Chinese New Year Hong Bao Wall Wreath

Last month, I made a Chinese New Year ang pow wreath for my lotus lantern and now I am back with more for more creative crafts, which I will call a Hong Bao Wall Wreath. In fact, hong bao and ang pow are the same things. Hong bao is the Mandarin pronunciation and whilst ang pow or ang bao is the dialect pronunciation.

This hong bao wall wreath is using the same style of ang pow folding, but the difference is how you staple it. If you would like to know why we Chinese like to display Chinese New Year wall decorations, do click the link and read about it there.

Before I show you the step-by-step with photo illustrations, I would like to mention the design of the ang pow I chose. The design on the ang pow splits the top half with words and the bottom half with a pretty print. It works so well, especially as it groups the design and emphasizes both parts of the design so well.

I love the bright red colour and this wall wreath looks very striking. It will also work well with yellow, pink or any other coloured ang pows.

The rating of difficulty is 1 out of 5, which should take roughly 30 minutes to complete. Each wreath measures approximately 26 cm by 26 cm. If you have a large plain wall next to your front door, you can make three more wreaths to spell some of the Chinese New Year auspicious words or the year instead, for example, having 2023 on the middle of the wreath or 新年快乐. It will make a big statement for your house.

You will require these materials:

• 12 long rectangle ang pows / red envelopes (approx. 9 cm by 17 cm)
• A cut-out of a Chinese word (from an ang pow or write your own)
• Stapler & staples
• Strong clear glue
• Fake flower petals

These are the step-by-step instructions:

1. Find the midpoint of the ang pow by folding the ang pow in half and pressing the fold all the way down. The design is facing in.

   

2. Next, open the ang pow out again. Mark the middle of the midpoint with your thumb. Then pinch the two corners of the fold inwards to the middle of the ang pow.

   

3. Hold/squeeze the ang pow in between your palm and fingers. Staple in the middle with a small overlap of the corners. You should have a cute bow-shaped ang pow.

   

4. Repeat for all the ang pows.

5. Orientate them vertically and join all 12 ang pows into a circle.

6. Staple the top of two ang pows together as close to the midpoint of the ang pow as possible. Staple all the ang pows.

   

7. Now staple the bottom of the ang pows together. Again, staple as close to the end of the ang pows as shown.

   
   

8. Gently pop the wreath from the back and it will pop out like a bowl.

   

9. Cut the Chinese word on the ang pow and stick the wording in the middle of the gap with clear glue.

10. Decorate the wall wreath with flower petals. Wait for the glue to dry before you hang it on a wall. You can staple some string behind the wreath and use a 3M command self-adhesive picture hook to attach it to the wall.

    

What do you think about this hong bao craft? Comment below and let me know. Don’t forget to check out the rest of my Chinese New Year crafts!

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