Making a nativity story wind chime

Hello and happy Monday! Arin here and I am thrilled to have this be my first tutorial project as a design team member for Globecraft &Piccolo! In the spirit of the season I decided to go with a nativity themed project. I wanted to do a project that carried more tradition and told the story of Christmas. When I spotted the Globecraft & Piccolo Nativity ornaments, I knew exactly what I was going to do!

This project was very enjoyable to make, but does have its fair share of steps that I am going to walk you through. Now let's roll up our sleeves and get ready to play with a lot of sparkle and shimmer and build a project that can dance in the chilly winter breeze greeting your guests with a sweet ring of telling the Christmas story.  

Arin Flynn
A Piece of Life's Pie

Materials List:

• G&P Nativity Single Layer Ornament
• G&P Three Wise Men Single Layer Ornament
• G&P Trumpeting Angle Single Layer Ornament
• G&P Enamel/Embossing Powder Adhesive
• G&P Glastique Matte Finishing Glaze
• G&P Titanium White 3D Enamel Gel
• G&P Napthol Red 3D Enamel Gel
• G&P Cobalt Turquoise 3D Enamel Gel
• G&P Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter
• G&P Siam Silver Embossing Powder
• 6-inch Floral and Craft Ring - Three Ring Circles
• Christmas garland - Cerebrate It
• Christmas bells (25mm) - Art Minds
• Split Key Ring (1 – 1 ¼”) – Silver Creek Leather Company
• Small drill
• Heat gun
• Sand paper
• Fishing line
• Dry small paint brush
• Measuring ruler
• Scissors

Step 1:  Base for wind chime - Calculate the spacing that is needed to drill the holes big enough to support the material being used to hang the ornaments and garland from. In this case, I used fishing line and drilled six holes in the middle of the craft ring at 2 1/4 inches apart. Mark, drill and sand down the rough edges of the around the drill holes. 

Then cover one side of the craft ring and inside edge using Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive. Dust with Siam Silver Embossing Powder, shake off any excess and set with a heat gun. Once it is cool and set, repeat on the opposite side.

Once cool and set on both sides, pour Piccolo Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter on a sheet of paper and apply Glastique Matte Finishing Glaze on the outside edge of the craft ring.  Roll through the glitter and set aside to allow to dry. This really adds some bling-pop to the base of the wind chime!

Step 2: Ornaments - Moving right along to making the three ornaments. First, start by setting up an assembly line in a row and apply Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive to the outer borders and stars. Dust with Siam Silver Embossing Powder and shake off excess to all three. Use a small dry paint brush to clean up any loose or unwanted powder along the edges. Set with a heat gun and once cool and set, repeat on opposite sides.

Now it is time to add the bling to the ornament! Start with applying Glastique Matte to the angel wing and the two stars. Dust with Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter and shake off any excess and set back up in a row of three to get ready to start applying the 3D Enamel Gel. Keep Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter handy, because there will be a tad bit to come shorty!

This is my favorite part of the project!  Working with the 3D Enamel Gels is so much fun and easy! I did each color in stages starting with Cobalt Turquoise 3D Enamel Gel, then to Napthol Red 3D Enamel Gel, and finishing off with Titanium White 3D Enamel Gel. I just love the blue and red color combo! I dusted the mangers and the three kings with Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter to add just a little more sparkle to some key aspects of the ornaments. Set aside to set and dry for a few hours and then repeat all the steps on opposite side of the ornaments.

Step 3: Assembly of wind chime - Once both sides are completed and dry, it is time to start assembling the wind chime using the fishing line, key ring, garland, and bells.

First start by cutting three separate sections of fishing line. Cut it at about 30-plus inches for each section (there is going to be waste, but more length to play with the better). At one end of the line, run through the three bells to form a cluster. Then attach the ornament at the base of the bell cluster and double knot securely and trim excess line. Repeat with additional ornaments.

Once all the bells and ornaments are attached, run the opposite end of the fishing line through the craft ring and from the top of the bells to about 10 inches and tie a double knot. This will keep the ornament in place while hanging. Repeat the same steps for the other two ornaments, evenly spacing the three for balance and aesthetics. Balance out the base and ornaments by grouping all three lines and securely tie a knot about 8-9 inches above the craft ring/wind chime base. Then tie the key ring above the knot, trim excess line and hang. I also added some garland around the top of the wind chime to hide the knots securing the key chain.

Lastly, add the garland to the additional drill holes on the craft ring/wind chime base. Cut down the garland to desired lengths, run through holes and tie a knot to secure garland.

TAH-DAH! It is now finished and you can hang this on your porch to add a festive traditional Christmas story for all to enjoy!

Head over to my blog to check out another fun and festive holiday project I have come up with using some of these amazing Globecraft & Piccolo products that I used in this project!

Happy Holidays!