Upcycle Living

Ang Pao envelopes  a.k.a. the red packets , a must have's for Lunar New Year but also a thing that will become clutter over time. We can never get the right amount of a certain design, and we'll often be left with too many unused/odd ones. Although I've handmade some this year but there is still a stack too many from previous years and some of them have specific year or zodiac design on which can't be used for the following year. Growing up, we used to lots of fun making little lanterns with old red packets as festive decoration, and I think it's time to relive that sentiment. Instead of the usual squarish designs, this is one in a spheric form, using just 1 basic modular shape: Cut red packets (ang pao packets) into equal circles (about 8cm diameter) and draw an equal triangle on the reverse side. Fold on the triangle outlines, then glue the shapes together to get these: The 2 round shapes are for the top and the bottom, whilst the long strip goe...

Walking through the Lunar New Year decorations in the shopping mall yesterday, reminded me that we'll need to get hold of some Ang Pow packets (little red envelopes for new year money). We usually get them free with purchase from departmental stores and supermarkets, but you'll often end up with too many or too few of certain designs/sizes. I'm not entirely keen on making unnecessary purchases just for those red packets, let alone advertising for corporations who are already making money out of us. That's when these pretty backing papers springs to mind: I got these lovey looking backing papers from the Diamond Jubilee issue of Crafts Beautiful (UK magazine). One of the many perks of buying crafts magazines is the little craft-making tools or craft materials that came with the magazines. But the downside is: they can become a clutter too. I had used them to wrap quite a few presents and made a couple of gift bags; yet several years on I'm still having p...