新年快乐, 祝你吉祥如意。Happy New Year and wishing you a prosperous year and may all your dreams come true. Let’s use ang baos to make a ‘Ji’/吉 word to bring good luck to your home! Ji or 吉 as a Chinese character means good luck.
In my earlier post, I did the Chinese New Year ang bao firecrackers craft and then remembered that if I add a 士 to the 口/coin-shaped lantern, it will form the word 吉. Hence the idea for this post was born! Please ignore the mismatch of ang baos as I have run out of that type of ang bao style.
This is so easy to make and it’s best to use a thick ang bao as it will keep the shape well, especially in this cold weather in the UK. Thin ang baos will go very soft after some time in a cold room.
It measures approximately 46 cm by 30 cm by 4 cm, not including the length of the Chinese knot tassel, firecrackers and red string. It is straightforward to make and I am rating the difficulty 2.5 out of 5, which should take roughly 35 minutes to complete. If you want to add the firecrackers, please pop over to the ang bao firecrackers craft to learn how to make it.
To make this, you will require:
- 25 rectangle angbaos / red envelopes (approx. 7.6 cm by 11.5 cm)
- Stapler & staples
- 50 – 60 cm red string
- Chinese knot tassel
- Double-sided tape
- Ruler
Step-by-step instructions for Shi/士 character:
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You will need 17 ang baos; 8 ang baos for the front, 8 ang baos for the back and 1 ang bao to join.
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I will label the first 9 ang baos as type A design on the image. Fold the ang bao into half horizontally but don’t press the fold all the way down. Instead, just press the two corners of the join down. This is a marker for later use.
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Start from the bottom sides of the ang bao by folding both corners inward and the top sides of the ang bao. Make sure that you fold the design on the ang bao inwards to the back of the ang bao. Repeat for the other 9 ang baos. I like to use a ruler to guide me.
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For the next 8 ang baos which are used as the long top stroke of the Chinese character, I will label as type B design on the image. 4 ang baos for the front and 4 ang baos for the back.
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Fold the ang bao into half horizontally but don’t press the fold all the way down. Instead, just press the two corners of the join down. This is a marker for later use.
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Start from either the top or bottom (depending on how you want to style the design) sides of the ang bao by folding both corners inward. Make sure that you fold the design on the ang bao inwards to the back of the ang bao. Repeat for the other 7 ang baos.
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Now fold the ang bao into 1/3 as shown. Repeat for the other 7 ang baos.
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Place the ang baos as shown on the image to form the word Shi/士 character.
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Staple them as shown x 2.
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Join the front and back together by using 1 style A design ang bao. Please fold the ang bao into three parts as shown.
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Staple the outside of the ang baos. Like a V shape.
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Before stapling the top, add the red string with a knot in it.
Step-by-step instructions for 口/coin shaped lantern:
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You will need 8 ang baos; 4 ang baos for the front and 4 ang baos for the back.
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Fold the ang bao into half horizontally and press it down.
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Fold all four corners of the ang bao inwards. Make sure that you fold the front of the ang bao inwards to the back of the ang bao. Repeat for the rest of the 7 ang pows.
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Staple 4 ang pows for the front of the lantern as shown.
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Staple 4 ang pows for the back of the lantern as shown.
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Join the front and back of the craft by stapling it as shown. Like a V-shape.
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Now you have completed the coin lantern. Add the red string on the top and the Chinese knot tassel at the bottom.
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Join the Shi/士 character with 口/coin shaped lantern by threading the red string from the coin lantern to the Shi/士 character. I use a BBQ stick to poke a hole in the base of the Shi/士 character and thread the red string through. Tie a knot or staple the red string onto the ang bao.
Hope you have been enjoying reading my ang bao crafts and if you have any questions, do comment below! Don’t forget to check out the rest of my Chinese New Year crafts and also 8 Chinese New Year Children’s activities to do with your young ones!
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