[For Seniors] Filled with wishes: Handmade ema plaque ideas using a variety of materials
Ema plaques made with heartfelt wishes for the New Year are a comforting seasonal activity.
There are many ways to make them—from simple versions using origami or construction paper, to creative crafts using items like coffee filters or interlocking foam mats, and even clever designs that double as small gift envelopes.
As you work with your hands and add motifs of the zodiac or lucky charms, conversation flows naturally and smiles appear.
Why not enjoy making a one-of-a-kind, original ema while sharing your resolutions for the year?
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[For Seniors] Filled with wishes: Handmade ema plaque ideas using a variety of materials (21–30)
Ema with easy origami
Let me show you an origami ema (votive plaque) that’s very easy to make.
If you use wood-patterned paper or light brown origami to evoke the ema you often see at New Year shrine visits, it creates a nice atmosphere! Turn the patterned or colored side face down and start making creases.
Fold the top part into a triangle shape, and you’ve got the ema form.
Super easy, right? Create or draw parts like pine, bamboo, and plum, a daruma, or Mt.
Fuji, and finish your ema with whatever design you like.
Enjoy making ema while talking about your resolutions and wishes for the year!
Rabbit ema (a wooden Shinto votive tablet featuring a rabbit)
Let’s try making an ema plaque featuring the zodiac using a kit.
Many facilities probably create New Year’s crafts around the year-end and New Year holidays.
Using a kit makes preparation easy and allows you to create lovely pieces.
Cut out the parts with scissors and attach them to the ema plaque that serves as the base.
The process of applying glue to the small parts and sticking them onto the plaque seems like something you can really focus on.
There are reports suggesting that, for dementia prevention, concentrating on new tasks is more beneficial than doing familiar ones.
By using a kit to create a beautiful piece, you can also expect brain-training benefits.
Felt ema (votive plaque)
This project involves attaching decorations—such as zodiac animals and lucky charms made of felt—onto a felt base shaped like an ema plaque.
While ema are typically thought of as flat, using felt for both the base and the decorations creates a soft, three-dimensional effect.
A key point is to finish the decorations with a soft feel by adding stuffing inside or layering pieces when gluing them on.
If making each decoration from scratch is challenging, another recommended approach is to prepare the parts in advance and have participants arrange them to create their own design.
cardboard ema (votive tablet)
Cut cardboard into the shape of ema (votive plaques), then decorate them with New Year–themed illustrations such as the zodiac animals and with each person’s wishes.
By making use of the cardboard’s natural brown color, you can evoke the soft, wooden feel of real ema.
You can certainly have everyone draw their own design on the front, but if you prepare illustrations in advance and let participants choose from them, they can focus more on thinking about their wishes and writing the text.
Selecting an illustration that perfectly matches each wish is another enjoyable part of the process.
Ema and Daruma
Speaking of January, it’s all about New Year’s—festive wall decorations really lift the mood, don’t they? Try decorating the walls with origami daruma dolls and ema plaques to fully enjoy the New Year spirit! How about having each older adult fold an origami piece and write their wishes on an ema? Some seniors may find it difficult to go out for the first shrine visit of the year.
By writing their wishes on an ema, they might still get a taste of that experience.
Daruma in various colors look adorable when you put up lots of them!
A life-sized ema made from A4 copy paper
This is an ema (votive plaque) you can make from A4 copy paper, with the appeal of not even needing scissors.
You shape both ends of the rectangle into a roof-like form, then fold it in half and tuck it in, so both sides finish smoothly.
You will need small creases as guides for shaping, but to keep the final piece looking beautiful, it’s best to make those guide marks as inconspicuous as possible.
If you insert a piece of cardstock while shaping, it will turn out sturdier and make it easier to write your wish.
Easy DIY: Ema with Traditional Japanese Patterns
This craft strongly conveys that ema are part of Japanese culture by using thick paper as a base and decorating the edges with washi-patterned origami.
Cut the thick paper into the shape of an ema, then glue washi-patterned origami around the edges as if wrapping it.
Leave the center white to write a wish, and finish by attaching illustrations—such as the zodiac—that you prepared separately from the base.
In addition to origami, it’s also recommended to have various washi-style patterns ready using items like masking tape, so participants can enjoy the time spent choosing their designs.