A Wide Choice Of Wind Chime Kits

Kit By 4M

Wind chime kits are ideal for adding something a little unusual to your garden.  Whether you opt for bamboo, aluminum or wood, each kit will add the dimension of sound to their surroundings.

Proper kits come with all the pieces required to build a complete set of wind chimes.  There are also a number of suppliers which stock all the parts needed to design and make your own.  Ready made kits are designed to give the best possible sound when hanging in the garden.

An Ideal Gift For All Ages

These chime kits are a perfect gift idea and can be a good way to get people outside to enjoy their garden more.  They can add a touch of sound to gardens already full of aromas and visual beauty.  Aluminum kits can also sometimes be personalized for the recipient.

Wind chime kits are also a good way to get young children interested in the garden for the first time.  Not only can they make the kit themselves with a little help, they can also learn about how a wind chime produces a form of music.

How To Hang A Wind Chime

Once your wind chime has been made up, you will need to find a place to hang them in your garden.  It is worth experimenting to find the right place.

If the area is too exposed they will be too noisy when the wind starts to blow.  A semi sheltered spot is ideal to get the calm tinkling sound wind chimes are known for.

You may need to screw a small bracket into an outside wall.  The side of a shed is another good location providing it is not too exposed.  If you intend to hang them in a high traffic area, make sure they are slightly higher than the tallest person in your home.  This will prevent accidents if anyone goes outside in the dark.

If you are lucky enough to have tall and sturdy trees in your garden you can also hang wind chimes from their branches.  Try using chimes made from different materials to get a variation in sound.

Wherever you hang your wind chimes make sure they are secure.  They should be able to withstand a strong gust of wind.  Hang them from the middle of branches instead of the end, and make sure any brackets have curled ends to stop the wind chimes from sliding off.

Wind chime kits can turn an average garden into something special.  Add some to your garden today.

The Rhythm And the Rhyme Of Wind Chime Design

Wind chimes have been around for thousands of years for a variety of reasons, spiritual and artistic.  Wind chimes have always been popular in the East, and now they are becoming almost as popular in the West.  There are many sizes, materials and shapes a wind chime can come in (it even can be solar powered than air powered) but the wind chime design is the same in all of them.  Something hits something else to make a pleasing noise.

Something Hits…

The material you use and how much is very important in wind chime design.  Oddly enough, the bigger the wind chime, the less wind it takes to activate it.  But you need to balance the ease of it’s mobility with it being heavy enough to make a noise.  Wood, bamboo, aluminum, metal, glass, shells or pottery are popular materials.  They are like drumsticks that the wind (or sun) uses to drum out its own particular rhythm.  You usually need at least four “drumsticks” to insure that the noise of the wind chime will be harmonious instead of staccato or discordant.

The “drumsticks” are actually called clappers – yes, just like the round thing on a stick that swings back and forth inside a bell.  Wind chime design is very much like bell design – only the bell is turned inside out.  Never explain wind chime design to a bell, especially the bell of the ball.

However, there are some wind chimes that are less shocking to a bell.  Tubes are suspended around a clapper, and it’s the clapper that is moved by the wind, not the other way around.

…Something Else

Another constant in wind chime design is that you can’t have the tubes or whatever is making the noise the same length.  They are like pieces of a pan pipe – they are different lengths to make different notes.  But instead of you blowing into the pipe, the wind pushes the clappers and the clapped together.  This is to make a more pleasant sound by adding variety.  Just enough variety in everything brings harmony.

Some wind chime designs are clearly just for show.  Their clappers might be too ornamental or too delicate for the everyday breeze.  If the look of a wind chime is more appealing to you than the sound, they are available.

Manufactured wind chime design relies today on computers to help tune the wind chime.  If something doesn’t sound tight, the wind chime can then be adjusted or trimmed to make the desired noises.

Wind Chime Crafts That The Family Can Enjoy

seashell wind chime

Family vacations and the memories they create are priceless treasures for everyone.  However, it isn’t always easy to display the treasures gathered from those vacations.  Trying to find fun family crafting projects for preserving the family memories can often prove quite challenging.

Summer Fun Preserved In A Wind Chime Craft Using Sea Shells

Many families spend their summers at the ocean shore, playing in the waves and frolicking along the beach.  If this is something your family does for a summer vacation, odds are that you have collected quite a number of seashells over the years.

A creative wind chimes craft for seashells collected during a summer vacation is fun for the whole family to create.  Children love wind chimes, making a set of their own that can showcase the memories of a family vacation and their personal creative talents is a great summer activity that everyone will enjoy.

A Wind Chime Crafting Project Using Recycled Products From Around The House

Gather about 8-10 seashells of approximately the same size.  These sea shells will provide the ornamental appearance and the sound quality of your wind chime craft project so you want to make sure that the entire group of sea shells is pleasing in their color, size and shape.

