Wind chimes are lovely, delicate and simple decorations for the windows or patios of any home. It's hard not to fall in love with the chimes' soft tinkling as you hear it float across the breeze. You may have even wanted to make your own wind chime but had no idea how. This is a outstanding way to do it, and it starts with one of the most oft-used materials in crafting history: the mason jar.
This mason jar craft is a particularly special DIY. While it involves a little more work than many DIYs, the beautiful results are well-worth your time and effort. Hook this wind chime to a tree outside your home, or hang it in your kitchen window. Either way, it will chime gently every time a breeze passes through, and you'll be able to enjoy the sounds you created with your own two hands.
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Materials
- Glass mason jar with a two-part lid
- Twine
- Scissors
- T-square ruler
- Two bar clamps
- Sturdy wood table
- Small piece of wood, about 6 inches or so in length
- Electric drill
- Five wind chime crystal beads. These should include multiple crystals on each strand. You can buy them premade from a craft store.
- Hot glue gun
- Metal S-hook
- Twine
- Scissors
- T-square ruler
- Two bar clamps
- Sturdy wood table
- Small piece of wood, about 6 inches or so in length
- Electric drill
- Five wind chime crystal beads. These should include multiple crystals on each strand. You can buy them premade from a craft store.
- Hot glue gun
- Metal S-hook
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Instructions
1. Remove the seal and rim from the top of the mason jar. Wind a piece of twine around the top of the jar where the rim meets the jar itself. Cut this small piece of twine, and lay it aside.
2. Next, use your T square to measure out 12 inches of additional twine. Cut the twine, then use the 12-inch twine piece to measure out three more identical pieces of twine. Cut them each, so you have four 12-inch pieces of twine.
3. Fold each piece of twine in half, and then loop and tie the twine in a knot around the original piece of twine you measured. This should give you four sections of twine with two 6-inch pieces hanging from the original piece of twine, all spaced evenly apart.
4. Remove the seal from the rim of the mason jar's lid. Next, place the seal on top of the small piece of wood. Lay the piece of wood flat on a sturdy table, and use the two bar clamps to clamp the seal to the piece of wood and to the table. Use an electric drill to drill five small holes in the seal. Drill the holes inside the seal's edge, making four in a square and one in the middle of the seal, similar in pattern to the five side of a die.
Note: You may need to move the clamps as you drill the holes, so you can get to all the sides of the seal. It's not important to make a perfect square, so long as there are five individual holes.
5. Cut off five short pieces of twine. Feed each piece of twine through one hole in the seal, and tie a knot in the twine on top of the seal. Cut off any excess twine on the top side of the seal.
6. Turn the seal over. Thread the metal loop on the top of the first of the crystal beads through the twine, and tie the twine around it in a knot. Cut off the excess twine. After you have threaded each of the beads through, you should have five wind chime crystals hanging from the bottom of the seal. Place the seal on the rim of the mason jar, and screw the rim back onto the jar.
7. Take the piece of twine with the other pieces of twine hanging down from it, and use a hot glue gun to glue the middle piece to the mason jar just below the lid. Leave the extra pieces of twine hanging upward from the top of the jar.
8. After the glue has dried, tie two of the pieces of twine that are not already attached to one another in order to make a triangle shape. Repeat this with the other pieces of twine, tying two to one another as you go. You should have four triangles when you are done.
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9. Take the ends of twine, and loop them around a metal S-hook. Tie them in a firm knot around the hook. Cut the excess twine off the top of the knot. Now, hang your lovely wind chime on a tree branch or outside your home for all to see!