There was a time when local newspapers printed a society page with a full accounting of who visited whom in the community. They even reported who poured tea. I’m reminded of this quaint custom when I see tea service sets like the one pictured below.
The days of leisurely afternoon visits for tea are largely past and tea service sets are finding their way into vintage and thrift shops. Many of these silver teapots, sugar bowls and creamers are ready for a new lease on life. One option is to repurpose them as wind chimes. The silver-plated components, like the below sugar bowl, age beautifully shifting from a shiny, clear glow to a soft, weathered patina.
This project is completed with silver-plated cutlery hung from glass-beaded strands. The spoons catch the breeze and produce a pleasant soft tinkling sound. Here’s a closer look.
Today’s post includes full step-by-step instructions for making your own Old Silver Wind Chimes. This project is fully customizable—you can make it as shown or improvise and make your own version. Here are two different versions—one with a creamer and blue and green beads and the other with a sugar bowl and green and purple beads.
Let’s get started.
Supplies Needed
The following supplies are needed to make the Old Silver Wind Chimes:
. A Silver-Plated Sugar Bowl, Creamer or Teapot
. Silver-Plated Cutlery including 1 Fork, 2 Tablespoons and 3 Teaspoons. Alternatively, you can select your own combination of cutlery pieces.
TIP: Thrift stores and yard sales are a good source for old silver-plated items. If you’re uncertain of the metal content, you can use a strong magnet to check. Silver is non-magnetic so if the magnet sticks to the metal it is unlikely to be silver.
. Beads: Approximately 60” of Glass Beads. Glass beads may be more expensive than other materials but they catch the light beautifully and they tend to weather better. Choose an assortment of colors, shapes and sizes. I purchased a variety of beads, as shown below, to make colorful and interesting hangers but I didn’t use nearly as many beads as shown. I found it helpful to include some “filler” beads (ie the white ones) to really let the other beads stand out. Ensure your glass beads will fit onto your beading wire.
. Teardrop Beads: A teardrop-shaped glass bead adds a nice touch to the bottom of the wind chimes. If using a creamer, teardrop beads are the perfect way to end the bead strands coming out of the creamer’s spout (see photo in Step 12).
. Beading Wire: Approximately 100” (9 ft) of Beading Wire. This stringing material is made of multiple strands of thin steel wire coated with a layer of nylon. Surprisingly, this type of wire is available as a beading supply and as a fishing supply. I’ve seen 7-strand Beading Wire in the beading section at my local craft store. But I raided my husband’s fly fishing gear and selected a spool of 40-lb Knottable Wire Bite Tipper from RIO. I reasoned that fishing line would be more durable and stand up better to the outdoor conditions I expected my wind chimes to endure. Ensure your beading wire will fit into your glass beads.
. Snap Swivel Fittings: As with the beading wire, Snap Swivel Fittings are available as both beading and fishing supplies. I used a Sports Professionals Taru Swivel with Interlock Snap in size 50-lb test. You’ll need only one.
. Crimp Beads: Used to secure the Beading Wire. Crimp Beads come in different shapes and sizes. Ensure your crimp beads fit onto your beading wire. You’ll need about 30 crimp beads.
Tools and Equipment Needed
. Wood Block: A scrap block of hardwood for your working surface. I used a 10” x 5” x 2” scrap piece of hemlock.
. Rubber Mallet
. Hammer and Sharp Nail: Used to indent before drilling.
. Drill with 7/64” Bit for drilling metal
. Painter’s Tape
. Pliers: Cutting Pliers, Flat-Nose Pliers and Round-Nose Pliers.
. Crimping Pliers: Used to squeeze the crimp beads onto the beading wire. I purchased a Beadalon brand Micro Crimper Tool for this project and it worked perfectly.
. Tweezers (optional): Used to handle beads.
. Fabric Piece: A square of fabric, approximately 12″ x 12″, to cover your working surface for beading. Ideally, the fabric would be light in color and have a short nap such as velour.
Instructions The below illustration shows the various parts of the Old Silver Wind Chimes. The labels match those used in the following instructions. The measurements indicate the approximate length of each part. Please note the total length is slightly shorter than the sum of the parts due to overlaps between components.
Step 1 – Select Components Select your featured component—it could be a lidded sugar bowl or a creamer as shown in this tutorial. Alternatively, you could use a teapot but the hangers would likely need to be longer so increase the number of glass beads and length of beading wire accordingly.
