Chinese New Year Lantern in Japanese Style

I went shopping at "Daiso" and found these very cute Japanese style New Year envelopes called "pochibukuro".

These envelopes are also used for gift money "Otoshidama" on New Year's Day in Japanese custom, very similar to our tradition of giving Ang Bao or Red packet during Chinese New Year.

Therefore, I decided to use these Japanese style New Year envelopes to make lanterns for our coming Chinese New Year!

Finally, I made this lantern successfully!!

Hope you would like my lantern idea, and I wish everyone a Happy New Year!

How to make a Six Petals Flower Chinese New Year Lantern using Red Packets

This is six petals flower lantern made with 18 red packets or Ang Pows.

I've made the below video, step by step instructions to create this Ang Pow lantern to decorate our home or office for the Chinese New Year.


Materials required:
- 18 red packets
- Stapler
- a tassel
- red string

The length of the string is up to your preference how you would like to hang your lantern. You can use gold string too.

How to make a Triangular Ang Bao Lantern

I just made this triangular Ang Bao Lantern out of the blue while I was playing with my red packets.

I used three large red packets to form a triangular upper layer, and another three large red packets to make the bottom layer.

Then I used three smaller red packets to make a "pendulum" in its centre. You can click to my previous post on my Diamond Ang Pow Lantern as a reference to learn to make this "pendulum"

After the lantern was completed, I was trying to give it an appropriate name.

I did a research on its shape, and I learned there was a mathematical term on the geometry of the upper and bottom layer, called "tetrahedron".

So if you are doing this Ang Bao Lantern with your children, you might also want to introduce to them this geometrical term  "tetrahedron", when you can have fun and learn a bit of mathematics.

Here is a video that I've created to show you how I make this triangular ang bao lantern, so you can also have something special for Chinese New Year.

How to make an Lucky Star with ten red packets 福星高照

In my older post "Chinese New Year Lantern - Lucky Star",
I've shared written instructions on how to make this Ang Bao Lucky Star with only ten red packets.

I've just created a video to show you how I made this Ang Bao Lucky Star.

Now you can have a better picture of the process it is being made, so you can do this simple-to-make Chinese New Year handicraft with your kids to decorate your house for this coming lunar new year!

Wishing everyone good health and prosperity, Happy Lunar New Year!

Summarized Links to the "How-to make" different Ang Bao Lanterns

I have seived out and do a summary of some Ang Bao Lantern making videos that I have in my blog

How to make Ang Bao "Rotating Carousel"  红包走马灯

How to make Ang Bao "The Lucky 8" 发财“八”

How to make Ang Bao "Flower Ball" 红包绣球

How to make a Flower Ball using only 12 red packets

How to make a Ang Bao Flower Corolla 

Golden Flower Corolla 

How to make a simple Chinese New Year Lantern with 12 Ang Pows

How to make a simple Ang Bao Fan 红包扇子

How to make a lamp-shaped CNY lantern with 24 red packets

How to make a Diamond Ang Pow 红包钻石

How to make an Ang Bao Spaceship

How to make a fish with one red packet

How to make an 8-petal flower with bump chenille stems

How to make a simple Chinese Auspicious Knot 吉祥结

STRAWBERRY LANTERN

In my previous post, I have shown you a picture of different colour packets. Now I felt so blessed to have different coloured packets in Singapore.

Well, I was trying to make a heart-shaped CNY lantern but somehow, I was quite disheartened when it end up out of shaped. Somehow, I see it look like a strawberry fruit. So I made use of the green packets to make leaves. And now I have got a Strawberry Lantern!

The moral I learnt from the process is: "Don't be disheartened. Be creative and positive, you will get a surprise!"

I wish you would also enjoy the lantern making process with my blog.

Do share with me if you have other good ideas to make use of the different colour packets to make Chinese New Year decorations.

How to Make a Diamond Ang Pow Lantern

This Diamond Chinese New Year Ang Pow Lantern is very simple to make and it uses 4 Red Packets

Materials you need:
1) 4 red packets
2) Super Glue
3) A tassel
4) Estimated 30 cm red string ( you can decide the length you want)
5) beads (optional, I didn't use it in my video here)

Here is the video that I have created to show you how it is made. Enjoy and have fun!

How to make a Lamp-shaped Chinese New Year Lantern with 24 Red Packets

Chinese New Year (CNY) 2013 is round the corner. It's time for spring clean and make new decorations for our home.

My hubby does this "Lamp-shaped" Chinese New Year lantern. He made a pair and put them up at our door.

The lantern does give an oriental look to home decorations.

Now, you would want to get ready the following materials to make a lamp-shaped lantern:

- 24 red packets (also known as "Ang Bao", "Hong Bao" or red envelopes)

- Stapler

- A piece of red string estimated 30cm ( to attach the lantern for hanging

- A red tassel with a pearl bead.

Here's "How to make a Lamp-Shaped Chinese New Year Lanterns with 24 Ang Bao"

A Flower Bouquet Lantern Made of Red Packets 红包绣球

This is another video I found in YouTube to make a "Flower Bouquet lantern with Red packets".

This video shows a different approach. It uses 60 square red packets, instead of having to trim 30 red packets into 1:2 rectangles.



I just learnt that this is also known as  "Flower Kusudama"

Found Video on How to Make a Decorative Flower Ball with Red Packets 红包绣球

I'm so glad to find another video that demonstrate How To Make A Decorative Flower Ball With Red Packets.

