Once Upon a Halloween

by James
(Mississippi, USA)

Not long ago there were dragons, bats, and masks galore around our home. The fearsome dragon was made from several sheets of poster board and stood about 2 feet tall. He took the better part of a day to fold. We modified the tail of an alligator origami project to be used as the dragon's tail. We curved it in order to increase its support. A friend air-brushed a green, dark green, and black coat from head to toe. We then purchased some shell type beads that look like fish scales from a local hobby shop. we then glued these scales in key places on his body (not everywhere as it would have been too expensive).

Once everything dried and we made sure the dragon would stand well on its own, we extended a hose from our fog machine and snaked it up through its body to it open mouth area. We had a strand of small LED lights that we ran up inside of its body where we poked three holes in each eye area and pushed three of the lights through to create his shining eyes. The remaining lights inside of his body shined downward created an unplanned eerie effect especially when the fog came out of his mouth and was held close to the ground.

The dragon was placed outside of our front door to our home.

In addition to the dragon we had folded some bats. Each had an approximate wingspan of 14 inches. This, among other decorations, was the object of conversation for the Halloween Party we had in our home for a group of teenagers.

Seasons come and seasons go but origami can be made to fit any season. Happy Folding!!