Petal Pairs Window Wind Chimes

Window-sized wind chimes to catch the summer breeze.

Here's a quick, summery project I ran up so I could play with the new Tonic Studios Petal Pairs punch shapes - Box Sets 4 and 5 are out (yay!). To make the wind chimes, I have fashioned the Petal Pairs into fluttery little ballerina tutus that catch the wind. Alternate them with 6mm pearl beads.

To create a slightly cupped shape that would catch the wind, I altered the Petal Pairs like so:

... just snip the Petal Pairs shape to the centre, glue the shaded area, overlap to make a 4-petal flower with a dimple in the centre. Interlock two Petal Pairs flowers in the usual way. Pierce or punch a hole in the centre (I used a 1/16" circle hand punch) from the concave side of the 
flower. Shape the petals downwards to make an umbrella shape. For each wind chime, you need 21 completed Petal Pairs "umbrella flowers" - seven for each of the three wind chime strands.

For stringing, I used ordinary craft thread. Knot the bottom of the strand. Thread on a bell/bead. Here's the secret of how to pass thick thread through a bead hole (magic- works every time):

The beading sequence goes like this: bell, three pearl beads, umbrella flower - alternate the beads with the Petal Pairs flowers, ending with three beads. Make three identical strands. Re: the bells. You can purchase mini-bells from craft shops or bead shops. (I always hoard the cute little bells from chocolate reindeer and bunnies...).

Almost done. Here's the wind chime header to cut from cardstock:

And here's how to attach the bead strands to the header:

Pass the strand top through the card and knot the end close to the card. Fold the header into thirds and glue or tape it shut. Pierce or punch the holes for the hanging strand through all three layers. Finally, knot a piece of baker's twine through the header for the hanging strand. Add a bead to each baker's twine tail, knot the end, and trim. Tease out the strands of the baker's twine below the knot with a needle-tip to make a simple self-tassel. That's it. Wind chime finished.

More pics:

Pearlescent paper used for the Petal Pairs here.

Vellum for the Petal Pairs here.

Note: if you prefer a silent window decoration to a tinkling one, you still need a bell-shaped bead at the bottom of each strand to weight it!

Stuff I used: Tonic Studios Petal Pairs Box Set4 and 5; AC Cardstock (for header), 6mm pearl craft beads, Divine Twine, mini-bells, craft thread.