How to Make Lucky Chinese New Year Tree
Chinese and lunar new year is around the corner and we love decorating with mandarin oranges or kumquat trees!
Kumquat in cantonese is gum gut and gum is translated to gold. Gut being prosperity, wealth and luck. So you can imagine why Chinese people love this fruit especially when it’s attached to a tree because it is living, flowering, blossoming and alive. So that’s why you see a lot of business people bring these plants home like a full tree. Farmers will actually cultivate it so that its blossoming and full of fruit and in a very beautiful manner. These trees don’t grow like that naturally in the wild but they super popular as decor during the Chinese New Year.
Let’s make one that will last forever!
Inspired by @mintplanetdessert
Materials
moss green pipe cleaners
orange pipe cleaners
floral wire/skweres
floral tape
glue gun stick
Step 1
Attach two orange pipe cleaners together and tightly wrap it around a straw or pencil.
STEP 2
Slide it off and secure it with another pipe cleaner like so. Snip off the excess and now you’ve created a little kumquat.
STEP 3
Now to make the stem of the fruit with a green pipe cleaner. Make a tiny leaf by forming something similar to a needle’s eye on one end and twist the touching point to secure. Add a little nubbin to the tiny leaf by giving a small twist
STEP 4
Let’s make the leaves of the tree. You’re going bend the pipe cleaner into a shape of a leaf. Twist to secure.
Bring the pipe cleaner across the leaf and secure. Then you’ll bring the other end of the pipe cleaner around the leaf and twist. Snip off the excess.
Make more leaves in varying sizes.
STEP 5
Let’s glue on your kumquat to its stem.
STEP 6
Now we assemble the stems using a floral wire. Start with the smallest leaf at the top and work your way down from small to big leaves. secure with floral tape and staggering kumquat stems in between your leaves. Leave three inches of wire exposed. You’ll need to make 18 stems.
STEP 7
Next we are creating the branches using a sewer. Attach three stems with floral wire in staggering height. You’ll end up with six branches.
Group the branches together to create a kumquat tree. Secure the branches together to create a trunk with floral tape.
STEP 8
Stick it in a pot of soil or rocks and adjust the kumquats and leaves.
Style and place on your counter to enjoy!
It’s said that kumquats look like ingots ad nuggets of gold during this time of the year you will see lots of people bringing tangerines or clementines when visiting friends or relatives this time of the year!
Tag me @thekwendyhome on any social media platforms so I can see your creations!
Thanks for reading and happy lunar new year!
Love,
