🧧 Chinese Lantern Craft 🧧

In Canada, we don’t have Lunar holidays so the atmosphere is very different compare to Asia. By keeping the tradition with my family, we will decorate our home with Chinese auspicious blessings red banners (揮春), fill the living rooms with red blossom flowers (桃花) and red lanterns (燈籠) to welcome Lunar New Year.

On the day of Lunar New Year, 1st of February 2022, the kids will look foreword receiving their red envelopes ( 利是🧧) filled with money. The red envelope is made with fancy red paper and printed with gold patterns and blessing.

This week I am going to share the steps in making a small lantern using red envelope. Red and gold lanterns symbolize prosperous and thriving life in Chinese culture. I have save up a lot of fancy red envelope from the previous years and will be using it for this craft.

Materials:

Red envelope (long size)

Cutting board

X-Acto knife

Double side tape (or glue)

Scissor

Ruler

For this craft, pick an envelope that is long in size. Cut the envelope into two pieces by trimming all sides with your X-Acto knife. Once it’s done, you should have the front and the back separated.

Start with the back piece, which will be the one that has no patterns. Trim 1 cm off the wide.

Keep the extra trimmed stripe, it will be use at the end as the lantern’s handle.

Now we will trim the front piece, which is the one with patterns.

For this step we only need the pattern, so cut the flap off to make a rectangular shape. Then trim off 0.5 cm from both side.

After the front piece (pattern) is trimmed, use a rule and a X-Acto knife to cut lines to create stripes. Make sure to leave 1 cm space from the top and bottom. I cut my lines about 1 cm apart.

Once you are done cutting the lines, use double side tape on the back of the top and bottom 1 cm space. If you don’t have double side tape, you can use glue.

Remove the cover of the double side tape, stick the front piece (pattern) onto the back piece (no pattern). Make sure to align to the left corn and the top side.

Then repeat the same to the bottom side. You will notice you have created a curve like tunnel between the front and back piece.

On the back piece (no pattern) you will notice an extra space that is sticking out, apply double side tape or glue. The extra space is for sticking onto the back of the other end by curving the whole piece into a cylinder form.

Now you are done with the lantern’s body!

Remember the extra trimmed stripe that was saved for the handle, apply double side tape or glue on both ends. Stick the ends at the inside of the lantern.