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How to fold an origami dragon's nest

A storybook mountain top to stand up. Fold clouds, a rocky peak with a ledge, a cave, a mother dragon with a curly tail, a hatching baby, its egg, a nest and gems.

You need: Light blue A4 and 20 smaller pieces: white, grey, dark, lilac, purple, pink, mint, brown, blue and green (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, pens.. Challenge, 106 steps, about 120 minutes.

Steps

  1. Sky: crease the middle. Start with the sky: a light blue A4 sheet lying long. Fold it in half, short edges together, and open it. It bends on this crease to stand.
  2. Cloud: new sheet. Set the sky aside. For a cloud's big puff, take a 4.8 cm white square.
  3. Cloud: big puff: corners in. Fold all four corners in so their tips meet in the middle.
  4. Cloud: big puff: turn it over. Flip it over so the smooth side faces you.
  5. Cloud: big puff: round it. Fold each of the four corners behind, a third of the way to the middle.
  6. Cloud: big puff: round it more. Fold just the tips of the four top corners behind. This top half will peek over the cloud, nice and round.
  7. Cloud: small puff: new sheet. Set the big puff aside. Take a second white square the same size.
  8. Cloud: small puff: corners in. Fold all four corners in so their tips meet in the middle.
  9. Cloud: small puff: corners in again. Fold the four new corners in to the middle too. Now it is a small square.
  10. Cloud: small puff: turn it over. Flip it over so the smooth side faces you.
  11. Cloud: small puff: round it. Fold each of the four corners behind, a third of the way to the middle.
  12. Cloud: small puff: round it more. Fold just the tips of the four top corners behind, like you did on the big puff.
  13. Cloud: body: new sheet. Set the small puff aside. Take a third white square.
  14. Cloud: body: fold in half. Fold the top half down behind, so the top edge meets the bottom edge at the back.
  15. Cloud: body: round the corners. Fold all four corners behind: small ones at the top, bigger ones at the bottom.
  16. Cloud: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold a second cloud the same way, a little bigger.
  17. Cloud: big puff: corners in. Fold all four corners in so their tips meet in the middle.
  18. Cloud: big puff: turn it over. Flip it over so the smooth side faces you.
  19. Cloud: big puff: round it. Fold each of the four corners behind, a third of the way to the middle.
  20. Cloud: big puff: round it more. Fold just the tips of the four top corners behind. This top half will peek over the cloud, nice and round.
  21. Cloud: small puff: new sheet. Set the big puff aside. Take a second white square the same size.
  22. Cloud: small puff: corners in. Fold all four corners in so their tips meet in the middle.
  23. Cloud: small puff: corners in again. Fold the four new corners in to the middle too. Now it is a small square.
  24. Cloud: small puff: turn it over. Flip it over so the smooth side faces you.
  25. Cloud: small puff: round it. Fold each of the four corners behind, a third of the way to the middle.
  26. Cloud: small puff: round it more. Fold just the tips of the four top corners behind, like you did on the big puff.
  27. Cloud: body: new sheet. Set the small puff aside. Take a third white square.
  28. Cloud: body: fold in half. Fold the top half down behind, so the top edge meets the bottom edge at the back.
  29. Cloud: body: round the corners. Fold all four corners behind: small ones at the top, bigger ones at the bottom.
  30. Rocky peak: new sheet. Set the cloud aside. For the rocky peak, take a 23 × 11.3 cm grey piece, grey side up.
  31. Rocky peak: slopes. Fold the top corners behind on long slants, steeper on the left than on the right, leaving a flat summit about 7 cm wide.
  32. Rocky peak: top behind. Fold the whole top behind on a level line 5.3 cm below the summit.
  33. Rocky peak: a ledge. Behind, fold it back up 6 mm lower so the summit pops up again. The step is a rocky ledge.
  34. Cave: new sheet. Set the peak aside. For the cave mouth, take a 4.0 × 4.7 cm very dark piece, dark side up.
