In honor of Chinese New Year, I dug out some great paper I picked up in Chinatown (San Francisco) and created fun lanterns to put on my dining room table. I had so much fun opening the interesting packaging of all the papers I picked up. I didn't find these paper in a fancy paper store... no, these were in the 5 & dime markets on Grant Street in the heart of Chinatown.
Assorted papers from my Chinatown finds...
More colorful papers. I LOVE the magenta, hot red and green together. Making the lanterns is actually a very easy task... something my kids have both done in kindergarten and preschool! There are plenty of instructions on the web (here's just one to get an idea: lantern craft instructions), but I think the uniqueness comes in with the paper design. I decided to use a variety of the papers I found in Chinatown, and make a collage to create my lanterns. I put several of these papers on my color copy machine and made the copies on to white cardstock. Then I followed the basic instructions in the link above.After the lanterns were finished, I had fun "shopping" in my house for asian accessories to decorate the table. Here are some shots below-- details of the lanterns, and pics of the table decor. Enjoy, and gung hey fat choy!
A good luck envelope.
Another image from a good luck envelope. I scattered these on the table runner around the center lantern arrangement.
For more Chinese New Year traditions and celebrations, check out the url's below:Wikipedia: Chinese New Year
