Beaded Sea Glass DIY Wind Chimes with Cowbells

Learn how to make wind chimes with a piece of driftwood, sea glass beads, and small cowbells with this beaded wind chime craft tutorial, including step-by-step instructions and photographs. (First published on September 6, 2016; this post is regularly updated and republished to improve the content.)

Make beautiful beaded garden art with this DIY sea glass wind chimes tutorial. Beaded wind chimes are a fun garden craft and STEAM project for kids and adults. Sea glass beads and small cowbells make this simple beaded wind chime craft easy for kids and adults of all ages to put together. However, young children (preschoolers and kindergarteners) will need the help of a parent, caregiver, or teacher to make this wind chime craft.

Handmade sea glass wind chimes make a lovely piece of DIY garden decor and a gorgeous handmade gift idea. The easy step-by-step DIY tutorial below explains how to make a sea glass wind chime with sea glass beads, a piece of driftwood or a bare branch, and cowbells. You may also enjoy this beaded sea glass craft tutorial and making beaded necklaces and bracelets.

Related: Rainbow Prism Suncatcher

Driftwood Sea Glass Wind Chimes

Create gorgeous outdoor hanging chimes for your garden, yard, patio, or schoolyard with this beaded wind chime DIY tutorial. When we first discovered these gorgeous sea glass beads, my daughter and I wanted to make some sea glass suncatchers and a wall hanging or beaded wind chime craft.

I’m in love with the fire and ice look that our beautiful beaded sea glass windchime brings to our patio. Sea glass beads look stunning in any light, but they are magical when the sun hits them in the photographs, and they look so gorgeous hanging from a piece of driftwood in the garden. Our beaded sea glass wind chime is hanging in the image below.

Related: Beaded Name Necklace

Sea Glass Wind Chimes Craft Supplies

Following is a list of craft supplies needed to make this simple sea glass wind chimes DIY project.

• Driftwood, bare branch, or a large wooden dowl rod with a foam brush and wood stain)
• Measuring tape or ruler
• Monofilament fishing line
• Small cowbells; or try THESE gold and silver cowbells, or THESE rounded cowbells, or THESE small bells
• Sea glass beads; choose at least one: – blue (ocean wave), red/orange (burning sun), green (seafoam), yellow mix, purple mix, or rainbow frosted
• Crimp tube beads
• Garden twine
• Bead crimping pliers (An inexpensive and straightforward craft tool.)
• Drill

Related: How to Make a Fairy Garden

How to Make Beaded Sea Glass Wind Chimes DIY Step-by-Step Tutorial with Photographs

Beaded sea glass wind chimes are outdoor chimes kids and adults can make together to hang on the patio, in the backyard, or the garden. Follow the step-by-step directions below to learn how to make beaded wind chimes with driftwood and sea glass beads.

Either create a graduated sea glass wind chime where the middle strand of beads hangs down longer than the rest (like the sea glass wind chimes shown in the photographs), beaded strands that hang in a slant to the left or the right, or sea glass wind chimes that all hang at the same length.

No matter what type you choose, the directions to make a sea glass wind chime are all the same, but you will have to do some math. For this reason, making beaded sea glass wind chimes is a great STEAM project for homeschoolers–scroll down to the bottom of the tutorial to learn why!

Homemade wind chimes also make a lovely piece of DIY garden decor. You may also enjoy making sea glass suncatchers. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see a list of other garden crafts you can make with the kids.

1. Drill holes into a piece of driftwood, bare branch, or large wooden dowel rod.

• Use a measuring tape or ruler to measure the length of the driftwood or bare branch you are working with, and drill 3 to 9 evenly spaced holes.
• The photographs for this sea glass wind chime show five holes drilled approximately three inches apart. And the five holes are centered in the middle of the 19-inch piece of driftwood.
• As I said, you will need to take some measurements and do some math to complete this DIY garden project. The distance between each beaded strand will depend on the driftwood, bare branch, or wooden dowel length and the number of beaded strands with cowbells you would like to hang on it.
• If you use a large wooden dowel rod to make this garden craft, it is optional but recommended to stain and protect the wood once the holes are drilled. Apply wood stain and sealer with a foam brush and allow it to dry before moving on to the next step.

2. Cut sections of the monofilament line for each beaded strand.

• Cut 3 to 9 sections of monofilament or fishing line. You will need one piece of fishing line for each beaded sea glass strand that you would like to hang from the driftwood. Either copy our example in the photographs shown here–or do the math to make it however you wish.
• For this sea glass wind chime DIY, we began with five strands of monofilament line between two and two and a half feet long.
• When finished, the sea glass bead strands for the DIY wind chimes in the photographs measured 12, 14, and 16 inches long.
• In other words, we beaded two 12-inch strands, two 14-inch strands, and one 16-inch strand to make the sea glass wind chimes shown in the photos.

Related: Best Rainbow Suncatchers

3. Attach cowbells to the end of each strand of the fishing line.

Use a crimp bead (or tube) and a pair of crimping pliers to attach a small (or large) cowbell to the end of each strand of the monofilament line cut in Step 2.

