Paper Cup Wind Chime

Paper Cup Wind Chime
Overview:

Celebrate the Chinese New Year with a harmonious wind chime. Used to ward off spirits as well provide relaxing music, wind chimes are a great decorative piece for your home. These are a lot of fun to make, but can be a bit complicated so gather your friends and have a wind chime-making party!

You will need:
  1. 1 paper cup
  2. 1 pipe cleaner
  3. Thin string enough for 5 pieces, each 6 inches long
  4. 55 pony beads (you can use more if you like)
  5. 6 mini bells
  6. 2 gold plastic coins
  7. Small plastic container lid
  8. Hole punch
  9. Scissors
  10. 2 glue dots
  11. Pen or pencil to poke a hole with
Rating:
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Supervision:
1 adult per 5 children
Difficulty:
Use your noodle! (challenging; focus required)
Age:
School-age, Tweens, Teens, Adults
Mess Factor:
Clean and tidy
Prep Time:
5 - 10 minutes
Time Length:
30 - 60 minutes
Step 1:

Start by poking a hole through the bottom of your paper cup. This will now become the top of your wind chime.

Step 2:

Take the pipe cleaner and poke it up through the cup in the hole at the top. Make a loop with the pipe cleaner at the top of the cup and twist to secure it in place.

Step 3:

Place a bead about half way up the pipe cleaner from the underside.

Step 4:

Now, loop the bottom half of the pipe cleaner to the bead and twist it to itself.

Step 5:

Cut a piece of string about 6 inches long.

Step 6:

Tie the string to the looped pipe cleaner.

Step 7:

String on about six pony beads.

Step 8:

Now you are going to use the hole puncher to make a hole through the plastic container lid. If you don't have a plastic container lid, you can also use bottle caps or jar tops. You can also affix the string to the cap with hot glue if you're unable to punch a hole in it (an adult should handle the hot glue gun!).

Step 9:

Decorate the lid a bit with gold coins! Apply a glue dot to gold coins and glue them to the front and back of the lid.

Step 10:

String the lid to the bottom of the beads and double knot the lid in place.

Step 11:

It's time to add some bells to really get this wind chime going! Use your hole punch to make eight holes around the base of the cup. Each hole should be about an inch apart.

Step 12:

Cut four more pieces of string, each about 6 inches long. On one end of each string, double knot a mini bell. Then string about six beads to a pattern of your choice.

Step 13:

With the beaded end dangling, place the other end of the string through the bottom of the cup and inside one of the holes. Then string it into one of the holes next to it.

Step 14:

Add six more beads to the string and double knot another bell on the end. Repeat the previous two steps with the remaining three pieces of string.

Step 15:

It's time to decorate! Use markers, stickers or paint to personalize your wind chime. Once complete, hang it in front of a window or on a tree branch and enjoy its harmonious sound!

Craft Variations:

Here are a few chimes I made especially for Chinese New Year!

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Materials:
  1. 1 paper cup
  2. 1 pipe cleaner
  3. Thin string enough for 5 pieces, each 6 inches long
  4. 55 pony beads (you can use more if you like)
  5. 6 mini bells
  6. 2 gold plastic coins
  7. Small plastic container lid
  8. Hole punch
  9. Scissors
  10. 2 glue dots
  11. Pen or pencil to poke a hole with

Sophie's Tip of the Week

Put a plastic tarp underneath the entrance to the bounce house and provide a box or place for shoes.