When I browsed through this video, I noticed this lantern is different from the one I made in my earlier post on "How to make a Flower Ball Chinese New Year Lantern"

This lantern is also beautiful. To me, this one looks like a flower bouquet. I would like to call it the flower bouquet lantern instead.

I counted this lantern would need 30 pieces of red packets, each red packet trimmed into rectangle of 2:1, i.e. a rectangle comprising of 2 squares.

In another words, it means there are 24 pieces of rectangles, the balance 6 pieces rectangles to be trimmed further to make 12 squares.

This video I found would demonstrate how to make this flower bouquet lantern

How to Make an Ang Pow Fan

This Ang Pow Fan is made using only 10 red envelopes. It is also easy to make as a decoration or gift to friends and relatives during Chinese New Year. The materials required are as follow:

1) 10 Red packets (Ang Pow)
2) Red string about 30 cm
3) one tassel
4) UHU glue or double sided tape
5) A pair of scissors (optional, in case you need to cut a ball of red string)

Here's is a step by step tutorial I've made and uploaded to share with you

How to make an Ang Pow Spaceship

As I play around with the Ang Pow packets, I made this Chinese New Year Lantern. It looks like a spaceship to me, and I'm still trying to give it a nice name.

I used only 12 red packets. It is another simple craft that children can learn.
As for busy adults, it is easy to learn and fast to make.
It gives sense of satisfactions and enjoyment when you can make one as a gift to your relatives, friends or colleagues.

Here is the video I've made and uploaded

How to make a Simple Chinese New Year Lantern with 12 Ang Pows

A fast and easy way to make a simple chinese new year lantern Using Red envelopes/Red packets/Ang pows/ Hongbao/ Ang bao.

You can make it to decorate your house or office for Chinese New Year.

This is suitable for beginners. For children, it is advisable to do it with guidance.

Materials required:
12 Red envelopes/Red packets/Ang pows/ Hongbao/ Ang bao.
Red string
tassel
beads (optional)

Tools:
A stapler
scissors

How to make a Ornamental Hong Bao Flower Ball (彩球, 花球)

I know many would love to learn to make flower balls with Ang Pow packets. Here's another video I found that teach the "HOW". It's an 11 minutes video, so give yourself so patience to watch and learn.

Chinese Lantern Making at Yio Chu Kang CC

If you are in Singapore when Chinese New Year is around the corner, do look out on the activities conducted by the Community Clubs (CCs) here. Some CCs do conduct Chinese New Year Lantern Making, and if you are lucky, you can sign up to attend one of the sessions.

I was so happy when I see this posted video on facebook and YouTube. Our Tai Chi teacher had volunteered and conducted a Chinese Lantern Making Session at Yio Chu Kang Community Club earlier this year, during the Chinese New Year period to share with her students to make a Flower Ball with Ang Bao packets.

Guess what?! I'm surprised to see that she is still keeping the Ang Bao Flower Ball that I gave to her last year. She has used it as a sample to guide her students and share with them the process of making it. How wonderful she is!

I felt so apologetic for I'm unable to draw time to make any new Ang Bao Lanterns to gift my favourite teacher and my mother due to my new job commitment this year 2011.

Nevertheless, I'm elevated by this video. I still do keep up with my hobby! So I hope you too, to do something you enjoy. Be Happy and Be Passionate, just like my Tai Chi teacher, I'm so proud of her.

How to make a Flower Ball using only 12 red packets

My friend brought some square red packets. At first, we could not decide what to do, later we discovered we could make a flower ball with only 12 square red packets!

I've created this video to show you how to do it, it's very simple.



If you have kids, you can teach them to make one for their art lesson or make one to decorate your house for the coming Chinese New Year on 3 Feb 2011.

Here are the materials required:

1. 12 square red packets
2. A piece of red string about 30cm
3. Stapler with yellow or red staples filled
4. 1 Tassel
5. Sticky tape

Have Fun!

How to make a Rotating Lantern with red packets 红包走马灯

In my earlier post on my Rotating Ang Pow Lantern that brought luck to my Mom to win $60 lottery.
Here, I found a video to teach you how to make one. Hope my post here brings all of you good luck and win a fortune too!

Flower Ball Lantern Origami

We can reference this video from YouTube to make a Flower Ball Lantern.
From the video, we need to fold 60 triangles altogether. 5 triangles to form a "flower drum", combine 6 "flower drums" to form the flower ball.

During Chinese New Year, some Chinese do not like to see the "white" sides of the flower ball lantern. I think one way to solve this is to get 30 pieces of square Red Envelopes (Ang Bao), fold them into half triangle, then use a pen knife to cut the triangles. Alternatively, use square paper that is red on both sides to cut the triangle.

I'm going to try make this one when I'm free.

十全宫灯 "Shi Quan" Palace lantern

This YouTube video shows how to make a palace lantern with red envelopes (Ang Bao)

I estimated it takes about 30 red envelopes: 16 red envelopes to form the bottom section; 8 envelopes to form the top sections; reminding for decorations.

The folding method for each red envelope as shown in the video is very similar to the way I make my "Golden Flower Corolla".

A Simple Ang Bao Flower Corolla Lantern

According to the author of the video, she used 9 red packets or (Ang Pow) to make this simple lantern.

7 Ang Pows to make a circle, then 1 for the top and another 1 for the bottom.

Measurement of the Red packet she used W=8.5cm and L=12cm. She used a string to tie her golden decoration to the Ang Pow lantern that she had made.

What I like about this video is that at its first 1 minute, it demonstrated very clearly how she had folded the red packet and connect them together. 

That was how I folded my red packet for my golden flower corolla lantern