As fall begins and winter is just over the horizon our thoughts turned to winter color in the garden. The trouble is that we don’t have much room for planting and any kind of planter or ornamental statue is going to be knocked over by a herd of rampaging children. It was then that I had the idea for these silent wind chimes. You can make them with any color you like, hang them anywhere and you don’t have to lay awake at night listening to them and wondering what on earth possessed you to buy them.
I also like that children of any age can make them, you can use almost any crafting bits and pieces you may already have and that there is no right or wrong way for it to look at the end. This is the perfect craft for a non-crafter like me.
Materials Needed
- An empty yogurt pot, spread tub or any similar empty container
- Either necklace string, fishing line or thin string
- Paint for the pot or, if like us you don’t have any – colored tape
- Assorted beads and any other shiny things you may have lying around!
Instructions
- Start off by painting or taping your empty pot. This will be used upside down so you may want the inside painted also.
- Decide how many strings you are going to use – we used 6 so I’ll use this number in the instructions but you can use as many or as few as you like.
- Make 6 holes, roughly equally spaced around the edge of the pot.
- Make one hole in the top of the pot and thread a loop through or stick on a hook.
- Measure out 6 pieces of string, all roughly the same length.
- Tie a knot at one end of the string and thread a button or bread onto it. Make sure that the bead cannot pass over the knot!
- Thread random buttons and beads onto your strings, leaving approximately 1 & 1/2 inches at the end
- Tie your strings onto your pot and there you have it – a ‘silent wind chime’ to brighten up the garden
They also make great, easy to make gifts for family and friends!
