Hello Friends! Last week I was super busy helping my daughter’s girl scout troop prepare for thinking day. We were representing the country China. I thought I’d share our adventures and ideas with you in case you are getting ready for Thinking Day, Chinese New Year or if you just want to make a Chinese dragon costume.
I was hoping to figure out how to record a voice-over for this video so I could explain how we made the costume but I could not so I put a supply list and brief instructions in the video description on the You tube watch page. Here you can see the dragon in action!
The head was made of cardboard boxes covered in corrugated paper and crepe paper party streamers. The tail was made of 3 red rectangle disposable tablecloths sewed together with my sewing machine (yes, we sewed them, can you believe that worked?!?) and spray painted with scales. I attached the tail to the head with carpet tape. Again, for more details read the description under the video here. Here are a couple closer pics I took in my studio:
The girls researched the country and made the Tri-fold display. We served rice and tea.
We had Chinese money on display and the girls made swaps that were rice and toothpicks glued into bottle caps to look like bowls of rice with chopsticks, then they were glued to fun-foam place mats. there was a magnet on the back and the year (2014) on the front.
For our craft we did paper-folding. Origami is a Japanese term however the Chinese have a tradition of paper-folding as well, they generally made boats and hats.
The girls taught other girl scouts to make these paper boats.
The girls also learned how to make a Chinese throwing star but we soon realized that it was too advanced a craft for the amount of time we had.
I made this tutorial for Chinese New Year back in January, it would also be a good project for thinking day, either as a decoration, an activity (if you have a long craft time) or to use in the performance.
Supplies to make the Chinese Dragon and the above paper drum craft can be found at Papermart. A great place to check out when you need craft, party or packaging supplies in bulk! I hope you enjoyed this post and hopefully it gave you some new ideas! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 
What a wonderful Thinking Day presentation, the dragon, the swaps, crafts, information and more! You and your troop of girls did a great job!
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We were in Hong Kong two years ago for Chinese New Year and you did the best thinking day ever,it represented everything we had seen,brilliant job and well done to you and your girls.
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Fun! You and the girls spent quality time together, worked hard as a team, and those memories will last for generations! Good Show Girl Scouts!
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Great projects Lindsay. What a fun thing to do with the group.
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Wow! That is fantastic! Your little bowls of rice with tiny chopsticks was very creative too. What great memories your daughters will have.
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What a fun presentation….that is one lucky school to have you on their team! The lead dragon – was that you???? Great learning experience for the kids! TFS….I enjoyed it!
Jan
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no it wasn’t it was our leader:) I don’t lead the troop, I’m just a mom that helps:)
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Your kids must be so proud of you, you are the coolest Mom ever! Love the Dragon! ~Diane
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Hi Lindsay, I just love all that you created for your daughters GS group. I have to tell you I, now a grandma, can remember my very first craft project as a Brownie. Yes, it is true all those years ago (I’m thinking 1967 or so) Our troop (#211, I might add) made “sit upons” for outings like a picnic or a football game. 2- 24 inch squares of wallpaper samples that we punched holes in and sandwiched newspaper in between. We laced them together with yarn. I was so proud of it. I tell you this Lindsay because my Mom (a 3rd grade teacher) who always had time for not just the girls but the Boy Scouts too is the reason why I craft today. Young people creating leads to a life filled with pride. I still feel it today each time my Grand-daughter and I make things together. I am sure the girls in your daughters troop feel the same sense of pride in their project. I follow your blog and continue to grow each day as a crafter thanks to your many tips, tricks and inspiration. Thanks so much for all you do. I just love your ask a crafter videos. Thank you again for all you do.
Lysa
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Thanks Lysa:) We made sit-upons on out first brownie campout when we crossed over from Daises to brownies:)
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You are such an awesome mom!!!!
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Fun, fun, fun! Those kids are lucky to have you to help. You have such great ideas.
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I always love to hear about your Girl Scout projects. As my parents were very involved in the scouting when I was a child, your projects bring back many fond memories. You are shaping many girls for the future. Well Done!!!
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Hi,
We love this idea and plan to use it for our troop this year. Can you tell me exactly what the pipe insulation poles are. They aren’t listed on the things we will need. And what did you use to sew on the gussets?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
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I sewed the gussets with my sewing machine, it worked great on the cheap plastic table cloths. The pipe insulation is from the hardware store, it comes in 10 foot lengths I think. Home depot or lowes should have it. Happy thinking day, our girls are doing Sweden this year;)
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