How to Make Chinese Paper Chains
Celebrate the Chinese New Year by designing a Chinese dragon paper chain. This chain is representative of the dragon dance featured in the Chinese New Year parade. Fabricate the dragon's face with simple shapes and materials or use mixed media. Craft with bamboo paper, silks and other embossed textures. Find an image source to use as a guide and create a richly detailed dragon. Look to dragon masks and other illustrated dragon symbolism for ideas.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Paper: green, red, orange, yellowish-gold, white
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Markers: black, orange or gold
- Paper glue
- Plastic wiggly eyes, adhesive
- Red ribbon, wide
- String
Instructions
-
How to Make Chinese Paper Chains
-
1
Take a look at paper types and texture. Depending on preference, consider rice, origami and bamboo, handmade and even construction paper. Draw lines 1 inch apart along the width of at least two pieces of green paper.
-
2
Cut 12 or more strips depending on the desired length of the chain. Decorate the strips with dragon scales by sketching overlapping loose U's with a black or gold fine-tipped marker.
-
-
3
Form one paper strip into a circle. Glue one strip end to the other and create the first loop. Next, slip the next strip through the first and glue ends. Repeat this process until the desired length. Allow to dry.
-
4
Cut a curvy oval shape out of orange paper. Alternately, find a template or clip art online on sites such as Discovery Education or Clip Art Guide of a Chinese dragon mask used in the Chinese New Year and trace the outline.
-
5
Draw a wavy pattern similar to a blazing fire or lion's mane out of orange paper. Affix it to the bottom of the face. It should curve upward toward the sides of the mouth. Using the orange marker, edge along where the two papers meet.
-
6
Cut out a wide U from yellow paper. Glue it directly above the orange marker to highlight the dragon's open mouth.
-
7
Sketch two red acute triangles for fangs. Attach them directly above the dragon's open mouth. Cut out two white oval circles and glue as the base of the eyes. Next, set two wiggly eyes onto the face, wide apart. With black marker, rim the outer edges of the eyes like eyeliner.
-
8
Create a forked tongue by cutting a long strip of red paper or a wide ribbon. Make sharp clips on one end for the pronged split. Run open scissors along the strip to coil. Crease the straight-edged end and attach it at the mouth's center. Draw or cut out two coils to represent the dragon's nose and place at a slight angle below the eyes.
-
9
Glue the dragon face onto the front of the last loop and dry. Hang from the ceiling with different lengths of matching colored string to simulate the animated movement of a Chinese dragon.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Get creative with the dragon's features by using different materials or adding glitter and other embellishments.
Explore various paper textures to change the veracity of the dragon.
