Remember the lovebird craft we made last Valentine's day? Well I turned that little lovebird into a lovely little lunch. It was super easy to make and the kiddos thought it was super cute. Making the craft and then making the lunch would be a great afternoon activity for kiddos for Valentine's day.





Here's how I made it:

The lovebird is made using 2 white tortillas with chicken and cheese - I used my comfort grip heart cutter to cut the body out. I used a smaller heart cutter to cut the wing out of fruit leather and the tail feather out of cheese. I used an even smaller heart cutter to cut the head feathers out of cheese, the beak out of fruit leather and the feet out of fruit leather. I used licorice laces for the legs and an icing eye. There was also a silicone muffin cup filled with yogurt with heart sprinkles and one filled with fresh raspberries.

Here's what I used (or similar) to make this lunch:

With all the fun the kids and I have had making Valentine's for their friends, I wanted to make them something special for Valentine's day. I had some brown paper plates left over from Camden's 2nd birthday party and then this idea popped into my head. These paper plates made the cutest bear plates ever. Attach a special Valentine's message to them - "we love you beary much!" and your kiddos will get a huge kick out of it. You can serve your kiddo anything on their special Valentine's plate. Maybe even serve all their meals that day on it. I can't wait to give them to the kids on Valentine's Day with a special heart-shaped cookie Valentine treat on them. Want to make your kiddo their very own special Valentine's plate?



Here's how I made them:

What you'll need:

2 brown paper plates
glue
scissors
brown cardstock
beige cardstock
red or pink cardstock
1 inch paper punch
2 inch paper punch
small heart paper punch
3 inch scallop paper punch
black, red/pink sharpie
googly eyes
a Valentine's treat - I used heart shaped sugar cookies with sprinkles



Directions:

1. place some glue on the upper rim of 1 paper plate and press the bottom back rim of the other paper plate on top
2. using your scissors, cut 2 arms and 2 legs out of your brown cardstock. Glue these to the back of the paper plates.
3. using your 2 inch paper punch, punch 2 circles out of your brown cardstock and glue them on your bear for ears.
4. also using your 2 inch paper punch, punch 1 circle out of your beige cardstock and glue on the bear's face.
5. using your 1 inch paper punch and your red or pink paper, punch out 2 rosy cheeks and glue on your bear's face.
6. using your heart paper punch and red or pink paper, punch out 1 heart and glue on for your bear's nose
7. use your black sharpie and draw on a mouth
8. glue on two googly eyes
9. using your beige cardstock and scalloped punch, punch 1 piece out. Write a special Valentine's message on it - We love you beary much! and glue to your bear's hand.
10. serve your kiddo a special Valentine's day treat on their special bear plate.

Do you know what today is? It's my 2 year blog anniversary. That's pretty amazing to me. I had no idea when I started this little blog 2 years ago that it would grow into this amazing place that enables me to be creative and share this creativity with others. I have met so many amazing women through blogging. There is such a strong community of blogging women out there who inspire me every single day. And then there are my fabulous blog readers. I wouldn't be here, doing this today, if it weren't for you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to share my creativity with you guys. You guys rock! As a little thank-you I put together a bento giveaway to celebrate my 2 year anniversary.

Remember this lunch I posted yesterday:



Well you can use the items in this giveaway to make one yourself!

Look how sweet this little bento box is?!?!





Here is what's up for grabs:



An orange 2-tier bento box with a leakproof top tier
An adorable little bear elastic to hold the bento together
A set of 8 adorable little animal food picks
A set of 4 sauce containers with sweet little animals on them
An amazing set of mini bento cutters - this is my favourite set
2 stainless steel veggie/fruit/meat/cheese cutters
And finally an adorable little bear lunch bag to hold your bento's







Want to enter to win? Here's what you have to do:

1) leave a comment on my blog - that's it!

Want up to 3 additional entries? Here's what you have to do - leave an additional comment for each one:

2) follow my blog via google friend connect - if you already do, just indicate this in your comment

3) "like" Meet the Dubiens on facebook - if you already do, just indicate this in your comment

4) share this giveaway on your blog (obviously if you have one!)

