Working the Lunchbox

It is no secret that Blair at WiseCraft has a keen interest in making things with an accent on easy and interesting style. She has found alot of inspiration in a selection of Japanese Craft books she has collected and we asked her to share some thoughts on a particular project she is working on. Here is what she has to say:


I love the separate snack bag attached over the handle in the pictures above. Doesn't everybody need a cute little bag to make lunch more exciting? I was originally thinking these would be fun to experiment with as handbags, but a lunch box might be fun too.

I do try hard to make the "bag" lunches I pack my kids take to school as interesting as time allows. Some days this may mean something as simple as a note saying, "Feed your brain, eat your lunch! I love you." or maybe a surprise thermos of hot cocoa on an blustery day. I have made one of these with a detachable snack bag, using a plastic lining fabric to protect the inside (I would love to use greener alternatives for the next one). Its a favorite book of mine because it perfectly illustrates what the Japanese way of taking simple, every day things and making these so pretty and fun to own and carry, which I love. The idea of cloth versus plastic and less waste appeals to me, and I want to pass this on as a way of life to my kids. Pack one of these with some healthy food and a pretty cloth napkin to spread out on the table or on your lap and you have a lunch worth eating, no?

The Tote-Style Lunch Box

This is a tote-style, small lunch box, lined inside with clear iron-on vinyl (be warned this takes a little practice to work with). The snack bag is one of those pre-made small canvas craft bags that I bought, then replaced the handle to match the lunch box, its part of the same airplane curtain panel I've used before in other projects (I like it very much). The idea is that the snack bag loops over one (or both) of the handles of the lunch bag.

Snack Bag