Things You'll Need
Pencil
Construction paper
Toilet paper roll
White craft glue
Craft eyes
Markers
2 paper towel rolls
Brads
Creating your own dragon from cardboard may sound complicated at first, but kids of all ages can participate in this craft project. Further, you can alter the dragon craft project depending on the age of your children. Younger children should engage in a project that requires little gluing and cutting, focusing instead on decorating. Older children, on the other hand, can handle a more complex dragon craft project because of their better-developed motor skills. Both the simple and complex versions of the cardboard dragon project help children use their imagination and creativity.
Simple Cardboard Dragon Project
Step 1
Draw webbed feet, small arms and wings on a sheet of construction paper. Cut these shapes out and place them on the table for later use.
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Step 2
Glue two craft eyes, also known as "googly" eyes, onto one of the the ends of the toilet paper roll. Hold the eyes in place for about a minute until the glue sets.
Step 3
Glue the webbed feet to the bottom of the toilet paper roll, on the opposite end to the eyes. Hold the feet in place for about a minute until the glue sets. Repeat this process for the arms, gluing them toward the middle of the roll.
Step 4
Draw a mouth, and add any decorations or coloring you'd like. For instance, you might color the cardboard body with markers, and add a construction-paper tail.
Complex Cardboard Dragon Project
Step 1
Cut a paper towel roll into five equal sections. Next, cut two large semi-circles on each end of the cardboard tubing pieces. To illustrate, each semi-circle should have at least 1 inch of space between it and the semi-circle on the same side. There should also be a 1-inch space between the semi-circles opposite each other. In all, each cardboard tubing piece as four semi-circles. .
Step 2
Attach the cardboard tubing sections to each other. Line up the sections to form a segmented "body," then puncture holes in the cardboard tubing with the brads, fastening the overlapping sections with the brads. Overlap and fasten the sections that do not have semi-circles. Continue on both sides of the paper towel roll pieces until all five pieces are connected. The brads will allow the pieces to move from side to side, like a snake.
Step 3
Cut the other cardboard paper towel roll in half. Set aside one piece, and cut semi-circles on only one end. This cardboard piece serves as the dragon's head.
Step 4
Cut the remaining cardboard piece. Cut two semi-circles on one end of the piece. Next, cut the other end into a triangle, gradually tapering it at the end. This pointy shape serves as the dragon's tail. Attach the head and the tail to the dragon's body using brads, in the same manner that you connected the pieces for the body.
Step 5
Draw wings and arms on a piece of construction paper and cut them out. Glue these pieces onto the cardboard dragon body with white craft glue. Decorate the rest of the dragon as you please, using pencils and markers to draw in eyes and a mouth, and to color the body.
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