In Chinese, red envelopes are called 利是 (pronounced lai-see). During Chinese New Year, red envelopes are typically given to children and unwed individuals from married couples and adults. This tradition has been going on for hundreds of years, and continues to be practiced to this day.

Via HomeSeasons.com

Inside each red envelope is money. During this time of the year, many adults start setting aside fresh and crisp dollars to put in each envelope. The amount must steer clear of the number 4 because it signifies death in the Chinese culture. The children who receive the envelopes will graciously thank the adult, and wish them good health and fortune for the new year.

Red envelopes are also given to lion dance performers, teachers, and other individuals for their service.

Though it is most common to exchange red envelopes for Chinese New Year, many other occasions also call for this tradition. Red envelopes are also given for weddings and birthdays to wish the recipient good luck and fortune.

What other information do you want to learn about the red envelope? Let us know and we’ll share with everyone in a future post. We hope everyone will receive a lot of good fortune and red envelopes this Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is almost two weeks away! Many families have already started preparing for the holiday, creating meal plans and decorating their homes with red and gold.

Yesterday, we posted about some traditional Chinese New Year home decorations (check out the post here). Today, we’re going to share with you more Chinese New Year decorations, available now on HomeSeasons.com!

Chinese New Year Lucky Gold Pigs

These cute gold pigs are great for tabletop decoration, and they also double as a piggy coin bank!

12′ Accordion Lantern Garland

Decorate the porch of your home with this garland of red accordion lanterns!

Plastic Money Tree

This plastic money tree is a popular item for Chinese New Year. Tie treats or money to the tree for good luck!

Chinese New Year Lucky Gold Coins (Yuan Bao)

Bring wealth and fortune into your home with these lucky gold coins! In Chinese, they’re called yuan bao.

9.5″ Round Lanterns

Hang red lanterns around your home for quick and easy decorating for Chinese New Year!

All of these items, plus many more, can be found on HomeSeasons.com! Don’t forget to check out our entire selection of holiday decorations year round! We currently offer free shipping on all orders to the United States, so take advantage of the offer! Fast delivery, lowest cost, straight to your doorstep!

Lanterns have become a popular holiday decoration over the past few years. This is no different for Valentine’s Day. Not only are they easy to find in stores, but they are readily available in all colors in shapes. Year after year, we have seen many Valentine’s Day decorations using red and pink lanterns, so we decided to join in on the fun!

Holiday 9.5″ Round Lanterns – Red (Set of 3)
from HomeSeasons

This year, we started carrying red lanterns in our HomeSeasons.com online store. These red lanterns are great for holidays year round, such as Christmas, Chinese New Year, and of course, Valentine’s Day!

In today’s post, we’re going to share with you a few different ways to decorate these lanterns for a personalized Valentine’s Day decoration.

Via Babble

• Decorative Cutout Edge: With a paper hole punch, carefully punch shapes between the wires into the paper for a see through pattern! Do this along the rim for a fun edge. Hole punches with a handle work best to slip in between the paper.

Via Walmart

• Mod Podge Shapes: Using different colored tissue paper, cut out shapes you want to add to the lantern. Mod podge (with a foam brush) the area of the lantern you want to attach the shapes, and stick on. Apply a thin layer of mod podge on top to secure.
• Ombre Glitter: Cover the bottom half on the lantern with a thin layer of mod podge, and sprinkle on glitter. Once dried, repeat the first steps but only cover bottom half of the previous area with mod podge. Sprinkle on glitter. Repeat again and cover only half of the previous area until you can see an ombre effect.

• Swirly Ribbon Embellishment: Add on long swirls of ribbon to add embellished flair! Tie it to the top of the lantern to secure. Dont forget to curl the ribbon for extra flair.
• Quick and Easy Paint and Stickers: For a super easy decoration, use paint to draw on your favorite patterns! We suggest using paints that are not too watery, such as acrylic or tempera paint. Stickers are also quick and easy.

If you’re going to be decorating your home with lanterns this Valentine’s Day, we definitely suggest trying these ideas out! Not only will you have a fun time decorating them, you’ll also impress your Valentine with DIY skills.

We have a huge selection of NEW Spring & Easter home decor items that came in for 2013 on HomeSeasons.com! Here’s a little preview for those of you who haven’t seen it yet! Just for our faithful blog readers!

Spring Large Flower and Pot Décor – Butterfly
Spring Fabric Owl Pillow – Sleepy Owl
Spring Yard Bird Wind Chime – Pink Flower

Cute, right?! We expanded our Easter section to include colorful spring home decorations as well, and we’re super excited to share them with you!

We added fun tabletop decorations, along with other great home decor items such as owl pillows and musical wind chimes! If you haven’t already, check it out! Don’t forget, we’re offering FREE SHIPPING right now on all orders within the US! No coupon code needed!

We don’t know about you, but washi tape is still a pretty new concept to us. What is washi tape, you ask? Washi tape is a new crafting item that originated from Japan. Similar to duct tape, it is sticky on one side, and patterned on the other. They come in a variety of patterns, and colors, and have a million and one different uses.

