Blown Away: 12 Upcycled Wind Chimes You Can Make

Do you want a unique set of wind chimes to add some personality to your garden, patio, balcony, or deck? You’re in luck—no need to go to an expensive home boutique to find what you’re looking for. Instead, take a look around your kitchen, garage, tool shed, or even your backyard. You'll find all sorts of items you can upcycle into a pretty and sweet-sounding set of DIY wind chimes. When looking for the perfect pieces, choose items that make a pleasing sound when they hit each other. Note that heavy items will be slow to make contact unless you place the chimes in an area with high winds; delicate items made of glass or china could shatter in the same windy location. If the spot where you want to place your chimes doesn't get enough wind, hang one wide, flat piece lower than the other items—it will catch the wind and start the music! Here are 12 unique DIY wind chimes to get your creative juices flowing.

By Sarita Harbour | Updated Dec 06, 2016 11:55 AM

Flowerpot

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DIY Wind Chimes with Flower Pot

A simple terra-cotta flowerpot, some fishing line, floral wire, a washer, acrylic paint, and flat glass shell pieces are all you need to create a playful DIY wind chime to match your outdoor decor. If you can’t find glass pieces, use anything else that can be easily drilled and strung up.

myhomemystyle.com

Bottle Tops

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DIY Windchime Bottle Caps

Save your plastic bottle tops to make DIY wind chimes! Caps from water and soft drink bottles work well, especially if they're brightly colored. This cheerful, easy project is great to do with kids. Just make strings of bottle caps and attach them to a simple tree branch.

howwemontessori.com

Pencils and Ruler

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DIY Wind Chimes with Pencils

Now that you use your smartphone and tablet to take notes, do you have too many pencils cluttering up your desk drawers? Sharpen them up to different lengths and attach them to a wooden ruler. Voilà—you have a delightful wind chime you can really write home about!

designsponge.com

Sea Shells

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DIY Windchime Sea Shells

Do you have a bag full of shells from your last sun-and-sand vacation? If so, it’s time to upcycle them into a set of beachy DIY wind chimes. This example uses a variety of shells to create a one-of-a-kind chime that will remind you of your beach getaway every time you hear its melody.

southernliving.com

Twigs

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DIY Windchime Twigs

This wind chime is possibly the cheapest and easiest project you can make. Gather some long, flexible twigs that you can bend into a circle to form your base. Collect a number of thicker twigs or small pieces of hardwood and tie each to one end of several lengths of twine. Hang these lengths from your twig circle—and there you have it.

naturallytasmanian.blog spot.ca

Bike Gears

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DIY Windchime Bike Gears

Don’t throw out that old rusted bicycle—upcycle it! Remove the chain and gears, and spray-paint them. Use one of the gears as a base, add a few metal rings and some line, and hang your new DIY wind chimes in your garden.

blog.whim seybox.com

Vintage Teapot

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DIY Windchime Vintage Teapot

A vintage teapot serves as a colorful top for a cheerful, folksy set of DIY wind chimes. To make your own, restring old faux pearls onto fishing line, then add flat glass pieces or even old xylophone keys to the bottom of each string. When the wind blows, you’ll enjoy a sweet, tinkling tune.


Related: 11 Brilliant Ways to Reinvent Your Dinnerware

upcycledartworks.com

Silver Spoons

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DIY Windchime Silver Spoons

Guess what these cute silver fish used to be? Yup, they are old silver spoons that have been reworked and upcycled into a sparkling set of DIY wind chimes anchored by a piece of driftwood. Look closely and you'll see the diver in the middle—he was once two forks and three spoons!

outdoortheme.com

Tin Cans

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DIY Windchime Tin Cans

Another great project to do with kids, this bright set of DIY wind chimes is made from old tin cans of different sizes painted in various shades of blue. If you add metal washers to this windsock-style chime at intervals along the string, it will create a tiny tinkle when the weather gets breezy.

savvysugar.com

Keys

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DIY Windchime Keys

Reluctant to throw away any of those unidentified keys in your junk drawer? Hang them from a few chains attached to a simple ring for a sweet-voiced wind chime. A pretty addition to your balcony—and an easy way to find the keys if you ever need them!

mrkate.com

Tools

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DIY Windchime Tools

Old wrenches, broken tire pressure gauges, and any other small metal tools that have seen better days are perfect candidates for upcycling into melodious DIY wind chimes. The bright blue cording gives this set a hit of color. 

hotglueandsparkle.blog spot.ca

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