This giveaway is open to U.S./Canadian residents. Please make sure there is a way I can get a hold of you if you are the winner - either leave me your email address in your comment or make sure your name links to your email address.

This contest will close Saturday February 11th 8:00pm. I will draw for a winner next Sunday (February 12th). Good luck everyone!

If you're interested in purchasing the items in this giveaway yourself, here they are - just click on the pictures to get to the link:

If you're familiar with my blog you would know that I love colour. When I saw these new bento boxes and how bright and colourful they were I just knew that I had to get them. Let me tell you, I absolutely love them. I've barely used my beloved lock and lock boxes since I've started using these colourful ones. It doesn't hurt that the price is totally reasonable too - less than $4 a box. You can't beat that! Kirsten gets 2 nutrition breaks each day so I pack her 2 of these boxes everyday. I think they are the perfect size for her and I just love the top compartment with the white lid. Kirsten can remove the lid herself, yet it's totally leakproof. I have no problems putting yogurt, applesauce or anything runny in the top compartment. It's beautiful. Another great thing about these containers is you don't have to use both tiers if you don't want to. If you just need a smaller snack - just use one of the tiers!

First I'll show you all the pieces and then I'll show you some lunches in them. I have a feeling you'll be seeing these boxes make regular appearances on my blog. And if you love them, make sure you come back tomorrow. Tomorrow is my 2 year blog anniversary and I've put together a bento giveaway for you guys. I think you're going to love it! Without further ado, here are the new boxes:





These are 2-tier bento boxes that are bright and colourful and need an elastic band to hold the container together. I picked up some adorable little bands and they make her lunches just that much cuter!





Take off the elastic and remove the top lid - this will reveal the top compartment that has a wonderful leak-proof cover. You can easily put yogurt or applesauce in it - or anything else for that matter! I absolutely love it!



Take the top tier off and you'll see the bottom tier. Spacious enough to hold enough food to fill my four year old. The top tier sits securely on top of the bottom tier and the food doesn't get squished or anything. It's left looking as beautiful as when you packed it.



To save space, the bottom tier fits right inside the lid. Beautiful! Did I mention how much I love these little boxes?

Here are some more lunches I've made with these fabulous little boxes:



If you like this one, you'll want to come back for my giveaway tomorrow (hint, hint). This bento was for her afternoon break. She had a ham and cheese sandwich cut into a circle (using a juice cup). I made a cute little bear face using various cutters and cheese and fruit leather, icing eyes and food safe markers. She also had strawberries with a cute little bear pick and the top tier had flower cucumbers and carrots with a little bear container of dressing for dipping.



Kirsten has been having pasta day and pizza day twice weekly at school this month. I like to pack her a smaller side to go along with her pasta or pizza - this was one of those boxes. She had some sliced pears with rainbow chips and a cute little pick. She also had a frozen smoothie that was defrosted by her lunch break. One of the beautiful things about these containers is you don't have to use both tiers if you don't want to. If you just need a smaller snack - just use one of the tiers!



This was a bento for Kirsten's afternoon nutrition break. She had a circle shaped turkey bologna sandwich with a cute little pick. She also had some wheat thin crackers and a babybel cheese with a butterfly shape cut out of the wax. The top tier held some sliced celery.



And lastly, another morning nutrition break. The bottom tier held a silicone heart with fruity cheerios and a sliced blood orange birdie with icing eyes, carrot nose and fruit leather feet. The top tier had some yogurt with sprinkles.

And here are the supplies I used for these lunches - click on the pictures to get to the links:

I thought some cute little heart-shaped butterflies would make a cute little Valentine's lunch. This lunch was really simple and the kiddos thought it was really fun. It doesn't have to take a lot of time or effort to make a fun lunch for your kiddos. This lunch took under 5 minutes to make. Here's how I made this lunch:

Larger butterfly is made cutting hearts out of tortillas with ham and cheese in them. I used a cheesestring for the body, with fruit leather hearts on the wings and sprinkles for the eyes and antennae. The smaller butterfly has a carrot body and uses heart-shaped muffin silicone cups for the wings. The cups are filled with sliced apples and crinkle cut cucumbers.

Here are some of the supplies I used to make this lunch: