When you can’t knock down walls or buy new furniture but you are in desperate need to redecorate the house, you can do so by adding smaller decorative items. We have touched on two types of indoor plants so today’s article is going to be more on DIY.
I find adding a wind chime to the house is simple and has an environmentally friendly effect. This can be achieved by reusing objects in the house to make a wind chime. The beauty of a wind chime is that it can be hung or placed on a table.
All you need to do is to find random bobs and bits, knick-knacks and extra pieces such as a loose button around the house and string them together! Check out the list of possible items to use below.
1. Keys
I had leftover keys from my bicycle lock after my bicycle got stolen. The lock went with it too! For some reason, I didn’t want to throw away the keys. If you have spare keys that are not used around the house, consider repurposing it as a wind chime. Get inspiration from the flying keys in Harry Potter and add wings. A little paint and some imagination, it can look really nifty.
Hang keys sparingly or in a bunch
2. Bottles
Slash it like a fruit ninja! Making a wind chime out of glass bottles may require a bit of work but the end product is beautiful. The simplest one I found so far is to slice off the bottom of the bottle and string in ‘strikers,’ items that produce sounds when hit by air movement. Another option is to hang stained glass below the bottle, to make the windchime look more balanced and complete.
3. Stained glass or glass pieces
If you have botched cutting your glass bottles, it can still be salvaged. Save the bigger pieces and shape it to smooth, rounded corners. An alternative is to make your own stained glass. Making it on your own gives you more room for creativity because you get to make your own stencils and experiment with different shapes. String the glass pieces at different heights to get a range of tunes.
For glass substitutes, Capiz is a popular choice.
Capiz and stained glass wind chimes.
4. Metal washers
Making a wind chime out of metal washers is simpler because we don’t need to drill many holes in order to hang them. Paint the metal rings with stripes, squiggles or circles and you’ll have a colourful windchime to flaunt. Alcohol ink on metal washers gives off a psychedelic and iridescent effect. Also, experiment with different sizes to get different sounds.
Mix and match the sizes of metal washers
5. Seashells
Instead of throwing out the old shells, consider repurposing them for use around the house. The seashells can be incorporated into your house decor as floor tiles or as a wind chime. If the white shells look dull, repaint them!
Pair shells with beads
6. Beads and buttons
Scavenge and gather random loose beads or buttons in the house and put them to good use. These small items can also be paired with the other materials to make a super nifty wind chime.
Rings can be used in place of strings
7. Spoons and spatulas
Repainting really helps to spruce things up with vibrant colours. For metal spoons, it can be bent and shaped to give some life to it instead of the straight and linear look.
Bend spoons to create interesting shapes
8. Tins and cans
Take the old school route but spice it up with colour! You can also hammer holes on it to create patterns. Tins and cans do make noise but arranged well, it should make music.
Colourful cans
9. Bamboo sticks
If you still prefer the traditional look, utilize bamboo sticks. It can be made colourful through repainting or by some minor carving. For the daring, get creative by making a bamboo skeleton windchime. Set yourself apart from the rest!
