Learning a new craft - bento boxes!

Remember I told you about having a new food-related obsession? Yes, I've started to make bento lunches! These japanese lunchboxes are a blast to make and eat, and help a lot with portion control - but though they look tiny, they really do hold a lot!

Many bento makers spend a lot of time making beautiful, cute and elaborate bentos. Take a look at this or this bento to see what I mean! But I am still a beginner, so I'm focusing on making my bentos healthy and filling rather than pretty. Cookie cutters are a great way to make simple bentos look more fun though - like the heart and star sandwiches in the box above! :-)

My sister got me this blue box and two others when she visited London a few months ago - unfortunately, bento boxes are really hard to find in Sweden. Thanks, sis! Having a nice box makes bringing leftovers to work a lot more fun. The above bento is just a mix of what I happened to have in the fridge that day - and it still manages to look somewhat appetizing!

If you want to learn more about bento making, I warmy recomment the blog Lunch in a Box, it's got all the information you could possibly need and more! I'm hoping to improve my bento making skills this summer, so there will be more bento related posts to come!

Two busy weeks

I haven't been a very good blogger this past month! There has been a lot going on, so here's a short update of what I've been up to:

- I've been working, job hunting, and trying to sort out our budget for the coming months... Boring but necessary! I know I'm not the only one worrying about money these days, what with the awful financial situation... I do hope you all haven't been to badly affected!

- I've finished up some swaps at Craftster, and received some great items. Check out this cute notebook holder I received in the Small De-stash Swap!

I love the little felt owl, and since I am obsessed with "to do"-lists, I know it will be useful! Trying to use up some of the felt in my own stash, I made a needle book for my partner in another swap.

It's got 4 pages and a small pocket on the inside:

- I've been trying out some nice new recipes, and I've got a new food-related obsession... More on that next time! ;-)

- I finally caved in and created an account at Swap-bot. I'm starting out with a couple of simple, low cost swaps, and I'm really enjoying my experience so far! Do any of you swap at Swap-bot? Share your stories!

What have you been up to in the past weeks? Crafting, reading, baking, or just enjoying the lovely weather?