CNY decorations

So we're smack dab in the middle of the bleak, blah winter...Christmas has passed and spring is (what seems to be) an eternity away.  Grayish-white sky, grayish-white ground, bare branches all around. BIG sigh.

On the horizon is the promise of a little bit of color.  Red that is, in the form of Valentine's day and Chinese New Year.  Here's a quick, easy tutorial to inject a little bit of oomph and you can change it up however you'd like.

Basically, the pictures are pretty self-explanatory.  Find some Asian-inspired paper and cut out some larger circles.  I used a soup bowl to trace around.  Then find an alternate color/pattern and trace smaller circles onto that paper--one of the girls' snack bowls.

Next print out your wording in a font that you like.  I'm sure there's probably a faster way than the way I did it, but I cut out the words, traced them onto the contrasting red paper and then cut them out. The important thing to remember here is to flip the letters over, so in fact you are tracing the letter backwards (or in reverse?) so that when you cut the letters out, the pencil lines are on the back which will have the glue on it NOT on the front which will be on the bunting.  Does that make sense?!?!

Next I spray glued the letters and slapped them onto the smaller circles.  After hole-punching the circles to pass the ribbon/yarn/bakers twine/etc. through, I realized that I actually should have hole-punched 2 circles and spaced them a bit more, but it ended up working out fine.

Then start threading your ribbon/yarn/bakers twine/etc. through the holes starting from the end of the last word and working back (i.e. Y-O-H-C).  Since I always think pompoms are fun and festive, I made a couple of them to space between the words.  Side note, one of the Noodle's friends came over while I was making some and she said "What is it with you and pompoms?  You must really like them!"  Ha--you're right K!

Finally, string up your bunting and step back and admire it.  A splash of color as well as a way to celebrate Chinese New Year.

FYI, I had always thought Gung Hay Fat Choy was the way to spell the New Year's greeting.  While this is somewhat true, I also learned that since this is the way they spell it in Hong Kong, many in mainland China somewhat look down their noses at this spelling.  Gong Hei Fat Choy is what Cantonese speakers generally say and since both of my girls most likely heard Cantonese, I decided to go with that.  No biggie--whatever way you decide to roll with it.

Good Luck--May Fortune Come Your Way!