Mango, Broccoli, Carrot, Lettuce, Quiche or Circle Sandwich, Bologna, White Cheese, Nori, Ranch.  Next to that is the list of tools:  Heart Picks, Scissors, X-acto, Quiller, Tiny Circle Cutter, Small Flower Cutter. 

bentosketch1

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This is the sketch  of the “Shy Little Kitten” that the kidlet wanted me to actually do when he spotted it on Thursday.  Unlike the Sonic sketch, where I was really specific, this one didn’t get that far, since I didn’t think I would be able to do it.  I didn’t make a list of supplies and tools, for instance.  It ended up quite different, as you can see from yesterday‘s post.

This doesn’t take as long as it might seem.  I do it while the baby is sleeping.  She’ll be sprawled scross my left shoulder and I’ll have a clip board sitting next to my right side.  I work on it during the few hours that she will sleep NOT on me, as she sleeps near by and I’m watching TV.  Eventually, I *hope* I’ll be able to do my bentos, even the character / cute ones without this kind of preparation.  But hey, I’ve done fewer than 30 total so far and it’s not second nature.  Yet!


Posted by in Bento, Getting Organized