500K Bento Contest

I’m so mad at myself. I sketched a cute bento last night, made it on time this morning, snapped the photos, then forgot to upload them to my gallery, and left my camera at home. Then I got to work and thought, “Hey I can take pictures with my point and shoot!” I did, then realized there was no memory card, so I’d need a USB cable, which is currently in my camera bag at home. BOOOO!

Anyway, without that picture to post, I figure now’s a good time to announce my 500k Bento Contest. I must sheepishly admit though, that I still haven’t gotten my 200k prize to Stefanie because it got sent back to me all the way back from Germany. *sob* The Mr. & Ms. Bento prizes are going out on Saturday.

I’ve been having problems with online polls and so for that reason, I’ll simply be picking a winner from the entries myself this time. The rules are slightly different this time around.

1. Kyaraben will be allowed this time around.
2. Limit 1 entry per person. You will be allowed to “overwrite” your entry if you make something you feel is better, but you may do so only once.
3. Bento must be made by the person entering.
4. Entries must be submitted by Friday, July 17, 2009. The winners will be announced the following week.

I will judge on the following criteria for a total of 30 points:

• Food Balance – This criteria will look into what foods you put into your bento and how well balanced it is. If your bento is all rice with a cute cheese face, you likely won’t get many points here. (10 pts.)
• Color Balance – Do you utilize color in a way to make your bento stand out? (10 pts.)
• Creativity – How well do you use your imagination in making something unique? (5 pts.)
• Photography – Lighting, positioning, and image quality will play a factor in this contest. (5 pts.)

Prizes:

My First Place winner will receive a bento goodie bag with the following items:

You can view a larger image of this stash here. A list of the items in this goodie bag:

• 1 bento box
• 1 snack sized bento box
• 1 matching fork
• 1 bento bag (piggie)
• 1 Petit onigiri mold (triangle shape)
• 4 animal/fruit shaped food cups
• 4 circle shaped food cups
• 2 packages animal food dividers
• 1 package pastel sushi grass
• 1 package toothpick flags
• 1 car egg mold
• 1 set mini paper food cups
• 1 mini bamboo shamoji (rice paddle)
• 1 sauce bottle shelf (hangs off fridge door)
• 1 copy of 501 Bento Box Lunches

To give people incentive to enter regardless of what they feel their bento skill is, I will draw one random winner to receive a copy of 501 Bento Lunches.

To enter send the following to me via email (pikko at aibento . net):

1. First name
2. Country
3. E-mail address
4. List of foods used
5. What attracts you to bento?
6. Image(s) of your bento
7. Blog link (if any)

Good luck! I hope to see lots of entries this time around. If you’d like to help spread the word about the contest, please feel free to use this!