Dragons are big in our house these days! My boys love the Dragon Master books, Dragon City game, and all things dragon! So we were really happy to see that this months Bostik craft blogger theme was dragons. I decided to make a dragon themed shield with them, using cardboard and a few other recycled materials, so that they could play with it after we finished crafting. This was really easy to make, and I think it came out great!
Supplies
- Large piece of strong cardboard (square)
- Silver card
- Red ribbon (thin) (and gold sequin ribbon if you have it)
- 1 Green cupcake liner
- Glittery gold card (or use green, red, or whichever colour you like for the dragon’s body)
- Craft gems and / or gold coins
- Bostik white glue
- Double sided tape or Bostik glue dots, & single sided tape
- Scissors
Optional extra: you could also use Bostik glitter glue to decorate
Steps
First you need to cut your cardboard shield into shape by cutting a round point into the bottom half of the cardboard square. Then, use a strip from the part you cut off to make a simple handle, and tape it onto the back of the shield.
Next, turn the shield around and you’re ready to start decorating the front.
We added textured silver cardboard to the top of the shield to make a border, and thin red ribbon around the bottom edge. We stuck these down with Bostik white glue. When using the white glue, use plenty and allow it some time to dry and then it will be stuck down firmly and securely.
Leave the borders of the shield to dry while you make the dragon to go in the middle. To make this, we used the cupcake liner for the wings and dragon head, and the gold card to make the body.
Drawing a dragon is not always easy! But this method makes it pretty simple. We drew the body in the shape of a long thin wiggly line with an arrow tail, and then just cut and stick on basic wings and head shape, and you will see the dragon shape start to become recognisable. The crinkly texture of the cupcake liner gives you a good effect for the dragon wings!
Again, we stuck this all together with white glue, and you’ll need a few minutes for it to dry and stick firmly. Once the dragon is dried, stick it directly on to the front of the shield.
Finally, we decorated the shield a little more with jewels and gold coins, since dragons are known to sit on piles of treasure and gold in their dragon caves! To stick the gems down we used Bostik glue dots, or you can use double sided tape. Because they are quite heavy, the glue dots work best here rather than white glue.
And for one final touch, we added the flames coming out of the dragon’s mouth. We used strips of sequinned ribbon in red and gold) and leave it all to dry.
Once it’s dry, you’re ready to play and use the shield. We added it to one of our own knight’s costumes from the dressing up box. You can also make your own cardboard sword to go with it, or use a toy sword that you already have.
Ta da… your very own dragon shield! Perfect for kids who love dragons and knights, or want to be a “dragon master”
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
This is a great idea, definitely going to try this with my nephews!