TBC Crafter’s Hop – Red Envelopes Decor

Chinese New Year in 2013 falls on February 10th and usually Chinese would start cleaning up the house and putting up new decoration about 2-3 weeks before. Other than the famous Chinese lion dancing, fireworks and all kinds of delicious food, the red envelope is welcomed by almost everyone. Red envelope is called “Lai See” in Chinese with the double meaning of “luck”. Not just the money but also the meaning of luck that make people so eager to get as much as they can during Chinese New Year.

In Chinese culture, “Year” was a monster that came out to attack people at the beginning of the year. To threaten him away, people hit the drums and cymbals and the “Year” got scared and ran away. It gradually turned into lion dancing. The Chinese New Year Eve, the older generation will give the youngsters Lai See. Then the youngster put the red envelopes underneath their pillow and it represents peace, safety and wealth in the next year. Youngsters are also supposed to stay awake until after midnight on Chinese New Year Eve, it is to pray for longevity of their parents.

When I was a little kid, I lived in Hong Kong and Chinese New Year is the most popular festival in the year. Food to eat, new clothes and shoes to wear, relatives to visit and red envelopes to grab…these are my Chinese New Year memories. On the 7th day of Chinese New Year, kids can open all the red envelopes and then put the money into their piggy banks.

I can say red envelope is not an eco-friendly product. Once you use it and kids open it, it does not look good any more or not even reusable. Many of Chinese people would re-use the red envelopes but some won’t. Instead of throwing the envelopes away, I would rather turn them into a Chinese New Year wall decor.

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Materials:
14 x Red envelopes (not matter on the pattern but they must be of the same length and width), try to match the patterns and words printed on them

Some double-side adhesive tapes (someone would use staples and stapler)

A piece of ribbon or string (long enough to form a bow and hang on the decor on the wall), I use a 1″ golden-yellow ribbon to match the pattern of the red envelopes.

Step-by-step instructions: –

1) Fold the 4 angles of the envelope into the middle and make a hexagon, makes 14 hexagons the same way.

2) Arrange the “hexagons” in a pattern of “Chinese Double Coins”, like the way shows in the below picture.

3) Use double-side adhesive tapes or a stapler and staples to connect the “hexagons” to form the “Chinese Double Coins”. Make 2 “double coins” and connect the 2 back to back, use adhesive tapes to fix permanently.

4) Tie a ribbon or string on top to form a bow and hang it on wall or hang it down from the ceiling.

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