I picked up this Hello Kitty origami kit at ARTBOX when I was Hyper Japan in July – it looked so cute and fun, and possibly not too difficult. I pulled it out recently so read on to see how I got on with it.
The full name on the packaging is Hello Kitty Bento Origami – Waffle Plate. There’s at least one other set in the series and this one has a meal of waffles, salad, soup and more with an additional crepe. This is a bit of a weird combination, even for Japan, but I’ll allow it for the fun.
Inside are a set of printed papers, including a display piece that looks like a place setting with plate. The instructions are in Japanese but it’s easy enough to figure things out from the diagrams, especially since the numbered folds are also printed on the paper along with the name of the item you’re making.
I went with the order on the instructions and started with the crepe, which was really easy and effective with lots of fun toppings to mix and match. I just wish there had been 2 crepes to fill.
The salad items, egg, sausages and fried chicken were also quick and easy to make, as were the waffles which look really cute with their fruit bows.
I also really loved the fork and spoon – I was a bit stuck with the handles but got there in the end.
The least enjoyable pieces were definitely the dish of gratin and cup of soup. If you’ve made a lot of origami in the past, they’ll be easy enough but I found the folds confusing and it was difficult to fold all the different layers accurately enough to look neat. They both look messy and the cup doesn’t really stay together well if you open it up to show the soup inside.
Overall, I was quite pleased with my efforts and my plate looks pretty similar to the packaging. If you’re a big origami fan, this is probably bit too simplistic for you, but if you’re a beginner, or just like trying cute crafts, I would recommend it. It only took me about an hour and the finished pieces could be glued on to cards or used as gift tags.
ARTBOX don’t have this online any more so you’ll have to browse around for another stockist. There’s also a similar Rilakkuma and Sumikko Gurashi set.
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