How to make a driftwood windchime using driftwood pieces and inexpensive silverware, sea glass and marbles. Here’s two different easy driftwood windchime versions – both make a delicate chime sound in the wind and either take just a few hours to make. You can get creative and use seashells or other items that might inspire you.
Here’s what you will need:
- driftwood pieces (4-5)
- silverware (4-6 pieces – use soft pieces for easy flattening)
- 14# fishing line
- 24# beading wire
- ear hoops from the beading department
- flat drain from Wal-mart
- sea glass pieces (available at Wal-mart)
- Aleene’s Jewel It glue to glue fishing line knots
- drill and drill bit for silverware
- regular and needle nose pliers to mold wire around sea glass and bend fork
- scissors
- saw for driftwood pieces
- hammer to hammer all the silverware pieces until flattened
1. First use a hammer to flatten all the silverware pieces.
2. Drill a small hole at the top of each piece in order to pass the fishing line through.
3. On one fork piece, using the pliers, twist each prong in each direction and curl under the end to form a small loop as shown in the picture below. You will use each loop to string fishing line from the fork to loops on the strainer.
4. Add an ear hoop to the underside of the strainer and using the fishing line, attach your choice of silverware as the centerpiece to your windchime. I like to use a large silver spoon only because it tends to “hit” more of the other pieces moreso than a narrow knife or fork.
5. Add 4 more ear loops to each opposing sides of the strainer. These will be for the driftwood pieces.
6. Add 4 more ear loops in between the existing ones. These will be for the sea glass pieces.
7. Now add 4 more ear loops in a circle half way between the outside rim and the center. These will be for the additional silverware pieces. Add as many loops as you have silverware pieces. You should now have 12 loops in additional to the center loop.
8. Now cut your driftwood pieces to the lengths that you want.
9. Drill holes in one end of each piece. Insert a length of fishing line and tie off. Just estimate a length of fishing line as you don’t want to put it together quite yet.
10. Using the images above, wrap the wire around the sea glass pieces to hold it in place and form and loops and shapes shown. These will hang easily onto the ear hoops. You just want to make sure the sea glass is wrapped securely. You can make it as long and elaborate as you wish – wrap two or more if you want.
11. Now you want to put it all together. It’s easiest if you can put a fishing line loop from the fork handle and hang it from something before you start to hang and knot each piece. Start with each fork prong loop and attach fishing line (about 8 inches) from the loop on the fork to a loop on the strainer and repeat for each fork prong loop – making sure it hangs level.
12. Then decide how long you want each piece of silverware to hang and attached each piece.
13. Now attach each piece of driftwood.
14. Attach the seaglass pieces.
15. Finally, go back and apply glue to each knot to make sure they do not come apart.
2ND DRIFTWOOD WINDCHIME VERSION
Below is another version using a different strainer, clear marbles (also from Wal-Mart), a dime store windchime I took apart, and driftwood pieces I made myself following this method How to Make Your Own Driftwood. I actually like this second version better. I ended up using a small baby spoon in the center and glued several of the marbles on the top of the strainer. The strainer was larger. I also used a stronger beading wire. There’s so many options you can use to make your own version.
Dimestore windchime I took apart and used the chimes
I found two different versions of this strainer – the wooden one obviously cheaper and easier to take apart. This worked great. Just follow the same instructions for version one but use this second, larger strainer as your base and take apart the dime store windchime to use those chimes in place of the silverware. I did however use one silverware fork for the top piece and another spoon for the very center of the chime. And finally, I used marbles in place of sea glass and attached 5 marbles as a decorative element on the top of the strainer which I thought added a nice touch.