Select 1 fork for the center of the wind chimes. Select 4 spoons to surround the fork. I chose to use 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons in 2 different flatware patterns. Select 1 spoon to be used as the bottom weight. I chose a sugar spoon, with a large bowl, for this purpose. Alternatively, you can choose any combination of silver-plated cutlery you like.
Step 2 – Flatten Spoons and Fork Work on a block of scrap wood. Hold a spoon firmly against the wood block and hit it with a rubber mallet to straighten/flatten the spoon handle. The idea is to straighten the handle a little so the spoon will hang vertically. Optionally, you may also want to hit the spoon bowl a few times to flatten it a little. Repeat with the remaining spoons and fork.
Step 3 – Bend Fork Use flat-nose pliers to grip one of the fork’s tines. Slowly bend the tine out and into a graceful curl. It’s helpful to use round-nose pliers for the final bending. Alternate the direction of the tine curls. Curling out the fork tines increases their contact with the bowls of the spoons meaning the wind chimes will produce more music.
Step 4 – Drill Holes in Spoons and Fork Start with a spoon. Choose a spot at the top of the handle—centered and about ¼” from the tip—to drill a hole for hanging. Indent this spot with a sharp nail and a hammer. Use the drill with a bit for drilling metal. Drill through the spoon handle at the marked spot. Take care to clear away metal filings since these can be sharp. Use a hammer to knock off and flatten any sharp edges or tear-out on the backside of the drilled hole. Repeat for the remaining spoons and fork. Drill a second hole in the fork just above the top of the tines in the center.
Step 5 – Drill Holes in Sugar Bowl Choose 4 spots on the bottom of the sugar bowl for drilling holes. It’s easiest to align these with the bowl’s feet. As above, indent the selected spots with a sharp nail and hammer. Drill the holes. Locate the center of the bottom, mark and drill. Use a hammer to gently smooth out the backside of the drilled holes.
Next drill holes along the top rim of the sugar bowl. Choose 4 spots at an equal distance from the handles and the top edge. Due to the curved edge, drilling these can be tricky.
TIP: A small piece of painter’s tape covering your target spot will help prevent the drill bit from slipping.
Use a hammer to gently smooth out the backside of the drilled holes.
If using a creamer, drill a hole in the center of the creamer’s spout.
Step 6 – String Beads for Top Hanger Place a piece of fabric on your working surface to keep your beads from rolling away. Cut 2 pieces of beading wire each 16” long. Insert both pieces through the bottom of a swivel snap fitting. Fold wires in half. Slip a crimp bead onto the wire ends and slide it up to the swivel snap fitting. Use crimping pliers to squeeze the crimp bead and lock it into place.
Take a few minutes to plan your bead design. The beaded section should be about 4.5” long. You may want to play around with different combinations of colors and shapes to create a pleasing pattern. Once happy with your design, string the beads onto one of the wires ending with 1 or 2 crimp beads. Then finish with a small crimp bead positioned at the end tip of the wire. Use the crimping pliers to squeeze the end crimp bead into place—temporarily keeping the beads in place while you work on the other sections.
Step 7 – Attach Top Hanger Prepare to attach the beaded wires into the 4 drilled holes on the top edge of the sugar bowl. Snip off the crimped bead from the end tip of the wire. Thread the end of the wire through the drilled hole and back up through 3-5 beads. Ensure beads are snug against the swivel snap fitting at the top.
If using a lid on a sugar bowl, put the lid in place and adjust the wire loops to fit. Lock in place, by squeezing the remaining crimp bead(s) with the crimping pliers. Trim off the end of the wire with the cutting pliers. Repeat for the 3 remaining wires.
Step 8 – String Beads for Cutlery Hangers Cut a piece of beading wire 10” long. Squeeze a small crimp bead onto one end of the wire. Thread a plain bead onto the wire, slide up to the crimped bead, loop wire around and thread back through bead. Place the beaded end of the wire inside the sugar bowl and pull the wire down through the drilled hole. Repeat for the remaining 4 drilled holes.
String the beads onto one of the beading wires in your desired pattern. The beaded section should be about 5” long. Choose 6 small plain beads to wrap around the spoon handle. Add 3 of the small plain beads and a crimp bead to the wire. Then squeeze another crimp bead on the very end of the wire to temporarily hold the beads in place. Repeat for remaining 4 wires.
