Cutify Your Picnic!

At the time of writing this, the UK was finally starting to see some decent weather! It is weird to think of all the flooding that affected the UK not that long ago. So, with the better weather, maybe it is time to consider doing a lolita meet outside again. Picnic season is upon us, so I thought today I would look at some ideas on how to make your picnic a bit cuter.

Seek out unusual containers

I think that picnics can look a lot cuter if you put an effort in to choosing pretty containers, instead of just serving food and drinks out of their usual packaging. Take this cocktail jug-

Last year during the Summer, a local pub near me started serving Teapot Cocktails. The cocktails were served in these plastic tea pots. I immediately wanted a plastic tea pot! It makes a change from a standard cocktail jug. Did you see the recent Secret Life of the Lolita videos? There was an adorable duck shaped water dispenser in the 2nd video. An unusual container can make an interesting centre piece.

Also think of containers and crockery in different ways

Who says that a tea cup should only ever serve tea? You could easily fill a tea cup with a cupcake or sweets, or other treats. This is just one example I thought of off the top of my head. I am sure with a bit more time you could come up with loads of ideas.

Use cooking tools in different ways

For example, you could use a cookie cutter to shape your sandwiches. You can get lots of different food molds that you can use for a wide range of food, not just its intended purpose.

Take inspiration from bento boxes

There are some good bento box books on Amazon. Some of the creations are very inspiring. I like to flick through and look at the pictures, but some books also include interesting recipes, which show you how to make some of the bento parts. One of my favourites is making hot dog sausages in to squids or an octopus!

Not everything has to match

Having a matching set can be pretty, but sometimes having mis-matched items can give a picnic a quirky feel. I know of cafes where they deliberately mis-match their crockery. As long as everything compliments each other, you can create an interesting look. Also, not having a matching set means that is is easier to keep track on who has used each cup or plate!

Fill all the spaces on your picnic area

A scattering of confetti is a cheap way to decorate a picnic blanket. Just remember that you will have to clear it up afterwards! But sometimes doing a extra bit of tidying can be worth it.

Play around with sweet and savoury

For example, some savoury foods could be disguised as cupcakes. Maybe you can get creative and make some kind of savoury cupcake icing! I have also heard that in Japan you can get sweet sandwiches. It can be fun to trick the eye and mess with your senses.

And finally, here are just a few links to help inspire-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yum-Yum-Bento-Box-Recipes-Adorable/dp/1594744475/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1394472137&sr=8-11&keywords=bento+ideas

http://www.jbox.com/category/819

http://alexxstuart.com/bumper-picnic-inspiration-post-100-ideas-and-recipes

http://bentolunch.livejournal.com/

http://www.japancentre.com/

I feel like I have only really started to scratch the surface with this post. If you have any ideas of your own then do feel free to comment and share!