Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Silverware Wind Chimes


Silverware Wind Chimes


After making the Starburst mirror, I was totally engaged in using silverware for just about anything. Coming up with different uses for these reusable items has been so much fun. 


Looking up ideas and inspiration on the internet I came across this idea at Whimsy Girl. She took flat ware and manipulated each piece to make a two tiered wind chime. I also found these instructions in a PDF form. It was a fantastic project. But making it my own I wanted to change it up a little bit so here are my creations. 


This is the lid to the flower pot wind chime below.



Most of my miss-matched silverware came from Goodwill. It was only $.15 for each piece so this project is very inexpensive.  


I flattened each piece with a mallet so that it was as flat as possible. Be sure that you use an old towel to lay silverware on and then cover before beating it. 


 Then using a drill, I made an 1/8th inch hole in each piece. ( So far you are getting a fantastic arm workout...Goodbye Granny Arms)

Water pitcher for $1.00 at a flea market. Paired it with pink and crystals.
 Your not done with that drill just yet....


With different pieces such as old coffee pots, water pitchers or pots I picked up at Goodwill or flea markets, I drilled holes into the bottom of each piece so that I could connect the silverware to the base. 



Red glass hearts and crystals
 I used 30 lb. fishing line, however instead of tying knots, I pulled out my jewelry stuff and used my crimps and crimper to secure the silverware to the fishing line. 


After securing line to silverware I used different beads and strung them on each line of silverware.


At the end I used double crimps on the fishing line when connecting it to the pitcher. 
This "Crackers" pot came from a flea market. I made two wind chimes out of this by using the lid as one and the pot as the other. Utilizing the space I planted a flower in the pot  so that it added some charm to my garden. 

This wind chime also has soup spoons...they are very hard to flatten but they do give a very good sound. 

Using beads from my jewelry stuff I strung different beads for each wind chime. For a really beautiful effect I cut old necklaces with glass beads so add to each wind chime. The sun catches it and it just sparkles. 


Which led me to find some old crystals from chandeliers to add to the centers of each chime. The sun hits that and sends a rainbow across my garden. It is so beautiful in the afternoon and the sound  is amazing. 

 This one is an old silver plated trophy cup. The crystal is in the center and I used some yellow and silver glass beads on the string. Catches the light beautifully. 


Living rather close to the ocean, it is breezy most days. And occasionally it can get very gusty and windy, but these wind chimes have held up nicely and really give off a beautiful sounds. 


It was really a workout to flatten and drill, but stringing the beads was the fun part. The best part was I was able to use some beads from necklaces that I love but now I can enjoy them everyday in my garden.


Any questions or other ideas would be great. These are just so much fun to create and display. 




5 comments:

  1. Amanda your windchimes are sooooo pretty!! I love the combo of the silverware and the beads - they are all so fun!!! I think my favorite is the crackers chime though - that little pot is too cute!!

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  2. Absolutely love all of these, it looks like making them could become addictive!

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  3. those are gorgeous!! all of them! i'm a little partial on the lid with the blue beads, but just because love the blue shades! good excellent job!

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  4. Thank you everyone! I made quite a few to send off for Mother's Day gifts.

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  5. Wow, i may have to get cracking to get these done in time for christmas but what an amazing idea, a recycled wind chimes, after all they can be made from anything that makes a sound.

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