How to Make a Shamrock Wind Chime for St. Patrick's Day

This easy and fun wind chime makes a nice decoration for St. Patrick's Day. It's simple enough to make with your children and can be made with just a few simple items. Follow the procedures below for a chiming fun craft.

Things You'll Need

• Flour--4 cups
• Salt--1 cup
• Warm water--1 1/2 cups
• Bowl
• Plastic wrap
• Rolling pin
• Cookie cutters or shape templates & sharp knife
• Baking sheet
• Parchment Paper
• Small straw
• Oven
• Enamel Paints
• Paintbrushes
• Decorations as desired
• Fishing line
• Three to five feet of thin decorative chain (approximately 1/4 inch)
• Large split ring

Instructions

Make the Dough

1. Mix together 4 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1 1/2 cups of warm water in a large bowl.

2. Add more water or more flour as needed to reach a thick consistency. Dough should not be sticky, but must be pliable.

3. Keep dough covered with plastic wrap while working so it doesn't dry out prematurely.

Make the Chime Pieces and Base

1. Roll out the dough in small bunches, rolling until it is approximately 1/3-inch thick.

2. Cut out your shapes using cookie cutters or a sharp knife and simple template. Shamrocks and leprechaun hats are simple shapes that work well together. You could also do pots of gold, though they can be trickier.

3. Roll out one segment of dough slightly thicker (approximately 1/2-inch) and create the base of your wind chime. You can make this a circular ring or a thin rectangular bar, depending on the look you want for your finished wind chime.

4. Place your chime pieces and base piece on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Make a hole in the top of each chime piece with a coffee straw and multiple holes in the base piece (if you have 20 chime pieces, you'll want four to five holes in the base piece). You don't want the hole to be too large because it detracts from the appearance of the finished wind chime.

5. Bake in 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for approximately one hour. Allow to cool completely.

Decorate the Chime Pieces

1. Paint your chime pieces. Enamel paint is the best choice for a clean and shiny finish. Paint both sides since these will be hanging up.

2. Add other decorations as desired. Some suggestions are: glitter to add an overall sparkle, gold leaf on a leprechaun hat's buckle, gold pieces in the pot or thin black lines to add detail.

3. Allow pieces to dry completely, and then coat with a layer of clear shellac.

Assemble Your Wind Chime

1. Sort your chime pieces into groups of four to five, and attach them in a row with fishing line. Leave enough fishing line at the beginning of the row to attach the entire strand to the base of your wind chime.

2. Securely tie each strand of chime pieces to your wind chime base by pushing the fishing line through the pre-made holes and tying a large knot on the top side. You may also want to secure those knots with a few drops of Super Glue.

3. Finally, loop the decorative chain around the wind chime base and pull up over the center. Attach the chain pieces together with a large split ring to hang it from.

Tips & Warnings

• Make the pieces fairly small. If they are two inches or less, they will hang better and have a smoother chime.

• Fold your chain in half as it will appear on the final project to judge the proper size for your wind chime base.

• Check all the holes carefully to make sure paint and shellac do not dry inside and close them up.

• Do not try to decorate the pieces until they have cooled completely. Baked dough becomes quite hot and is not as easy to paint and decorate.