Paper Plate Dragon Kite Crafts for the Chinese New Year
In celebration of the Chinese New Year, many people engage in craft projects to create images of dragons, symbolizing strength, luck and supernatural energy in traditional Chinese culture. Displaying dragons during the time of the New Year is believed to be auspicious. Combine your dragon craft with the ancient art of Chinese kite making by creating a dragon kite using a simple paper plate.
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Gathering Materials
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To create a dragon kite, you will need a paper plate, a spool of kite string, a hole puncher, crepe paper streamers, scissors, paste, a ruler and coloring utensils. If you can't find kite string, you can also use yarn. Large, light paper plates work best for flying. You can keep your coloring simple or choose to get elaborate, using glitters, paints and markers. Be sure not to make your paper plate too heavy.
Decorating the Paper Plate
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Using your coloring utensils, decorate the paper plate to look like a dragon. You might include spikes, googly eyes, fire or fangs. Traditionally, Chinese dragon images are very colorful and vibrant. Attach lengths of crepe paper streamers to the plate. Don't forget to decorate the backside, too. For young children or to keep the project fast and simple, you can print out an image of a dragon from the internet and simply glue it on.
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Making the Kite
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To make the paper plate into a kite, punch two holes in the side of the plate directly across from one another. Tie an 18-inch length of kite string between the two holes, making sure the string is on the front side of the plate. Attach the end of the spool of kite string to the middle of the 18-inch length you just tied on to the plate. Now you are ready to fly your kite.
Additional Paper Plate Dragon Crafts
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Other paper plate dragon crafts appropriate for Chinese New Year celebrations include masks, puppets and wall decorations. You may also create an elaborate dragon costume to be worn by several people in a parade or at a party.
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References
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