Celebrate the Chinese New Year by making an easy parade dragon using standard hula hoops for the head and body. Dragons are considered good luck in China, and what better way to ensure good luck in the New Year than to make one for your own celebration. Create the basic head shape with two hoops together and use additional hoops to create the long backbone.
Instructions
1. Select a picture of a Chinese parade dragon from which to work. A simple Internet search yields hundreds of such pictures and photos.
2. Position one hula hoop inside another so that they intersect at 90-degree angles to create a globe shape. Bind the two intersecting points with straight wire. Cover the globe shape with fine gauge wire mesh, molding the wire mesh into the shape of a dragon's head as you go. Leave the bottom of the globe shape uncovered so that when finished, the head can slip over the head and shoulders of a person. Secure the wire mesh to the hula hoops with short lengths of straight wire.
3. Dilute three parts standard white glue with one part water in a disposable plastic bowl. Rip newspaper into strips about 1-inch wide by 4 or 5 inches long, dip them in the glue and lay them over the wire mesh. Continue wrapping the wire mesh dragon head with glue-soaked newspaper strips until the head is completely covered. Let the head dry completely.
4. Sew two twin-bed top sheets together end to end. Bind the top edge of the joined sheets to the top half of a hula hoop using a needle and thread. Bind the top half of another hula hoop to the joined sheets at the back edge. Sew the top halves of two more hoops to the joined sheet lengths at equal intervals between the front and back hoops.
5. Cut oval shaped scales from felt. Red, green and gold are the most traditional colors. Cover the entire length of sheet with the scales, starting at the bottom edges and layering the scales just as shingles are layered on a roof. Sew them into place with a needle and thread.
6. Decorate the papier mache head of the dragon with paint and felt scales. Attach any felt scales to the head with hot glue. Add red and gold ribbons to the dragon head at the temples using hot glue. Add any additional decorations desired.
7. Animate the Chinese parade dragon by slipping the head over the head and shoulders of one person while four more people slip beneath the sheet and each hold a hula hoop.
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