Do you love the relaxing sound of wind chimes? Here's an idea for making budget-friendly DIY whimsical wind chimes with recycled flatware and a sugar bowl. You'll find most of what you need to make the garden chimes down the kitchenware aisle of your local thrift store.

Recycled Silverware Garden Chimes

We live behind a busy road and the motivation for making recycled flatware chimes is to deafen the constant hum of traffic. The pretty soft melodic sound of these wind chimes provides a pleasant distraction from the noise. 

I've included a short clip of them swaying in the breeze further down in the post so you can hear what they sound like.

This is my second time joining the ladies in the Thrifty Chicks Group. On the second Wednesday of every month, these creative junk-loving friends come together to upcycle or repurpose a junk find based on a theme. Last month for our Chair challenge I tried a color block paint technique on a Wooden Kitchen Chairs makeover.

This month the theme is Kitchen and our challenge is to upcycle something either found in the kitchen or to be used in a kitchen. I've included links to the group's kitchen projects further down in the post.

As I mentioned earlier, you can see in the photo below that the handmade wind chimes are made with recycled cutlery, a sugar bowl, and a small plate from Goodwill. If you can't find a ceramic sugar bowl, alternatively you could use a teapot like I did for these recycled teapot wind chimes.

For some whimsy, I added typography on the bottom of the sugar bowl plate, visible from below. A fitting sentiment for wind chimes, wouldn't you agree?

In Summer the song sings itself  ~William Carlos Williams

I'll be sharing instructions for how to add the typography further down in the post as well.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to make the handmade wind chimes, almost all of the DIY projects shared here at Interior Frugalista have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

What You'll Need To Make Them

These are some of the thrift store items I used to make the sugar bowl wind chimes, minus the spoons (more about that later).

Five Important Tips For Wind Chime Supplies

1. DO NOT buy heavy porcelain or stoneware plates as they are next to impossible to drill holes through for the silverware hangers.
2. Buy an extra salad or dessert plate for any drilling mishaps.
3. Buy sterling silver flatware rather than stainless steel as it is much softer to drill holes through.
4. You'll need a total of eight spoons OR forks. You can mix it up like I did with four dinner forks and four smaller dessert forks.
5. Buy a large serving spoon, fork, or ladle for the middle chime.

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Supply List

2 Salad or Dessert Plates (an extra)
Sugar Bowl With Lid (with an open-hole handle)
1 large Serving Spoon, Fork, or Ladle
4 Dinner Forks and 4 Salad Forks (or 8 dinner forks or spoons)
E6000 Glue
Stretch Free Clear Jewelry Thread (or fishing line)
White 1.5 mm 100% Nylon Cording (or small link chain)
16 Purple Colored Beads
17 Green Colored Beads
8 0.5-inch Jump Rings
1 Paper clip (or thin washer)
1 Keyring
Fine or Extra-Fine Tip Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Pens
1 sheet Graphite OR Carbon Paper

Tool List

Needle Nose Pliers
Dremel Tool
Power Drill
6 mm Diamond Core Dremel Bit (or 6 mm Diamond Core Drill Bit)
Power Drill
3/16" High-Speed Metal Titanium Drill Bit
Safety Glasses
Safety Gloves
Sponge
Water Bucket
Masking Tape

Here's How I Made It

I have to admit, making the wind chimes did not come without some hiccups. I'll share tips on what not to do so you don't make the same mistakes I did.

Step 1 - Glue Lid Onto Sugar Bowl

We'll start by gluing the lid onto the sugar bowl with E6000 glue. It's the most time-consuming part of the project because it needs twelve hours to cure.

When shopping at Goodwill I was drawn to the found Corelle Shadow Iris sugar bowl. It's just like the Corelle coordinates pattern we had when I was growing up so it has sentimental value.

Let's Talk Safety

Before we move on to the next step, let's talk about safety.

1. It's important that you wear safety glasses and protective gloves when drilling holes in the plate and the flatware.
2. It's also important that the plate be cooled during the drilling process so you'll need a bucket of water and a saturated sponge on hand.
3. Please be careful when using an electric power tool near water. Set the pail of water away from the power tool but within each reach. You do not want that bucket of water to spill.
4. DO NOT hold the electrically powered drill when dipping the sponge into the pail of water. 

Step 2 - Drilling Holes In Small Plate

In this step, we're going to drill small holes around the dessert plate for the jump rings. Like I mentioned in the helpful shopping tips earlier, don't do what I did and use a porcelain plate because it's next to impossible to drill through.

