Ekiben


My oishii Ueno bento on the skinkansen. 

Ebo-chan's healthy western bento.

A selection of delightful Ekiben.


So pretty!



Just when you thought I couldn't possibly post about Bento boxes again!

In case you aren't already having enough fun riding on the Shinkansen, enter Ekibens to add to the fun! Eki (Station) and Ben (short for Bento) are divine little lunch boxes bought from train station vendors. Mini-me portions of delicious Japanese food neatly arranged into pretty packaging all at a minimal cost. There is something so lovely about settling in to your Shinkansen seat, watching the Japanese landscape change as you move rapidly from city to city, sipping on your tsumetai green tea and eating your special bento! Ahh bliss! Hmm and with Jetstar announcing return tickets to Tokyo from Sydney including tax for $525 I am very tempted to book myself in for some more Ekiben fun!

For more info click here (Japanese only), here or here.





An Ekiben shop found at all large train stations.

Hello Holga





I recently treated myself to a Holga from ebay. But not just any old Holga, I got this cute pink Holga. And I paid extra for the colour of course! For a while I was creating Holga medium format effects using photoshop but then I decided it was time to get the real thing! I first became interested in Holga cameras when I saw some gorgeous shots on Taza and Husband blog.

But it's amazing what you can forget since art school! My dad (who is quite the photographer!) had to remind me what sort of film was best for my little Holga friend and how to load the film. He even bought me a lovely Holga photography book filled with tips and hints! If you're reading this - Thanks dad! Let's take our cameras out for a walk together soon!

Bento Accessories

Little picks for almost anything - I usually make a western style ham, cheese and tomato stack.




ow! my favourite coloured faux grass! If you can't get your hands on bento patties, you can always substitute with cup cake patties. 



Little egg shapers for your boiled eggs! The trick is to pop you boiled egg in while its very hot so it cools in one of the above shapes. 


Mini dressing holders. yes please!









A while ago I mentioned my love for Bento boxes, you can see the post here. But today I wanted to also share my obsession for Bento accessories! After all, what fun would packing a bento be if you didn't get to use cute accessories such as pink faux grass, panda head mini sauce containers, and love heart tipped tooth picks?

Here are a few favourites.


Sandwich shape cutters! 

Alphabet cutters so you can form messages in  things like ham or cheese. 


Onigiri face makers!

Make some characters in your bento!


Nori cutters.


Hello Onigiri-chan!

Leslie











Leslie Hall is one super cool girl. Cool. Confident. AND Crafty! Anyone who sings hip hop in gold Lycra pants teamed with a gem sweater is a friend of mine.



All you craft lovers out there have to watch this video (above) of the lovely Leslie in her craft rap complete with bedazzled jumpers shiny gold leggings and back-up dancers in matching outfits! Hilarious!

Still want to see more? Visit Leslie's Gem Sweater TV or Leslie's 'Beat Dazzler' movie here.

Seen the video's but now want to see her live? Check out her band Leslie and the Ly's homepage. And to read more about Leslie please see her mention on Crafternoon, her myspace, her Fantastic Woman mention, or her Papermag review.





Craftastic!