I noticed that the grain on a certain brand of plastic fruit cups looks like wood grain, and when I put two together, it looked like a barrel.

Since I play taiko, or Japanese drums, on drums made from whisky barrels, I wanted to see if I could make a taiko craft.

This craft is not very accurate, really. The drums we play are either tied with rope OR the heads are held on by tacks called byou. This craft has both. But I really needed the string to hold it together, and without the beads, it was rather dull to look at.

Also, taiko byou are usually just black, not this nice rainbow of color.

So enjoy how cute it is without getting too caught up in accuracy. 🙂

How I Made the Taiko Craft

1) Stick two recycled fruit cups together with a few glue dots.

2) Paint the sides dark brown (don’t worry about the ends because they will be covered up).

3) Cut thick fabric (I used recycled upholstery fabric samples) in a circle the size of a small yogurt lid with pinking shears. Cut four circles if the fabric has a pattern on one side.

4) Sew seed beads in a zig zag pattern around the edge.

5) Put one glue dot on each end and place on the fabric circles.

6) Take 3 strands of embroidery floss and sew in a zig zag up and down, leaving about 3/4 of an inch between each stitch.

🙂