Step 9 – Attach Cutlery Prepare to attach the spoons and fork to the beaded wires. Start with one of the beaded wires and one spoon. Push all the beads up against the bottom of the sugar bowl. Snip off the crimped bead from the end tip of the wire. Thread the end of the wire through the drilled hole in the spoon handle, from front to back, add 3 small plain beads and pull the wire back up through the crimp bead and the last 3-5 beads above the crimp bead. Lock in place, by squeezing the crimp bead with the crimping pliers. Trim off the end of the wire with the cutting pliers. Repeat for the 4 remaining wires.
Step 10 – Prepare Bottom Weight Hold the handle of the spoon with a set of flat-nose pliers. Then use your other hand to bend the spoon handle into an interesting shape. Work carefully to gradually bend the handle. Drill a hole in the handle of the spoon if not done previously. Drill hole at the tip of the spoon bowl.
Cut an 8” piece of beading wire. String a small single bead onto the wire and center. Pull both ends of the wire through a teardrop bead. String 2-3 beads and a crimp bead onto the double wire. Then separate the 2 wires and prepare to attach to the tip of the spoon. Choose 7 small plain beads. Thread 4 small plain beads on one end of the wire. Thread the same end of the wire through the drilled hole in the spoon’s bowl, from front to back, add 3 more small plain beads and pull the wire back up through the crimp bead and the last 2-3 beads above the crimp bead. Pull the second end through the beads in a similar way. Lock in place, by squeezing the crimp bead with the crimping pliers. Trim off the ends of the wire with the cutting pliers.
Step 11 – Attach Bottom Weight Prepare to attach the bottom weight to the fork. Drill a hole in the fork just above the top of the tines, if not done previously.
Cut a piece of wire 10” long. Pull the wire through the hole above the fork tines. Pull one end of the wire about 1” below the tips of the fork tines. String a crimp bead onto both wires and push up between the fork tines. Lock in place, by squeezing the crimp bead with the crimping pliers. String about 3 beads onto both wires and add another crimp bead. Lock in place, by squeezing the crimp bead with the crimping pliers. Trim off the ends of the wire with the cutting pliers. String beads onto the beading wire in your desired pattern. The beaded section should be about 2.5” long.
The handle of the bottom weight is attached in the same way as the other spoon handles. Choose 7 small plain beads to wrap around the spoon handle. Add a crimp bead and 3 of the small plain beads to the wire. Push all the beads up against the crimped bead near the fork tines. Thread the end of the wire through the drilled hole in the spoon handle, from front to back, add 4 small plain beads and pull the wire back up through the crimp bead and the last 3-5 beads above the crimp bead. Lock in place, by squeezing the crimp bead with the crimping pliers. Trim off the end of the wire with the cutting pliers.
Step 12 – Add Beads to Creamer Spout If using a creamer, prepare to string beads for the creamer’s spout. Cut 3 pieces of beading wire, approximately 6” long. Begin each wire with a teardrop bead using the same technique as described in Step 10 Prepare Bottom Weight. String beads onto the beading wire in your desired pattern. Hold the beaded sections in place on the spout to judge the final length. The beaded sections shown below are 3.5”, 3” and 2.5”. The objective is to create a graceful arch simulating streams of water pouring from the spout. When satisfied with the beaded sections, prepare to attach them to the creamer’s spout.
Insert the end(s) of the wire through the hole in the spout, front to back, slide on a crimp bead followed by a plain bead. Loop the wire around the plain bead and back through the crimp bead and previous beads. Push beads up to the spout for a snug fit. Squeeze the crimp bead to lock in place. If it’s too difficult to thread all 3 beaded wires in this way, you could attach the shortest beaded wire midway up one of the other wires (as shown below).
Step 13 – Hang and Enjoy! Get ready to enjoy the sparkling lights and sweet sounds of your new Old Silver Wind Chimes!
More Info
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Special thanks to Marian, my sister, for crafting along with me on this project. She gets full credit for the beautiful creamer wind chimes shown in this post.
You may also enjoy these FanningSparks’ blog posts featuring ways to repurpose items:
1. A Transformation Worthy of HGTV
2. Teacup Pincushion – DIY Tutorial
3. Vintage Bangle to Keepsake Box – DIY Tutorial
4. Thrifted Frame to Small Tray
Today’s Takeaways
1. Bringing new life to abandoned vintage items is a great way to reuse resources.
2. Enrich your décor by incorporating items with an interesting past.
3. Make your own one-of-a-kind wind chimes with old silver and beading.
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