Whether you celebrate Chinese New Year or simply want a fun craft project for a child, make a DIY Chinese New Year snake to usher in the Year of the Snake.
This year, the Lunar New Year falls on Wednesday, January 29th, and ends with the Lantern Festival on February 12th.
These slithery snakes are made with cardstock and toilet paper rolls.
Overview: DIY Chinese New Year Snake
This is a simple craft project. It uses a toilet paper roll for the head of the snake and a paper chain for the body. The only tricky part is in how you attach the first link of the chain to the head.
You’ll begin by wrapping a cardstock strip around the snake head and gluing it in place to form the anchor. Next, you’ll staple the second strip at right angles to the anchor strip, gluing the ends together to form the first link of the chain. Then it’s simply continuing to make the paper chains, linking each strip to the next, to complete the body.
Actually, when I was designing the snake, I hadn’t quite thought through how to attach the paper chain body to the head. It was eight-year-old N, who started to work with the pieces, who figured it out!
Miss T draws her snakeskin design.
How to Make a DIY Chinese New Year Snake
Materials Needed
1 empty toilet paper roll
Acrylic or tempera paint
1 sheet (12- X 12-inch square) cardstock, color of your choice
Scrap of red cardstock to form the tongue
Markers or black Sharpie to draw patterns and features
Using a paper cutter or scissors, cut the cardstock into eight strips, 1 1/2 inches by 7 1/4 inches each.
Paint the toilet paper roll and decorate cardstock strips.
Note: paper has a grain; it will curl better in one direction than the other. To test, roll the paper up from one edge to the opposite edge (top to bottom); unroll, then roll the paper from one side to the opposite side. You’ll definitely see that the paper rolls better one way. Cut your strips to conform with the natural roll.
Next, draw a design on the strips with markers. We used thick and thin black Sharpies. Draw any design of your choice or follow authentic snakeskin patterns.
Once the markers have dried, stack the strips and roll them together, design-side out. Hold them together with a binder clip, clothespin or a heavy-duty paper clip. You want to get the strips predisposed to roll. Allow a half hour to an hour to set.
Dragon dances are part of Chinese New Year. Make a dragon puppet.
Make the Snake Head
Flatten one end of the toilet paper roll. Cut out an oval shape to form the snake head.
Rolls for the snake body are held with a binder clip; toilet roll is cut to form snake head.
Draw the snake eyes. Cut a strip of red cardstock to form the tongue and glue in place.
Attach the Body
Glue one strip of cardstock to the toilet roll head about 3/4 inch from the edge, overlapping the strip to secure in place and form the anchor. Now you have a band of cardstock around the snake head.
Tuck in the second strip at right angles to the anchor strip and staple in place; glue ends together to form first chain link.
Take the next strip of cardstock and tuck it into the cardstock anchor, at right angles to the first strip, leaving the ends free. Use a stapler to staple the cardstock strip at the top of the snake and at the bottom to secure. Now glue the free ends of the cardstock strip together, overlapping. This is the first link in your paper chain.
Next, hook the third strip through the loop made by the second strip and glue in place. Continue to form a chain until all strips are used. To keep the strips from popping apart, use paper clips to hold the strips together until the glue has dried.
To keep the paper chain from loosening, put a paper clip at each seam to hold in place until glue dries.
Additional Ideas
Instead of gluing the strips, you can staple them together, as my grandkids chose to do. You need a small stapler and be able to maneuver between chain links. It’s faster but make sure kids don’t staple their fingers.
N made a tail for his snake by taking a scrap of cardstock the width of the chain and cutting it into a point. Glue or staple in place.
You can make the snake as long as you like by cutting more strips from a second sheet of cardstock.
N chose to staple his chains together instead of using glue.
The grandkids had a fun time making their snakes and the project was started and completed easily after our Friday night dinner. Snakes can be hung by a string from a bedpost or light fixture. Make a few of them in different colors to create a den of snakes to celebrate the New Year!