• Remember to wear eye and hand protection.
• Flip the plate upside down and with a marker place a dot in the center of the plate.
• Make eight more dots evenly around the place about 1/4-inch from the edge.
• Place a piece of masking tape (not painter's tape like pictured above) over each dot to give the drill bit some friction and stop it from sliding across the smooth finish.
• Grab your Dremel Tool or a power drill and a 6 mm diamond core bit.
• It's at this point if you have a second set of hands available, use them to keep the plate cool during the drilling process.
• Start by angling the bit slightly to pierce through the tape and start the hole.
• Once the hole is started, straighten the bit and drill down into the plate.
• To keep the plate from overheating and shattering, have your helper squeeze a water-filled sponge over the hole as you are drilling.

Step 3 - Drilling Holes In Flatware

I mentioned that we didn't use the spoons in the supply photo shared earlier. They ended up being stainless steel and impossible to drill through so we used sterling silver salad forks instead.

Again, wear safety glasses for this step because you don't want those fine shards of metal piercing your skin or worse, in your eye. You'll also want to wear protective gloves because the flatware and drill bit get VERY hot.

With a power drill and 3/16" high-speed metal titanium drill bit, drill a hole in the top of each fork like pictured above.

Step 4 - Adding Typography On Small Plate

This step is completely optional. If you want the typography on the bottom of the small plate, like I did, these are the instructions for doing it.

• In PicMonkey, Word, or whatever graphics software you typically use, create the typography with a script font. Set the text to the curved option and the radius that fits the diameter of your plate.
• Print it on regular bond paper. 
• If the phrase doesn't line up perfectly around the plate, cut out each word and tape them onto the plate, like I did in the photo below.

• Slip a piece of graphite or carbon paper behind each word and trace with a pen to transfer onto the plate.
• Go over each word with a fine tip Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Pen in the color of your choice. You may have to go over it twice so allow the ink to dry between each application.

Step 5 - Hanging Flatware Onto Dessert Plate

At this point, we are not attaching the plate to the sugar bowl just yet. First, we need to hang the flatware chimes onto the plate.

• Slip 14-inch strands of stretch-free jewelry thread (or fishing line) into the holes of the flatware and tie in a double knot.
• String a green colored bead about 1-inch from the top of the flatware and double loop through the bead to keep it from sliding.
• String two purple beads above the green one (no need to double-loop).
• String another green bead and double loop to stop it from sliding.
• Set the plate on top of a bowl to raise it off the table (like pictured below).

• With needle nose pliers attach the silver jump rings through each hole on the plate and squeeze the ends closed.
• Tie the four dinner forks onto every second jump ring about 2-inches from the last bead and tie it in a double knot, cutting the excess thread.
• Repeat the same step for the four salad forks except leave about 4-inches from the last bead so they are tapered. The key is to have all the fork tines hit each other when the wind blows.
• On the large middle fork, spoon, or ladle, string the beads about 2 1/2-inches up and double loop to keep them from sliding.
• Sorry I completely forgot to take a photo before gluing the sugar bowl onto the plate.
• Pull the thread through the center hole on the plate and tie the thread onto a paper clip or thin washer. Make sure the ladle is hanging slightly lower than the forks but that all eight forks hit the ladle. Hold the plate up to test it for sound and adjust the length of the thread accordingly.
• Add a dollop of glue on the plate to secure the paper clip or washer.
• Cut off the excess thread.

Step 6 - Glue Plate Onto Sugar Bowl

Now that we have the flatware hanging from the dessert plate, we're ready to glue it onto the sugar bowl. With the plate upside down so the typography is facing downwards, glue the sugar bowl with E6000 glue and let it cure overnight.

Step 7 - Attaching Wind Chime Hanger

Now for the final step of our silverware wind chimes is adding a cord for the wind chime hanger.

• Cut a piece of white 1.5 mm 100% nylon cording about 14 inches long.
• Fold it in half and attach it to the handle of the sugar bowl with a slip knot.
• Tie the opposite end of the cord onto a keyring about 10-11 inches from the handle with a square or granny knot and cut off the excess.

And that my friends, is how to make recycled flatware sugar bowl wind chimes for budget-friendly garden decor. So what do you think? Would you consider making one of these for your backyard?

Here's another idea for bright and whimsical homemade wind chimes you may like. These recycled tin can wind chimes are easy to make with food tins and a collapsible vegetable steamer basket.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this handmade garden wind chime idea. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

If you enjoyed these whimsical flatware wind chimes, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your Handmade Garden Decor or Recycled Flatware Ideas board on Pinterest.

As promised, I've included links below to everyone's creative kitchen challenge projects.

A Kitchen Cabinet Door Into A Towel Holder | Shoppe No. 5
Christmas In July Kitchen DIY Project | Adirondack Girl At Heart
How To Make A Coffee Bar Sign | Just The Woods
Sewing Machine Drawer Kitchen Organizer | Lora B.
Recycled Flatware Wind Chimes | Interior Frugalista
What To Do With A Collection Of Random Kitchen Do-Dads | Little Vintage Cottage
How To Make Repurposed Folding Strainer Flowers | Color Me Thrifty

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.