• First, place a crimp tube (or bead) onto one end of the monofilament or fishing line.
• Next, place a cowbell on the end of the monofilament line.
• Then, tuck the short end of the monofilament line into the crimp tube next to the long end of the monofilament line, as shown in the photos below.
• Gently push the crimp tube towards the cowbell to decrease the diameter of the loop.
• Use crimping pliers to squeeze the crimp tube shut around both pieces of monofilament line to hold the cowbell in place.
• Trim off the excess monofilament line, and repeat the steps above until all sections of the fishing string have a cowbell attached to one end.
• When all sections of the monofilament line have cowbells, move on to the next step.

4. String the sea glass beads onto each strand of monofilament string.

• String the sea glass beads directly onto the long end of the monofilament line attached to each cowbell.
• Monofilament line, or fishing string, is sturdy enough to string beads without a sewing needle. (You can also use it to make gorgeous suncatchers and simple beaded necklaces and bracelets!)
• Use blue sea glass beads, green sea glass beads, red sea glass beads, or any other color of frosted beads in single or multiple color combinations of your choice.
• Use one color, create a varied color pattern, or randomly string the sea glass beads onto each strand in any way you wish–just like our daughter did for this simple DIY garden project. The photographs below show her beading the sea glass strands for this homeschool STEAM project.

Related: How to Color Wooden Beads

5. Attach the beaded wind chime sections to a piece of driftwood or bare branch.

• First, thread the top of each bead strand through the piece of driftwood to attach each strand to the wind chime. In other words, pull the beaded section of the monofilament line up and through the driftwood until the sea glass beads are flush with the driftwood.
• Then, place a crimp bead onto the monofilament line (above the driftwood), followed by one last sea glass bead.
• Next, wrap the monofilament line around the bead, tuck it into the crimp bead, and back into or through the driftwood.
• Then, hold the crimp bead and sea glass bead as you pull on the end of the monofilament line, and continue to push the crimp bead and sea glass bead until both are closer to the driftwood.
• Finally, use a pair of crimping pliers to close the crimp bead shut and lock the sea glass beads and wind chime strands into place.
• Cut or trim off any excess monofilament line if needed.
• The sea glass bead on top of the driftwood will ensure that each beaded wind chime strand stays firmly in place. And it also gives this garden craft a pretty pop of color along the top edge of the driftwood, bare branch, or wooden dowel.
• Look at the photo tutorial below to see how to do each step in this process.

7. Make a hanger for the sea glass wind chimes.

• First, cut a long section of heavy-duty string, rope, or garden twine to make a hanger for the sea glass wind chime.
• Next, tie a square knot at one end to attach it to the driftwood (or bare branch).
• Keep wrapping the garden twine around that same end of the driftwood 6 – 12 times to cover the knot.
• Then, tie another square knot on top of it to secure the wrapped garden twine in place.
• Leave 2 – 5 feet of slack (depending on how long you would like your wind chime hanger to be) and tie a square knot on the other side of the driftwood.
• Then again, wrap the garden twine 6 to 12 times to cover the knot on the other side.
• Next, tie another square knot on the wrapped twine or string.
• Finally, cut the twine and tuck the loose end into the wrapped garden twine.
• Look at the photo tutorial below to see how to make a garden hanger for a windchime.

Making Wind Chimes is a Great STEAM Project Idea for Homeschoolers

Just because young children shouldn’t be making DIY wind chimes alone doesn’t mean they can’t help! We are raising a self-sufficient kid, so we invite our daughter to help with household chores and simple DIY projects like this sea glass windchime.

Plus, making wind chimes is a great STEAM project for homeschoolers. Working on simple crafts like these hanging chimes means that we also get to sneak in a few homeschooling lessons as we work–due to the basic engineering, measuring, and math involved in the process.

Our daughter helped us decide on the basic design for our DIY wind chime, which meant she had to do some math, measuring, and counting. And she created the beautiful beaded art shown in the photographs.

She strung each sea glass bead onto each strand of the wind chimes while my husband and I drilled the holes in the driftwood for the wind chime and created the twine hanger.

Did you know that stringing beads to make a beaded wind chime (or any other beaded project) is also a great way to improve hand-eye coordination and develop the fine motor muscles of the hand?

Projects like this can help build and strengthen the muscles in hand necessary for writing and other handwork projects like sewing a pocket pet mouse.

But don’t tell the kids they are learning or that it has anything to do with school. Or they might not want to help you make it. Let’s keep it our little secret. 😉

Sea Glass Wind Chime DIY

Garden crafts like this beaded wind chime are an excellent STEAM project for homeschoolers and also make a lovely handmade gift idea. The beaded sea glass beads become a gorgeous suncatcher that adds a splash of color to any view, which makes them look so lovely hanging outdoors in the garden, yard, or patio.

You may also like learning how to start a fairy garden. Click on the link for the step-by-step tutorial. Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!

More DIY Garden Crafts, Projects, and Activities:

• How to Make a Fairy Garden
• Real Flower Suncatcher Crafts
• Composting At Home
• How to Grow a Sunflower House
• DIY Outdoor Chalkboard
• Painted Rock Fairy Houses
• How to Plant Flowers Organically
• Best Sandbox Ideas for Kids