How to make a Kirby / Nintendo Themed Lunch

Here's my very first bento.  It took months of accumulation of items and study of Anna The Red's awesome blog to get me to do this.  Here's how to do it if you want to get started!

Sharmycakes' Kirby/Nintendo-Themed Bento!
Thanks Anna The Red, for your awesome tips!

What you'll need:

-       A bento box (or Tupperware-type container)

-       Scissors

-       Cookie cutters

-       Toothpicks

-       Nori

-       Cheese

-       Lettuce

-       Broccoli

-       Carrots

-       Sweet Potato

-       Ham

-       Salami (or other red-coloured deli meat)

-       Mayonnaise

-       Hot sauce (or ketchup)

-       Mustard

This is my sketch and some of the cookie cutters I used

The tutorial is broken down into each character/component:

Mario Star:

1. Cut cheese with a star-shaped cookie cutter.

2. Cut nori (dry sheet seaweed) eyes and place in desired location.

Mario Mushrooms:

Yummy!

1. Cut cheese with a mushroom-shaped cookie cutter (really, who thinks to make that?).

2. Use the top part of the mushroom-shaped cookie cutter to cut a slice of red deli meat (for the red mushroom) and a slice of lettuce (for the green mushroom).  It may help to cook or nuke the lettuce before cutting to make it more manageable.  Place on top of the cheese.

3. Cut small pieces of cheese and place accordingly.  Alternately, you can use a hole puncher and punch holes from the meat and lettuce.  I cut the cheese with a knife and then discovered that a pizza cutter sped up the process.

4. Cut nori for the eyes and place in the desired location.

Kirby:

The flying Kirby is in the sky (sweet potato star and moon) and standing Kirby's on the ground (broccoli trees)

Kirby is basically a circular ham and cheese sandwich with an extra slice of ham over top (with a cute Kirby design).  This is Anna the Red's design, but I had to alter a few things because I had different tools.  Here's how to make it.

1. Use a circular cookie-cutter to cut pieces of toast.  I used 2 large pieces of toast to make 4 slices (which makes 2 Kirbys). 

2. Cut 2 slices of cheese with the circular cutter. This goes in the sandwich.

3. Use a smaller circle cutter (or the top of a heart-shaped cutter, as I did since I don't have a smaller circular cutter) to cut Kirby's arms and legs.   You'll need a total of 8 Kirby "limbs."

4. Cut 4 or more slices of ham with the circular cutter (depending on how much ham you like)

5. Spread mayo and mustard onto the slices of bread

6. Add the cheese and ham.  Save 2 slices of ham for Kirby's face/body.

7. Place the remaining slices of ham on top of the sandwich

8. Slide Kirby's ham "limbs" in the desired locations

9. Cut nori eyes and mouths

10. Place some mayo onto a toothpick to draw on the whites of Kirby's eyes

11. Place some hot sauce (or ketchup) onto a toothpick to draw on Kirby's rosy cheeks

Here's another shot of my first bento and the feelings I got after making it! 

So excited to eat this tomorrow!

The End!