Ring in Lunar New Year with this Musical Chinese Pellet Drum Craft

Lunar New Year is quickly approaching and Parker and I are getting into the spirit by creating DIY pellet drums. Pellet drums are double sided with a pellet connected to each side of the drum. To play the drum, you simply turn the stick between your hands and the pellets swing back and forth, hitting drum head. This musical craft is sure to bring lots of luck and noise to your home!

Materials needed

-2 Paper bowls (Paper plates would also work)

-Acrylic paint of your choice (red and gold/yellow are lucky New Year's colors)

-Paintbrush

-Tape

-Hot glue gun/craft glue

-2 Monkey images

-Wooden dowel or chopctick

-String

-2 Wooden or plastic beads

Instructions

1. Paint the exterior side of the bowls and let them dry completely. The drying process will take at least 30 mins depending on how thick you lay on the paint.

[This is the messiest part of the project. Parker was very concerned about the paint on his hands.]

2. Cut out the monkey images and glue them to the face of each plate.

3. Tie the beads to strings that are 2/3 the diameter of the bowl in length. If your bowl is 6 inches in diameter, your string will be 4 inches long. Adhere the end of the strings to each side of the bowl.

4. Adhere the wooden dowel/chopstick to the inside of one of the plates.

5. Attach the 2nd bowl to the first one using a hot glue gun. 

6. We added some fun pom poms to our bowls to give them a little more flair but that is optional. 

I had to reinforce Parker's stick with tape because...well because he is a toddler. Enjoy your new pellet drum! Please tag us (@parkerproject) when you post your pellet drum pictures on Instagram. 

Ideas for an Epic Wild Kratts Birthday Party

We've decided to host Parker's 3rd birthday at a local arcade to cut down on the amount of work we would have to put into party planning. True to form, I have made up for all the time saved from throwing a "simple" birthday party by coming up with ideas that will take up a lot of time. Ha! Can someone please save me from myself?

The theme for this year's party is "Wild Kratts" and we are going to turn the party room into an animal party! Here are some of the ideas that I am planning to incorporate into the party. 

[via Pinterest]

We are opting for a small cutting cake since Parker has never been a real fan of cake. Something simple like the cake above will look great on the dessert table. The plan is the fill the rest of the dessert table with boba drinks, Parker's favorite sweet treat. 

[Wild Kratts Adventure Banner]

I love this affordable birthday banner from the PBS Kids Shop. We'll be hanging it from a 10ft frame above the dessert table. 

[Jungle Vine DIY]

I'll be creating some jungle vines for decor. The vines are simple, cost effective and create a big impact. Instead of using brown paper bags like the tutorial in the link above, I bought a large roll of kraft paper. I cut all the leaves using a Cricut machine to save time.

[Walking animal balloons]

A large shipment of walking animal balloons arrived this week! These fun animal balloons will work as both party favors (everyone will be able to adopt an animal at the end of the party) and decor.

[Plastic animal centerpieces]

I love the idea of using wood stumps for decor but have no idea where I can find said stumps. Help!

I'm not sure what else I will come up with before the party but I hope Parker likes it. I can't believe he is turning 3. If you want to see my full idea board on Pinterest, follow me at https://www.pinterest.com/marychu33/. Stay tuned for pics of the party! 

Happy New Year + 2016 Resolutions

Happy New Year! I'm determined to start the year off strong with the blog. Let's start by seeing how I did with my 2015 resolutions. 

2015 Resolutions

1. Read at least 25 books. I read 34 books! 

2. Walk Frank at least once a day. I completely failed at this! Will try better in 2016.

3. Run 200 miles. I don't know exactly how many miles I ran in 2015 but according to my Fitbit, I have covered roughly 1500 miles since May. I'm pretty sure I've run at least 200 miles. 

Two out of three is not bad!

2016 Resolutions

-Run 4 races. So far I am signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15K and the San Diego Rock N Roll Half Marathon.
Eventbrite has a bunch of local race listings if you are looking for inspo. For those wanting to organize their own event/race check out Eventbrite's event management section. 
-Be able to do 5 pull ups (We can do it, Giao!)
-Read 30 books. Hopefully at least 1 is not a sad book.
-Create something once a month.

Have you created resolutions for the New Year? Leave a comment below and share your goals!