Elephants & Owls: Four Seashell DIYs: Wind Chimes

For my third shell DIY I decided to make a simple wind chime that can be hung both inside or outdoors!

For your supplies you'll need:

- Measuring tape (or a ruler)

- Natural or colored hemp cord

- Wooden beads

- Shells with holes in them

- A knife (or a small saw)

- 12" dremel (or a stick of about the same size for a more organic look)

- Scissors

Begin by cutting wedges into your dremel in the spots where you plan to hang your shells. Don't forget to make a wedge in the very center for the cord that the chime will hang from. I arranged my wedges equidistant from each other to make the chime slightly more balanced, but even with your strands the same distance from each other, your chime will probably tilt, and that just adds to its charm!

I decided to make my wind chime with five strands of shells, so I needed six pieces of cord, each approximately 1.5' long. One of the pieces will be used to hang the chime. (1) Tie the ends of one strand together using an overhand knot, then set it aside. Take your other five strands and (2) tie small loops at one end of each using an overhand knot. To attach the string that will hang the chime, (3) pass the knotted end through the loop you created when tying the ends together, and pull tight with the dremel inside. Pull the cord snugly into the center wedge. Use the same technique with your hanging strands (4) passing the straight end through the looped end and pulling it tight with your dremel inside. Arrange each strand over a wedge and make sure it is snugly secured.

I lined my shells up before hanging them to get an idea of how I wanted to arrange them, but it's up to you whether you want to do it this way or just string them at random.

To string your shells onto the cord, first string on a wooden bead, then string the shell on. After your shell is on, tie a knot in the spot where you want it to hang. If the hole in the shell is too large for a knot, you can string another bead on after the shell and then tie a knot under that.