In addition to using the collected seashells, you will need ribbon or some other type of string or yarn and a plastic coffee can lid to create your wind chime craft project.  Since the supply list is so small and so many of the supplies are found just laying around the house, creating this wind craft project is not an expensive venture and can often allow for each child to create their own wind chime craft project.

Once you have gathered all the supplies that you will need to create a wind chime craft project, you are set to begin the creation process.  Using white liquid glue, glue each of the seashells to a piece of ribbon.  When selecting the ribbon that you will use to hang your seashells, you can choose one color or you may choose to use a variety of colors to add a visual dimension to your wind chime craft project.  It is best to let the glue dry overnight, to insure that the sea shells stay attached to the wind chime once you are completed and it is hung up.

The next step is to punch holes into the plastic coffee can lid, large enough to push the ribbon, thread or yarn through but not so large that the ribbon pulls back through once you have tied a know to the end of it.  Make sure that the knot is held securely to prevent the seashells from dropping off of the coffee can lid.  If the children are quite young, it is often best if an adult punches the necessary holes in the coffee can lid to prevent any unnecessary injuries.

When you have tied all of the seashells to the plastic coffee can lid, add two additional holes to the lid, opposite from one another.  Push the final piece of ribbon in through the top lid and pull it up through the other side, making sure that the ribbon runs along the underside of the lid, tie the two ends together.  Your wind chime craft is now completed.  You can take the wind chime outside and hang it up for everyone to see, a perfect presentation of your family’s seashore vacation.

So, How Large Does A Very Large Wind Chime Have To Be?

large wind chimes

It’s not the size of the wind chime that matters; it’s the music the wind chime makes.  Oh, come on, if you want large wind chimes, you want very large wind chimes.  Each of us has out own sense of what is “very large”.  Usually, when stores or garden shops refer to these wind chimes, they are anywhere over three feet long.

They tend to pick up breezes better than their smaller cousins, but they can also be heavier and more expensive.  If you can, hear the large wind chime’s noises before buying, to be sure the music isn’t too distracting.  Wind chimes are meant to soothe and enhance the experience of life, not to make you wish to puncture your eardrums with an ice pick.

Don’t Break Wind Chimes

When picking a very large wind chime, not only do you want to take the sounds it makes into consideration, but if you have enough room for it.  These large wind chimes, particularly of metal, might be too heavy to hang on that tree branch as you’d planned.  They are made out of all sorts of materials, so perhaps wood or even a plastic/wood hybrid might be light enough and sweet enough for you.

Also, you will want to be able to hang it up and take it down easily.  Some people love their wind chimes only in the day, but need complete silence in able to sleep.  If there is a big rainstorm coming up, you will want to remove the wind chimes not only to keep you from going crazy with the noise, but to keep it from breaking.

The Rise Of Wind Chimes

Wind chimes have been around for millennia, but more and more homes in modern America and Europe are very large wind chimes sprouting up like mushrooms.  Wind chimes of all sizes have always been popular in the East, as well as the art of Feng Shui.  Now the art of Feng Shui is gaining popularity and credence in the West, and so wind chimes are even more popular than in years past.

Feng Shui hopes to place you, your home or business in a harmonious balance of elements, such as metal, wood and wind.  Others who turn their noses up at Feng Shui, let alone pronounce it, however find the sound of wind chimes soothing and stress relieving.  They are also an elegant addition to any home, garden or business.

Building A Homemade Wind Chime

Homemade wind chime

Wind chimes have been around for thousands of years.  They are used to tell when and how hard the wind is blowing as well as providing beautiful sounds for our enjoyment.  It is fairly simple to create a wind chime out of basic materials.  A homemade wind chime not only reflects the personality of the creator, it also costs a lot less than buying a wind chime retail.

It is not hard to make a wind chime.  The first thing to do is to figure out what you would like the wind chime to look like. Building materials could include copper pipes, seashells, stones, glass, or bamboo.  A wind chime can include just about anything that tickles the creators fancy.  Most of the materials you will need can be found in any hobby or craft shop or you can look in hardware store and home improvement depots for stronger items.

Constructing The Wind Chime

The construction is basically the same no matter what type of wind chime you decide to make.  The main ingredients you will need to craft a wind chime is metal pipes, strong string or fishing line, a metal support ring, a wood or metal object to use as the clapper, a pipe cutter, and a drill.  Begin by cutting the longest length of chime first.  Run the pipe cutter all the way around the metal tube until the pipe is cut through.  Use the tool on the backside of the pipe cutter to remove the sharp metal edge that is left.

