Chinese Fortune Sticks

Happy Chinese New Year! It is the year of the dragon which is especially good for me since I have a large blue Chinese dragon tattooed on my back shoulder. Yes I am the girl with the dragon tattoo! I had it done before the height of popularity of the book, but it is pretty funny that Lisbeth Salander (the heroine) also has hers on the shoulder. In honor of the Chinese New Year I am making a set of Chinese Fortune Sticks. Who doesn't love a fortune? Chinese Fortune Sticks are a fun take on the cookie. You have 50 numbered sticks. You draw a stick and read your corresponding fortune. If you have a party it is a fun conversation piece. Unlike cookies it can be left out and reused. Kids especially love pulling out and reading their fortune. All you need is a container to decorate (I made mine with a dollar store votive) and craft sticks. You can print out the sheet of fortunes I made for the project or go online and find ones you like. There are all sorts of fortune cookie fortunes on the internet. You can pick general, romantic, or funny. Just number the fortunes and use the same amount as your sticks. This is an easy project that even kids can do. It would make a fun Chinese New Year gift or group kids craft.

You will need:

Jar to decorate-Any container works as long as the craft sticks fit into it and can be pulled out easily. For this tutorial I used a large votive from the Dollar Tree Store, and a small jelly jar.

Scrapbook Paper or Fabric to line the inside of the jar

Craft Sticks- I used the thinner ones sized 4 1/2" x 3/8 ". You can also use the regular sized craft sticks and write the fortune directly onto the stick.

Ribbon and Charms (I found the Asian charms at Michael's in the clearance area where they are currently 70% off )

Marker

Determine how long to cut your paper by sliding it into the jar. 

Mark the paper at the top of the jar. Remove and trim the paper about 1/2" shorter than the marked line so the paper will fit just below the top of the jar.

Use double stick tape or tape runner to tape your paper into a circle.

Put paper inside jar.

Decorate the jar with ribbon and charms. 

If your charms are heavy hot glue the ribbon to the jar, or use a glue dot.

You can make a charm by using an earring wire. Add beads and then bend the top into a loop to attach to the bow. Or tie on the charms with thin ribbon.

Count out 50 craft sticks.

Number the sticks 1-50 on one side. Leave the other side of the stick unnumbered so the numbers are not seen from the top of the jar.

Print out fortune sheet. 


Download here: 
http://www.mediafire.com/?ydqa3je833gqphz

http://www.mediafire.com/?c3x82v5xjbj55pe

Print out fortune#1. (1-25 fortunes) 


Then run the paper back through the printer upside down to print on the reverse side fortune#2 (26-50) 


Fold the paper and tuck inside the jar. You could also hand write fortunes to make a little decorative booklet. 

Option 2: Use the wider Craft sticks and hand write fortunes directly onto the stick. Or print out the fortunes and tape runner onto the stick.

Distress Your sticks with Stayz On ink (optional).

This is definitely my year!


Check back soon for our next tutorial!

XOX,

The Rebel Crafter