  35. Cave: arch. Fold the two top corners behind, 1.4 cm along each edge.
  36. Cave: round it. Fold the four new corners behind just a little, so the arch is round.
  37. Mother: wings: new sheet. Set the cave aside. For the mother dragon's wings, take an 8 × 7 cm lilac piece, lilac side up.
  38. Mother: wings: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge. The fold is the middle of the back.
  39. Mother: wings: crease a line. Fold the right edge over on an upright crease 2.5 cm from the middle fold.
  40. Mother: wings: open it. Unfold that last fold. The crease lets you cut a notch in the wing's edge.
  41. Mother: wings: cut the wing. Cut a curved top from the fold up to the far top corner. Cut the bottom: tip to the crease 1.5 cm down, snip up the crease, then down to the fold.
  42. Mother: wings: open them. Unfold it: a pair of pointed bat wings with a notch in each.
  43. Mother: body: new strip. Set the wings aside. For her body, take a 28.3 × 6 cm purple strip, white side up.
  44. Mother: body: fold in half. Fold the strip in half along its length, top edge down to the bottom edge.
  45. Mother: body: thick strip. Fold it in half along its length again: a thick purple strip.
  46. Mother: body: taper the tail. Fold the bottom edge of the right end behind on a long slant, from 6.6 cm in to half as wide at the end.
  47. Mother: body: point the tail. Fold the top corner of the right end behind on a slant, so the tail ends in a sharp point.
  48. Mother: body: neck and tail up. Fold both ends straight up on 45° folds, 14 cm apart: the long neck on the left, the tail on the right.
  49. Mother: body: curl the tail. Fold the last 2.2 cm of the tail out to the right on a slant, so its tip curls.
  50. Mother: head: new sheet. Set the body aside. For her head, take a 4.7 cm purple square, purple side up.
  51. Mother: head: crease the brow. Fold the top edge down on a level crease 8 mm below it.
  52. Mother: head: open it. Unfold it again. The horns will be cut from the strip above this crease.
  53. Mother: head: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  54. Mother: head: cut the horn. Snip the crease beside the fold. Above it, cut a horn 5 mm from the fold: up to a 3 mm top, then down. Snip the crease on out, round the far corners.
  55. Mother: head: open it out. Unfold the middle fold: a round face with two little pointed horns.
  56. Mother: head: pleat the snout. Fold the bottom edge up on a level crease 9 mm above it.
  57. Mother: head: fold it back down. Fold it back down on a crease 3 mm higher. The step across the face is the top of the snout.
  58. Baby: wings: new sheet. Set the mother's head aside. For the baby's wings, take a 6.3 × 5.3 cm lilac piece, lilac side up.
  59. Baby: wings: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge. The fold is the middle of the back.
  60. Baby: wings: crease a line. Fold the right edge over on an upright crease 2 cm from the middle fold.
  61. Baby: wings: open it. Unfold that last fold. The crease lets you cut a notch in the wing's edge.
  62. Baby: wings: cut the wing. Cut a curved top from the fold up to the far top corner. Cut the bottom: tip to the crease 1 cm down, snip up the crease, then down to the fold.
  63. Baby: wings: open them. Unfold it: a pair of pointed bat wings with a notch in each.
  64. Baby: new sheet. Set the wings aside. For the baby's body, take a 5.3 cm pink square, pink side up, turned like a diamond.
  65. Baby: body: fold up the belly. Fold the bottom corner up 2 cm, so a white triangle shows: the belly.
  66. Baby: belly: pleat it. Fold the belly's point down on a level crease 1 cm above the bottom edge.
  67. Baby: belly: fold it back up. Fold the point back up on a crease 2 mm lower. A little step crosses the belly, like a dragon's belly scales.
  68. Baby: body: plump it. Fold the left and right corners behind on slants, 1 cm from the middle at the top and 2 cm at the bottom, for a pear shape.
  69. Baby: body: fold the top. Fold the top point behind on a level crease 3.5 cm above the bottom edge.
  70. Baby: head: new sheet. Set the body aside. For the baby's head, take a 3.7 cm pink square, pink side up.