After cutting, tap on the bottom of the pipe with a hard object, preferably one that is not metal so it will not damage the pipe.  This will produce the sound that the pipe will make when the clapper strikes it.  If you do not like the sound, remove small increments of the pipe from the bottom to modify the tone.  The shorter the pipe, the higher the tone.  Once you reach a tone that you like, that chime is done.  Repeat these steps for the remaining lengths of pipe that you are going to include in your wind chime.

Drill holes on either side of the chime a little less than a quarter of the way down the chime.  This is where you will run your strings to hang the homemade wind chime.  Some people choose to have the tops of all the chimes hanging evenly, while others prefer for the bottom to be even.  The homemade wind chime will sound the same either way.  If you prefer, small grommets can be inserted into these holes to ensure that the metal will not abrade the string and break the wind chime.

The wind chime will be supported by a ring at the top with the lines from the chimes connected to it.  Be sure that the wind chime hangs evenly once suspended from the ring.  The clapper is suspended by another length of string from the ring into the middle of the chimes.  The clapper should not be so heavy that it resists moving in the wind.  Once the clapper is inserted, the homemade wind chime is done.

Enjoy the pleasure of creating and tuning your very own windchimes Create your wind chimes for gifts * Weddings * Birthdays * Anniversaries * Halloween * Christmas * Engagements ...the list goes on.

Make your own wind chime, watch this excellent video

Finding Wind Chime String for Your Homemade Wind Chime

Wind chime string is one of the most important materials that you are going to need if you want to make your own wind chime, as besides the wind chime string the only other parts that you need are the bells or baubles that you are going to use for the actual wind chime.

The History of Wind Chimes

For thousands of years now people have had wind chimes around, and wind chimes are not only beautiful but they can be incredibly creative, as such devices can contain materials such as seashells, wood, stones, glass, bones, even old silverware or mechanics’ wrenches.

Gathering the Materials

The first step to making your own wind chime is to gather the materials that you are going to need, and so besides the wind chime string, you can basically use any materials you want (as described above) in order to make your own wind chime, as it is entirely up to personal decision and preference.

In terms of where you can go to find the wind chime string and other materials that you are going to need, you should basically start by looking at your local crafts or hobbies store, as they are most likely to have one of the largest and most varied selections, and if you do not have any luck here then you can always try searching for specific wind chime string or wind chime stores in general, as there are a few out there.

Shopping online is another useful idea, however you do want to make sure that you are careful with giving out your personal information, such as your credit card, if you go about it this way, because you definitely do not want this information getting into the wrong hands.

Making the Wind Chime

Now that you have gathered all of the necessary materials together you can start actually making your wind chime, and you can either purchase directions for a pre-designed one, or you can create your own.

Actually one of the best things about wind chimes is that they are so easy to make on your own that you do not even need a design, you can just figure it out as you go along, and this not only makes it a lot more fun of a process, but also allows you to create something more unique and personalized than if you had to follow a specific design of things.

Sounds Of A Wind Chime

Why You Want To Have The Sounds Of A Wind Chime In Your Garden

Some people find the sounds of a wind chime (#ad) to be distracting and annoying.  To them they are not a natural sound to have in the garden.  But they have been around since prehistoric times and many people recognize their sounds to be good for encouraging relaxation.

And what better place to relax than in your garden, where you are in the middle of nature?

Popular In The East

Wind chimes have been a part of life in China and Japan for many years and they are now a common sight in the west, often thanks to the role they play in Feng Shui.  They help to create the peaceful and ordered surroundings that are an essential part of what Feng Shui stands for.

We all need a peaceful place to relax and even if we do not have a garden, their sound can still be heard if we hang a set of wind chimes up at any window in our home.  When the window is open, the sounds of a wind chime will add to the sense of peace and calm which are vital for bringing about a sense of balance in our lives.

Finding The Perfect Set Of Wind Chimes

Wind chimes are available to buy in many different shapes and sizes.  They are also made from different materials, so you need to decide which material will fit in best with your garden or location.

Bear in mind also that these sounds will vary depending on which material they are made from.  An aluminum wind chime will sound much louder than one made from bamboo, which has a more hollow flat sound.

For this reason it is best to visit a shop and try them out when they are hanging up on display.  You need to find a sound that appeals to you and gives you a feeling of peace.  If you buy a set which gives off a sound that irritates you, it won’t stay hanging up for very long!

This is why it’s best to buy your wind chimes (#ad) from a reputable shop.  Buying them online may lead to a cheaper set of wind chimes, but you can’t hear them before you buy them. You want the sounds of a wind chime to relax you.

When you create your own peaceful place at home – whether it is in the garden or indoors – make sure you include at least one set of wind chimes to complete the atmosphere.