Do you like origami and love to learn about Chinese culture? Then this is the right place for you – check out this awesome looking ang pow origami dog! The first day of the Chinese New Year 2018 falls on the 16th February which is the Year of the Earth Dog. The Dog is the eleventh of all zodiac animals. It is one of the most important days for Chinese culture. It marks the new year and we welcome the good fortune into the home by hanging lots of decorations!
Chinese people are very superstitious, especially the older generation. We believe that everything has to be new for the New Year as it will bring us good fortunate.
For example, reusing old ang pow is frowned upon. Why is it so? Some people believe that it won’t bring good fortune to the next recipient and it is also considered a rude gesture. So what I do with the old ang pow is to reuse the past ang pow designs, like an image of monkey, sheep or horse, which are not suitable for use this 2018.
Anyway, I came across this origami dog design from Origami: A Step-by-Step Introduction to the Art of Paper Folding by Arcturus Publishing Ltd. To do this craft, you will need ang pow. Of course, not everyone will have ang pow at home! You can also use origami paper or drawing pads. Just cut it into the correct shape (a square in this instance).
Here I am using an old design ang pow which has a lot of patterns on the front and plain red on the back of the ang pow to make ang pow origami dog.
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To do this, I used a pen knife to cut open the ang pow and fold a triangle. Trim off the rest of the ang pow.
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Fold into a kite. This will be the part of the dog’s face.
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Fold the ang pow into half.
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Make a valley fold just beneath the crease to make a step-fold. Turn the ang pow over.
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Valley fold the top point.
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Valley fold the bottom point to meet the tip of the top section.
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Valley fold the top section up and the bottom section down.
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Fold the top tip down in a valley fold.
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Valley fold the paper in half along the middle create from right to left.
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Turn the ang pow round, as shown here. Valley fold and crease well. Unfold, then gently push down and back on the dog’s nose. As you push, the flaps pop back into place, revealing the dog’s white feet.
If you would like to learn more ang pow crafts, e.g. ang pow lantern, ang pow fish, ang pow coins, please check out my past posts: https://etspeaksfromhome.co.uk/category/craft/chinese-new-year-craft
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