Don’t you love it when you can make crafts from things you would normally throw away? Whether it’s cardboard boxes, old spice jars or even scraps of foil there is almost always something you can make from the things you generally throw away. Something that is dumped in landfills by the thousands is plastic pop bottles. The bottles, though, can be made into everything from baby toys to river rafts! If your family throws away quite a few of the bottles you might be interested to know that they make a really cute wind chime set.
It is so easy to make pop bottle wind chimes. You’ll need a brass or other ring to start. Use a huge ring and many bottles to make a large wind chime set or use a small ring and a few bottles to create your own design. After you’ve cleaned the bottles completely you’ll be ready to assemble the creation.
Lay the ring flat on a table. Use toothpicks, pieces of wooden skewers, or even sections of craft sticks to create a way to hang the chimes. The wooden pieces you choose can be determined by the size of the ring you use. Glue the sticks in a “t” shape and glue the “t” to the ring. This will create four sections in the ring. Create a second “t” and glue it to where the circle now has eight separate sections.
Tie a piece of fishing twine, string or cord to the center of the glued wooden pieces. Thread the cord under the sticks, where they all intersect. Tie the cord into a knot. Slide the thread so that the knot is positioned under the stick intersection. The loop formed by the thread will hold the wind chimes in the location you choose.
Poke holes in the center of each of the pop bottle lids. For a large chime you may want to use many more bottles than you would for a small wind chime set. Holes can be drilled into the bottle lids or you can use a different technique. Hold a nail using a potholder to protect your hand. Heat the nail and poke it through the lid of the pop bottle. Do this to each lid and set them aside.
Fishing twine works great for making wind chines because it’s virtually unbreakable and almost invisible. Cut sections of twine, each piece the same size as the others, for each bottle. You’ll decide how long to cut the twine pieces according to how long you want the bottles to hang on the chimes. Hanging the ring on something while you create the chimes will make it much easier to handle.
Fold a piece of the fishing twine in half over the top of the metal ring. Bring the two ends together and push them through the top of a soda bottle lid. Use a drop of hot glue to hold the ends inside the cap. Screw the cap onto the soda bottle and move on to the next one. Place one twine piece in each of the eight sections, or for smaller arrangements, one twine piece in every-other section.
After you’ve hung the bottles all around the metal ring you can then create a centerpiece for the chines. The centerpiece can be an extra soda bottle, hung lower than the others, or can be novelty of some sort. Cut a long piece of twine and thread it up and over the top of the stick intersection. Bring the two ends together, under the brass ring, and allow it to hang lower than the other bottles. Attach the two ends of the twine to the novelty you’ve chosen. The center novelty or extra bottle should hang high enough so that the others will bump against it as the wind blow but low enough so that it stands out from the crowd.
Instead of pop bottles you can also string juice bottles, water bottles or even baby bottles to make the chimes. Each type of bottle makes an entirely different creation to hang. When the wind blows the chimes make a “tink” sound that’s different than the metallic clink of many other chimes. The unique wind chimes will look great on your porch and make fabulous gifts, too!
Reference:
- Purchase brass rings here: www.michaels.com
