From SpongeBob to Goofy, the amazing cartoon-inspired lunchboxes one creative mother made for her son

By VICTORIA WELLMAN

Heather Sitarzewski is a graphic designer and illustrator who applies her creative skills to the incredible lunchboxes she makes for her son every day

Like many devoted mothers, Heather Sitarzewski wakes up at the crack of dawn to make her eight-year-old son's lunchbox for school, full of the things she knows he'll love.
But while many working parents pushed for time will throw some slices of bread together with peanut butter and jelly, Heather's elaborate lunches can take up to an hour to assemble.
Taking a creative approach in everything she does, the graphic designer and illustrator from Denver, Colorado makes edible depictions of Disney characters using fruits, vegetables and other delicious lunch foods.

A ripe green apple makes a perfect Kermit face - just one of the Sesame Street characters to have featured in her son's lunchboxes this year

A huge fan of Disney and children's cartoons Heather gets even Garfield's sleepy expression right thanks to some egg yoke and whites and a piece of whole grain toast with seaweed for stripes

Carbo-loading with a breaded Snoopy face, a bit of seaweed and some pasta accompanied by some grapes for a sweet and healthy desert

Woody from Pixar's Toy Story has chocolate for a hat and bread crusts for hair

Though Heather can come make a Garfield face out of whatever she finds in the fridge, the artistic mother told MailOnline she often finds herself inspired ahead of time and makes sure she picks up the right ingredients at the store.
Using lettuce as a 'bed' to hold the pictures in place, the main component in her son's lunchboxes, she explained, is the sandwich which is then decorated by fruits and vegetables.

Heather's son's favourite toy (left) is rendered in lunchtime foodstuffs while cartoon character, Goofy, combines tomatoes, peppers and brocoli as a background for a cheery face of bread and seaweed (right)

Though Heather can make even an Eeyore from ingredients she has in the fridge already, she often finds herself inspired ahead of time and makes sure she picks up the right ingredients at the store

Fruit and vegetables make this 'very hungry caterpillar' a healthy choice with a special treat of oreo cookies

Heather takes inspiration from the children's books and cartoons that she loves to indulge in when she's not working or watching science fiction movies

Referring to the lunchbox meals as 'bentos', she quipped: 'The fun bento designs can help disguise foods too and promote interest for your child to try something new! Eggs may be shunned until they look like an Angry Bird or Jack's dog Zero!'
Her son for one, is a fan of everything she does. According to the designer, he has even begun to name then and tells her there are none he doesn't like.

The mother and artist is a huge fan of Disney and even works for the company organising vacations when she's not designing

Heather relies on blue food colouring for her Smurf-themed bento which even incorporates toadstools of banana and apple and a breaded hat

The biggest challenge of bringing Disney to the bento box, she says, is making sure the different elements all stay together and in one place

A Disney-lover and children's book enthusiast, Heather decided to embark up on the playful edible food project last summer, challenging herself on her blog to make a whimsical bento for every school day this year.
Many of the creations have been recognisable faces from famous Disney cartoons such as Goofy, Captain Hook, Woody from Toy Story, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger.

The Sesame Street character Big Bird appears in a lunchbox that contains carrots, cheese and pretzels

'The fun bento designs can help disguise foods too and promote interest for your child to try something new!' She quipped. 'Eggs may be shunned until they look like an Angry Bird or Jack's dog Zero!'

Small containers are the key, Heather says, so food doesn't shift about and fall apart en route to school

Heather explained her fascination with Disney, recalling the early days of her career: 'I took a computer animation class in college when "Beauty and the Beast" was released.
'The ballroom scene was computer animated and I was completely fascinated.
'Several years later I took my first trip to Disneyland and I was blown away by the artistry and the magic of the Disney parks. I've been hooked ever since!!!'
The biggest challenge of bringing Disney to the bento box, she says, is making sure the different elements all stay together and in one place.
'The key to getting them to stay together is small, shallow containers,' she advised. 'Typically a container that is made just for a sandwich is plenty big enough. There are many "bento" boxes available as well.

When she's not working, Heather loves cartoons, sci-fi movies and listening to Tori Amos

'Pretty much all the space needs to be accounted for with food to keep everything from shifting around.'
It's a skill that apparently not many other mothers at her son's school are brave enough to try out. Though many remark on how cute the lunches are and how painstaking the process must be, few other children have arrived at school with anything as impressive in their lunch bags.
Encouraged though by her Facebook friends, she created a Tumblr blog and posted every day's imaginative creations.

Though many of her son's friends' mothers remark on how cute the lunches are and how painstaking the process must be, few other children have arrived at school with anything as impressive in their lunch bags

Encouraged by her friends, Heather made a Tumblr page called Lunchbox Awesome on which she posted every single one of her creations daily

A kiwi, an egg, a Babybel cheese, a ham sandwich make a sweet scene of farmyard animals including a chicken and a rooster

Dumbo takes a break from flying in this lunchbox of bread and jam with fruit

source: dailymail