Dancing Dragon for the Chinese New Year

I saw this crafty dragon in Kiwi Magazine (February/March 2010), and had to share.

Happy Chinese New Year! Celebrate the Year of the Tiger on February 14 with your own mini parade—the dragon is usually the grand finale, so be sure to add plenty of ribbon to make yours extra festive!

By Ellen Goldberg

Materials
1 egg carton
1 cereal box or piece of cardboard
4 craft sticks
1 sheet of newspaper
Ribbon, rickrack, buttons, fabric scraps
Green craft paint
Scissors
Glue

Directions
1. Cut 2 of the egg cups from the carton. From the cereal box, cut 2 small triangles (for the ears) and 2 squares with rounded edges that are slightly larger than the base of the egg cups. Paint all of these pieces green.

2. On 1 corner of the squares, glue an ear to each of the top corners. Then, glue a square to the base of each egg cup.

3. Create the front handle by gluing 2 craft sticks together, then gluing them to the back of the dragon's face. Glue 2 more craft sticks together, then glue them to the other egg cup to create the back handle.

4. Cut 2 pieces of newspaper 14 inches long by 4 inches wide, then fold over so the narrow side is 2 inches wide.

5. To create the dragon's body, place the strips at a 90 degree angle, overlapping the ends. Fold the bottom strip over the top one and repeat until you've folded all the paper together.

6. Glue 1 end of the newspaper to the back of the dragon's face. Turn the rear egg cup so the 2 craft-tick handles point in opposite directions, then glue the other end of the newspaper to the rear cup. This will make your dragon open properly when you hold the handles parallel in each hand.

7. Decorate the head with buttons and rickrack to create eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Glue ribbons and fabric scraps to the center of the rear cup to create the tail, then add more to the head.

8. Open the dragon and use the handles to make him dance!