Rock 'n' Roll Drummer

Total Time Needed:: Afternoon Or Evening

This drummer costume truly rocks -- and rolls! Great for the kid whose wheelchair becomes just another part of the costume.

Materials

Pencil
Hula hoop
White Fome-Cor
Utility knife
Duct tape
Corrugated cardboard (14x95-inch strip)
Thumbtacks
Gift wrap
Tape
Removable tray fitted for wheelchair

Nylon rope
2 cylindrical cardboard 1-gallon ice-cream containers
2 large paper fasteners
Acrylic paint
Paintbrushes
Wooden dowel (3-feet-long, 1/2-inch-wide)
2 foil pie plates (10-inch diameter)
2 rubber bands
Drumsticks
Sunglasses

Instructions

To make the base drum, trace the outline of a hula hoop onto Fome-Cor and cut it out with a utility knife. Tape the cardboard sheet to the hula hoop, spacing the strips of duct tape about 7 inches apart. (To make the cardboard more flexible, try rolling it up lengthwise first.) Insert the Fome-Cor circle into the hula hoop and adjust it until it sits approximately 2 1/2 inches in from the rim. Secure the Fome-Cor with thumbtacks set along the outside of the cardboard, then cover the cardboard with gift wrap.
To fit the base drum, begin with the foot platforms as your guide, and fit the bottom of the drum under them. Mark where the top of the drum meets the tray. With the utility knife, make two holes just above where the cardboard touches the tray. Add a third hole between them. Thread a 2-yard length of nylon rope through each of the 3 holes and loop both ends of each rope over and back under the tray. Tightly knot the ropes in place.
To make the small drum, cover each ice-cream container with gift wrap. Cut a 6-inch, angled slit along the side of each container and fit one cylinder over each corner of the tray (you may have to lengthen the slit for a better fit). To secure, drive a paper fastener through the large and small drums where their surfaces touch.
To make the cymbals: Paint the dowel and tie it onto the side of the chair with two pieces of rope. Cut a small X into the center of each pie plate. Slide a rubber band onto the dowel about 10 inches from the top and wrap until tight. Slide one foil plate, faceup, on top of the rubber band. Wrap a second rubber band around the dowel 6 inches above the first plate. Add the second plate, facedown.
All that's left is for the drummer to dress up in his rock star gear, and let it roll!