We found a few uses of washi tape that we wanted to share with everyone! They look so fun to try! Since they come in so many different colors, they are perfect for spring. Here are some of our favorite ideas from some crafty bloggers!

Via Landee See Landee Do

Via Shaken Together Life

We love this idea from Landee See Landee Do and Shaken Together life, where they used washi tape to differentiate charger cords.

Via Poppytalk/Minifanfan Eng

Washi tape also makes fun keyboard stickers like this one via Poppytalk.

Via Inspired to Share

Inspired to Share used washi tape to decorate plain planters.

Via Washi Tape Crafts

DIY your own phone case with different patterns of washi tape like this one from Washi Tape Crafts. We love the color scheme they used.

Via Huffington Post

Check out this serving platter from Huffington post with a fun washi tape stripe pattern.

There are so many more projects we can try using washi tape. This is just the surface! We see a part 2 coming up in the future really soon Let us know what you’d do with washi tape in the comments below!

We’re sure many of you have noticed already,  but we love our themed parties. It makes party prep much easier to plan and decorate for. There are many different party themes you can try for the summer, but one popular idea that comes to mind is always the Hawaiian luau.

We’re definitely fans of the Hawaiian luau. Who wouldn’t be (we love sun, surf, and food)! Today, we’re sharing our favorite Hawaiian luau party inspirations. If you’re hosting a summer party this year and stumped for ideas, a Hawaiian luau will be perfect!

Via Pinterest/Anna and Blue Paperie

Via Big Dot of Happiness

Via Inkspot Workshop

Via Pinterest

Via Kara’s Party Ideas

We’re already feeling like we’re on a tropical island! So grab yourself a few coconuts, a fun palm tree decoration, and your favorite summer colors, and host a Hawaiian luau party this summer! Share with us your favorite Hawaiian luau party ideas in the comments below!

Neon has become a huge trend the past year, and we can definitely understand why! It instantly brightens up an outfit (or a party setting) with just a few pieces. Though it’s been trending for a while now, we haven’t had the chance to give it a try. Let’s face it, neon can be tricky. We definitely needed to do a little bit of picture research before we can get started!

In our search for neon inspiration, we found a few ideas that we think would help all of you out there who are a little scared of neon, too. Turns out–neon, not so scary! Here are our favorite neon inspirations, ranging from home decor, fashion, to party!

Via Obaz

Via Obaz

Via Desire to Decorate

Via Obaz

Via Pinerly

Via Pinterest

Via Martha Stewart

Via Les Jolies Fetes/Simplesmente Branco

We would love to give these ideas a try for the summer. What are your thoughts on neon? Let us know in the comments below! If you’ve already been a fan of the neon trend, let us know your favorite way to use it!

We know this  summer we’ve been all about the bright colors (flashback to: Lemon Themed Summer Party & Home Decor, Summer Neon Trend – Home, Fashion, and Party Ideas, and Rainbow Party Decor Ideas for Summer just to name a few)! But if bright colors aren’t your cup of tea, don’t fret! Today’s post is just for you!

We also love our pastels for summer. Honestly, we love pastel all year long, but there’s just something about pastel in the summer that makes you feel like you’re floating through a cotton candy cloud. So with no further ado, we’re sharing our favorite pastel party decor ideas for inspiration today!

Via Styllia

Via The Sweetest Occasion

Via Indulgy

Via Brunch at Saks

Via Minted

Though pastels are all about muted shades, it can still be colorful. We’re especially loving all the different shades of blue and orange from the picture inspirations above. Pastels are perfect for tea, birthday, and summer parties! Let us know which one you like more, pastels or brights, in the comments below!

Pencils are a definite necessity for back to school supplies. Without pencils, how can we write and do homework? So to show our appreciation for this essential writing instrument, we’re sharing some fun pencil themed food and snack ideas for back to school!

Via Catch My Party

Via Bakingdom

Via Frost Me Blog

Via Edible Crafts – Craft Gossip

Via Catch My Party

Aren’t these fun? Now when we get nervous, we don’t have to chew on pencils anymore! We can actually eat these pencil themed snacks! If you, or someone you know, is going back to school this month, let us know what you want to see on our blog next!

If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you would know that we like our fair share of DIY projects for party and home decor. Not only does it help save money in your piggy banks, but you can also customize it to fit any decor theme.

One DIY item that looks impressive but is super easy to make is the paper pom pom ball. All you need to make them are tissue paper, string, and a pair of scissors (and there are countless tutorials online to teach you how to make them)!

Since there are so many great tutorials out there teaching how to make paper pom poms, we’ll leave that to the crafting professionals! Instead, we’re going to share with you some impressive decorating ideas using these affordable, DIY paper pom poms.

Via Bodie and Fou

Via Swoon Events

Via Party Parade

Via Blue Eyed Yonder

Via Weddingomania

Via Project Nursery

It’s impressive that simple pieces of tissue paper can make such fun and colorful decor items, perfect for home and party decor! Have you made paper pom poms before? We have, and they were so easy! Let us know in comments below how yours turned out!