Thrumm, thrumm...beat the tribal drum.

What a striking centerpiece!  We turned an ordinary wood pedestal bowl into a unique and beautiful work of art. And, African animal embroidery designs add to the fun!

An abundance of texture will have everyone wanting to reach out and touch the lacing, top, and trim, just to get a "feel" for this decor.

Here are just a few examples of the types of containers that could be used for this project.  We purchased these at World Market, but we found many other sources too, once we started looking. Look for baskets and bowls at places like WalMart, Target, Michaels, etc.

Supplies needed:

• Wide topped container

• 6 to  8 yards of sturdy lacing or cording

• 2 yards of jute braid trim

• 1/2 yard of heavy vinyl with fabric or felt back

• Grommets

• Assorted beads -- we used pony beads

• Water-soluble marking pen

• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Embroidery Designs from Embroidery Library:

• Adinkra animals

Preparing the drum top

Invert the container onto the right side of the vinyl. Trace a circle around the edge of the container top.

Remove the container and set aside.

Position embroidery designs where you want them within the circle and sew them out. We used a piece of cutaway stabilizer with the vinyl.

Use the water-soluble marker and a large spool to trace half-circles around the outside of the large traced shape. Soften the dips between the half-circles by using the spool, and tracing the curve in the opposite direction.

Cut out the drum top around the marked curves. You should have a circle with a nicely scalloped edge.

Carefully remove the markings from the vinyl with a dampened sponge or paper towel.

Stitch a decorative stitch around the scalloped edge.  I used the blanket stitch that is built into my machine.

Punch a small hole in the center of each rounded hump of the scalloped edge, and insert a grommet. Clamp the grommets into the vinyl according to the package directions.

To fasten the cording to the bottom, we tied a short piece of cording around the bottom of the bowl, where it meets the pedestal.  There is a ledge there that holds it nicely in place. 

Fastening to the base

If your container doesn't have a ledge like this, create another vinyl disk with grommets for the bottom of the container.  It should have the same number of grommets as the top piece.

Place the vinyl drum top on top of the container with the right side up. Loop the cording through a grommet on the top piece then around the bottom cord, (or through a grommet on the bottom piece). Continue on to the next grommet hole repeating until you have gone all the way around the drum top. At intervals, tie a knot, and add coordinating beads to the cord for decoration.

Glue the jute trim around the pedestal in a spiral. Then glue a single line of trim on the top and bottom of the pedestal.

You might also want to consider gluing trim around the top of the drum for additional decoration.

Place it on your table with carved animals or other artful items that complement the African motif. It will make a great decorative element in any room of your home. 

"Drum up" the kids' interest in wild African animals. They'll love the colorful embroidery and the sounds of the drumbeats.