  71. Baby: head: crease the brow. Fold the top edge down on a level crease 6 mm below it.
  72. Baby: head: open it. Unfold it again. The horns will be cut from the strip above this crease.
  73. Baby: head: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  74. Baby: head: cut the horn. Snip the crease beside the fold. Above it, cut a horn 4 mm from the fold: up to a 2 mm top, then down. Snip the crease on out, round the far corners.
  75. Baby: head: open it out. Unfold the middle fold: a round face with two little pointed horns.
  76. Baby: head: pleat the snout. Fold the bottom edge up on a level crease 7 mm above it.
  77. Baby: head: fold it back down. Fold it back down on a crease 2 mm higher. The step across the face is the top of the snout.
  78. Nest: new sheet. Set the head aside. For the nest, take an 8.4 × 3.7 cm brown piece, brown side up.
  79. Nest: top behind. Fold the top behind on a level line 1.7 cm below the top edge.
  80. Nest: twiggy rim. Behind, fold it back up 4 mm lower so it pops up again: a thick rim.
  81. Nest: bowl shape. Fold the bottom corners behind, 2 cm along each edge, and the top corners just a little.
  82. Eggshell cap: new sheet. Set the nest aside. For the top of the eggshell, take a 1.7 × 1.1 cm mint piece, mint side up.
  83. Eggshell cap: round it. Fold the two top corners behind, 6 mm along each edge: a little round cap for the baby.
  84. Eggshell: new sheet. Set the cap aside. For the bottom of the eggshell, take a 5 × 4.2 cm mint piece, mint side up.
  85. Eggshell: broken edge. Fold the top edge down 6 mm. The white band is the inside of the broken shell.
  86. Eggshell: round it. Fold the top corners behind 5 mm and the bottom corners behind 1.8 cm along each edge: a round eggshell.
  87. Gem: new sheet. Set the eggshell aside. For a gem, take a 2.5 cm blue square, blue side up, turned like a diamond.
  88. Gem: crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  89. Gem: crease the facets. Fold the two lower edges in to the centre crease, crease them well, and unfold. These creases become facets.
  90. Gem: fold the top down. Fold the top corner down, so the crease sits a third of the way down the centre crease.
  91. Gem: tip back up. Fold the white tip back up along the line between the side corners.
  92. Gem: blunt the sides. Fold the left and right corners behind, about a finger-width, to make short straight sides.
  93. Gem: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold a pink gem the same way.
  94. Gem: crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  95. Gem: crease the facets. Fold the two lower edges in to the centre crease, crease them well, and unfold. These creases become facets.
  96. Gem: fold the top down. Fold the top corner down, so the crease sits a third of the way down the centre crease.
  97. Gem: tip back up. Fold the white tip back up along the line between the side corners.
  98. Gem: blunt the sides. Fold the left and right corners behind, about a finger-width, to make short straight sides.
  99. Gem: new sheet. Set it aside. Fold a green gem the same way.
  100. Gem: crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  101. Gem: crease the facets. Fold the two lower edges in to the centre crease, crease them well, and unfold. These creases become facets.
  102. Gem: fold the top down. Fold the top corner down, so the crease sits a third of the way down the centre crease.
  103. Gem: tip back up. Fold the white tip back up along the line between the side corners.
  104. Gem: blunt the sides. Fold the left and right corners behind, about a finger-width, to make short straight sides.
  105. Build the peak. Glue the clouds, the rocky peak and the cave on the sky. Add the mother dragon, the baby, the nest, the eggshell in front and the gems.
  106. Stand it up. Bend the sky gently towards you on the middle crease and stand the dragon's peak up on the table.

Hello, little one!

Draw shiny eyes and smiles on both dragons, a crack on the eggshell, twigs on the nest and sparkles round the gems.

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