One for the Bento Babies lovers today!

I love a good theme. Seasons, celebrations and saint's days!

So in for a penny in for an Irish pound (well Euro really), here are 5 ideas for a Bento lunch or snack tea for the smaller people in your house.

I know that a lot of my lovely readers do not have children who are at school yet, so may think they will save these Bento ideas for when they start school. But no! Muffin tins make the perfect snack trays for picky lunches or poobernickel teas as my best friend's little boys calls them!

So raid your baking trays and try serving their lunch in a different way. I am constantly amazed by how simple changes in presentation can result in the boys trying new foods and enjoying the ones they love that little bit more.

Here are 5 ideas, one for every day of the working week :)

Blueberries/Edamame Beans/Pepperoni Potato Cake Sandwiches/Sweetcorn Crocodile Puffs/Clementine/Coconut Fruit Pouch with Sprinkles - the pot of gold!

Apple Fruit Pouch with Sprinkles/Carrot Puffs/Pistachio Nuts/Strawberries/Ham Wraps/Fruit Loops - for the rainbow!

Mini Sweet Cucumbers/Raisins and Fruit Smoothie Melts/Fromais Frais/Trio Colour Grapes/Cream Cheese and Pastry Twists/Dried Apple Slices

Banana Chips/Sunflower Seeds/Kiwi Fruit/Tomato Cous Cous/Carrot Sticks/Shredded Pork/Babybel Cheese

Watermelon/Cooked Pasta/Banana and Sprinkles/Edible Spray Painted Boiled Egg/Lime Jelly/Honeycomb

If you want to give them something sweet cake sprinkles are a great way to keep the sugar content low with maximum impact!

I am really passionate about Bento - if you are new to Bento then have a read here.

You can have a peek at all my Bento Babies ideas here. 

And if I was packing a lunch for school or pre school this is how it would look! 

I adore all the little picks and have built up quite a collection! I bought the St Patrick's Day themed picks in America but you can buy lots of Bento accessories in the UK. Check out Eats Amazing's shop here. I'm definitely buying the eye picks next.

Now show me yours! Let's get inspired with feeding our children variety and colour!

We love party poppers! Cheap as chips and no matter how many you pull in your lifetime, you always gasp as you let them off.

Magical.

But whilst the stringy paper inside may be perfect for New Year's Eve parties it doesn't look very elegant when it's dangling out of your hair. So I came up with a DIY hack.

Introducing the elegant party popper for all romantic occasions and celebrations!

You will need:

• Party Poppers (Most supermarkets and all party shops sell them for approx £1 a bag)
• Tweezers
• Dried petals (smaller petals work best) I used Safflowers, Cornflowers and Jasmine
• Washi tape to decorate

Take your party popper and gently slide off the paper wrapper - not pretty at all!

Turn your popper upside down and carefully pinch the sides allowing the cardboard disc to pop up.

Using tweezers remove the disc and empty your popper.

Replace the string with a generous pinch of dried petals and using tweezers again, tease your disc back into place. Leave the disc underneath the strings in place - that's where the bang lives!

The first and second you may find fiddly but after 3 you'll be a dab hand ;)

You can make your poppers more beautiful with some decorative washi tape or keep them simple and colourful.

I love this idea so much I have decided to make some into blog business cards. But incase I see you at a conference this year I am going to save the finished article for in the flesh!

Here's a hint.

What else could we stuff them with?! I have some gorgeous metallic confetti, I might give those a go next!

These were such fun to make. I should have saved this post for Friday really as it's my 2 year blog anniversary! 

Instead I want to take a moment to say three cheers to some other blogs I love, whose posts make me smile and who share my passion for posting about fun. Family fun, their hobbies and interests that they are passionate about and bloggers who I would gladly love to be sat on a  dinner table with. They all deserve to be nominated in the MAD Blog Awards. The Boy and Me, Coombe Mill, Real Housewife of Suffolk County, Write Like No One is Watching and Mascara and Mud.

You only have until the 14th March to vote for your favourites ;)

Linking up with I Gotta Create and Wildy Original and Wow me Wednesday 

It's been a while since my last Caketail concoction!

If you missed the Tiramisu or Lemon Cheesecake creations click the links.

Something sinful today, inspired by the classic Black Forest Gâteau.

Ingredients:

• Splash Chambord
• Splash Cherry liqueur
• Splash White Chocolate liqueur
• Dust of dark/milk chocolate powder
• Glacé cherry to garnish

These are not precise measurements because life is too short when making shorts!

Add your splashes of alcohol one at a time, finishing with the chocolate. It is a heavier consistency and will gentle infuse to the bottom, mixing nicely with the other ingredients.

I picked up the ice cube shot tray in a bargain shop called Store 21 in their gift section for £1!

I am feeling really fortunate this week. 

I realised when I've introduced myself to strangers lately and they've asked me what I do for a living, I start with, "Well I'm actually a blogger and photographer, oh and I have a part time job in the development industry."

It was a wildest dream, this time last year approaching my first blog anniversary, that I would ever be in a position that my blog would be part of my job.

I feel so grateful and so lucky. Thank you for reading, for listening to the podcasts, for watching the silly videos and to everyone who has nominated me for a MAD Blog Award this year.

Fortune favours the brave and the bold and the bloggers who are passionate. 

I will be nominating my favourite blogs with pride and hope they all are recognised as Finalists this year. 

I wish I had 3 nominations per category. I need them! Here are just some of my favourites, go and check out their awesome creative writing, heartfelt emotion, inspirational photography, nifty crafts, ability to make positive waves through the blogging community and genuine family happiness. This is not a complete list, just some I'd like to share today.

Oyster and Pearl, Circle of Pine Trees, Mummy Daddy Me, Supergolden Bakes, Tea Cake and my Boy, Mammasaurus and Love Audrey.

Good luck everyone :) 

You can nominate your favourites here.

If you love a blog let them know!

Linking up with these lovely blogs! #recipeoftheweek and #TastyTuesdays