Making a wind chime or sun catcher is a fun way to reuse old CDs and DVDs! And it is a great project for the whole family to do together, because everyone can decorate a CD or DVD to hang.
Materials and Supplies
Sharpie markers
Old CDs and/or DVDs
A sturdy round, plastic lid
A nail, hammer, and board (to poke holes in the lid)
Twine, yarn or string
A yarn needle
Pony beads (optional)
Scissors
Directions
1. Use Sharpie markers to decorate your CDs or DVDs. You can also color the plastic lid.
2. Have an adult help you poke holes in the round lid, which will be used to hang your creation. You can make the holes by placing the lid on a board and hitting a nail with a hammer. You will need to poke three holes close to the center. Next, about an inch away from the lid’s edge, poke one hole for each CD/DVD you decorate. The holes should be small, just big enough to poke yarn through. I used five CDs, so I poked five holes in addition to the three holes for hanging, for a total of eight holes in the lid.
3. Cut three pieces of string each about 16 inches long. Tie a double knot at one end of each string, then pull the long end of each string through the holes in the plastic lid, letting it catch on the knots.
4. Hold all three strings together over the center of the lid, leaving about 6 inches of string above the handles. Make a knot with all three strings. This is how you will hang your wind chime/sun catcher.
5. Cut a piece of string for each CD or DVD you decorated. String through the center hole of each CD/DVD and tie a knot. Add beads to each string if you would like. You can use double knots between the beads to suspend beads at different levels.
6. Pull each string through the outside holes on the plastic lid and tie in a double knot above the lid to secure them. Trim off the extra string. (You can hang the CDs/DVDs at the same level or staggered. I did mine circling from long to short.)
7. Now you are ready to hang. Use the 6 inches of string you left above the knot to tie it to a tree branch or tie a knot near the top to make a loop to hang on a hook.
8. Enjoy the sights and sounds to brighten up winter!
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