Wind chimes are a great addition to any home. Wind chimes make fun decorations and add to the appeal of the outdoors by bringing music right into your back yard. Wind chimes can be easy to make. By using materials that you have around your home, you can make a set of wind chimes that you are proud to display outside or in a doorway of your home. When you are thinking about making a wind chime, the materials that you choose to use will be instrumental in the end product. You will want to choose materials that you feel are both pleasing to the eye and that make a pleasing noise when the breeze hits them. Here are some examples of everyday household items that you can us as chimes in a wind chime: seashells, bamboo, wood, stones, keys, tools, etc.
Making a silverware wind chime
A fun wind chime idea involves the use of silverware. Using silverware to make a wind chime is a great way to put all those mismatched pieces to good use or to make a gift for someone who enjoys cooking. To make a silverware wind chime you will need: 4 spoons, 2 forks, a drill and 1/16th inch drill bit, fishing line, and safety goggles. The first thing that you will need to do is to prepare the cutlery to become a piece of your wind chime. In the case of this version of the silverware wind chime, four spoons will be suspended from a hanging fork and there is also a base fork that the spoons will chime against.
Remember to put safety first and to put on your safety goggles before starting to drill. Drill a hole in each of the four spoon handles, approximately 1/8th of an inch from the top. If you have young children, you will also want to take the time to sand down the edges around the hole as they will be sharp. Choose one fork to be the hanging fork from which the spoons will be suspended. In that fork, drill a hole that is just above the tines. Use a pair of pliers to bend the tines of the fork to a 90° angle. Bend the two inside tines of the fork so that they are pointing in opposite, up and down, directions. Bend each of the two outside tines so that they are pointing left and right. With the pliers, twist each of the tines into a loop. Now bend the handle of the fork to make a hook. It is this hook that you will use to hang the finished wind chime. During this process you may break the tines of the fork. If you are using a fork that has tines you are concerned about breaking, have a second or third fork on hand just in case.
To hang the individual chimes of the wind chime (in this case the chimes will be spoons), you will want to use the fishing line. Fishing line is a good material to use with this craft as it is durable and weather resistant. Tie a piece of fishing line from the hole in the hanging fork to the hole made in the handle of the base fork. The base fork should hang about six inches down. Varying the hanging distance will result in a different tone. The rest is simple, tie fishing line through each of the holes or loops created by the tines of the hanging fork. Tie the other end of each piece of string to the hole you have drilled in the top potion of the handle of each spoon. The bowl or indented portion of each spoon should be hung at such a length so that it hits the stem of the base fork when blown. All that you have left to do is to hang this silverware wind chime.