Cloudburst Windchime with triangle chime beads
Materials needed:
Cloud windchime top
blue glass donuts – ready to fuse or already fused, or DIY
bead wire
crimp beads
pliers
scissors
To make your own cloud chime top:
Step 1:
Sketch a cloud shape on paper and cut it out. Use this template to trace onto a 3/4″ thick board (we use white maple or alder for ours).
trace a cloud
Step 2:
Using a scroll saw, jig saw or band saw, cut out the cloud shape.
Cloud before cutting
Cloud after cutting
Step 2:
File the edges of the cloud to round them, then sand smooth with 80 and then 150 grit sandpaper.
cloud sanding materials
Sanded and filed cloud
Step 3:
Prime the cloud with outdoor grade primer.
Prime the cloud before painting
Step 4:
Paint the cloud with white outdoor grade paint on all sides. When the white is dry, spray paint light blue carefully on the lower edge.
Painting the cloud
Step 5:
Drill holes for eye hooks using an appropriate size drill bit. Space the eye hooks across the bottom of the cloud as desired, don’t forget to drill two equally spaced holes on the top edge for the hanging wire!
Drill bit and eye hooks for cloud
Drill holes for eye hooks
Carefully screw eye hooks into the cloud. It’s easy to over torque the eye hooks and break them.
add eye hooks to cloud
Cloud with eye hooks
Very nice! Now you’re ready to make the chime
Cloudburst materials
Instructions:
Lay triangle beads and donuts in desired formation under the cloudburst windchime top and cut a piece of bead wire as long as each chime.
Crimp the wire around the eye-hook, thread it through the bar bead, then the donut and crimp the wire around the donut.
Assemble the chimes
Repeat for all of the eye hooks. Add a wire for hanging to the top of the chime and you are good to go!
Another fun variation is to use strings of blue donuts for the chimes:
Rain Chime
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