Crafts
Science
SpringPreschoolersGrade School112 Comments
These are stunning suncatcher wind chimes the kids made that was inspired by our fun tin can wind chimes, mixed with our nature suncatchers.
I love a craft that is easy for the kids to do and had a pretty end result! Natural suncatcher wind chimes are both of those things.
Start out by getting the kids involved and active. Send them into the backyard or take a walk to collect find flowers and leaves!
We just went around the yard finding pretty colors of flowers and interesting leaves. We tried to keep everything small in size but didn’t limit to just that.
You could definitely make this part an entire activity in itself and do a scavenger hunt for certain colors, textures, or shapes. We always love a good scavenger hunt, and nature ones are classic!
Finding special things in nature is fun, but remember that a little bit will go a long way for this activity.
Once we collected our nature goodies, its time to set up to make a collage of it all.
Don’t forget the extra special part: these double as gorgeous suncatchers, too!
Homemade Nature Suncatcher Wind Chimes for Kids to Make
To make your found nature into wind chime suncatchers, you’ll also need:
- Contact paper
- Scissors
- Marker or pen
- Rings from Mason jar lids
- String (we used hemp cord – affiliate link – but yarn works too)
- A sturdy stick
Cut a small piece of contact paper and trace the mason jar rings onto the contact paper side (not the part you peel off). Trace as many as you have rings for.
Then peel the backing off the contact paper and tap onto the surface, sticky side up.
This is where the kids get to be as creative as they’d like!
Hand over the stash of nature items they found and let them fill in those circles.
We found it very cool to peel apart the flowers if they were big. To have a petal instead of a whole flower.
Or if the flower was closed up or bell-shaped, we peeled it open to fan it out.
They made for some gorgeous suncatchers!
Once their collages were complete, we finished off the suncatcher with another piece of contact paper over top.
Press them as flat as you can, sticking the contact paper wherever you can.
Such pretty suncatchers already!
Then we cut them out. Along the circles we traced.
Henry, my oldest who is 6, cut his himself. I went back over them to cut them a tad bit smaller though.
We traced the outside of the mason jar ring. So to fit in the ring, they had to be slightly smaller.
Then I tied a knot around the rings using the string we had on hand.
I simply pushed the suncatcher circles into the ring. We didn’t need to tape them, they stayed securely in place.
But I can see that you may need to.
I also tied the strings onto a stick to make them into a wind chime that we hung on our porch. Two actually, and I love looking at them!
I love the simplicity of the raw mason jar rings. But I also think it would be fun to spray paint them to give them color, too.
However, I plan to use the lids again at some point for my jars, so I didn’t want to “ruin” them at this time.
The boys are so proud of their suncatcher wind chimes! They love them!
And the sound they make is actually quite pleasant peaceful. I was nervous it would be clanky, but it’s actually quite nice.
Outdoor Play : Scavenger Hunt
27 Colorful Spring Art Projects for Kids to be Creative
Try an Easy Counting Flower Petals Math Activity for Kids
30 Oh-So-Cool Science Experiments for Preschoolers to Try
Craft a Pretty Nature Collage Suncatcher for Toddlers
Great but this was included as a recycled eco friendly activity and it has jar lids –and contact paper, which is new plastic added to the environment. Most people would have to buy the jar lids.
I am a retired school teacher getting ready to start a nanny job with a under 1 year old and 2 year old. Your website is such a treasure! I am SO excited to have fun with my two young boys! Some activities are perfect for development goals, others have given me some confidence on how to keep the 2 year old safely occupied as I prepare meals, and others are just right for just having fun together. YAY!
Do you have to dry the flowers first? Would they mold otherwise? thanks
Hi Brandie! Great question! Jamie didn’t dry them first – they do dry and become brown – still pretty, just not as vibrant. They lasted a couple of weeks though!
Beautiful. If the kids can wait, press the flowers first. Then they will not wither, mildew or rot.
We live on the west coast of Florida. Shells are our natural bounty and we make wind-chimes from them. Many shells already have holes in them to join with transparent thread or fishing wire. The shells don’t have to be whole. Small rocks and shells can be “wired” with thin gauge wire to hang them. Tie at varying lengths to a piece of driftwood or the inside hoop of an embroidery hoop. Enjoy!
Cute project! I have a question, did the leaves and flowers grow mold in the contact paper over time since they weren’t dried out?
Thanks!
Hi Jessie! Great question! They do dry and become brown – still pretty, just not as vibrant. They lasted a couple of weeks though!
Do the flowers fade or turn brown?
Hi Tori! They do dry and become brown – still pretty, just not as vibrant. They lasted a couple of weeks though!
very nice
i love it
Hi, what a wonderful idea, what else can I use instead of mason jar lids ?
What a fabulous idea😉, thanks for sharing
I also love doing the children crafts. Of course I enjoy trying any craft. Thank you for all you post.
Just love thuis craft!!
Ingenious! This is so cool. I love it.
Salutations, I found this page and web-site to be very useful as it enhances the young minds creativity besides developing ideas with uses of recycled material. Hopefully the future will be filled with peoples inventiveness fulfilling the needs of one other.
The area is filled with exercises that enhance the growth of waste materials which eventually will cover us all in the future as human-kind populates his environment. This area will become more and more useful to all educators, businesses, and industrial enterprises. It may be a manner to correct the problems of waste, economic circumstances, development, and social problems which all this wasteful and toxic ordeals develop as we go along. Our hopes are headed toward fashioning the entire concepts so that students, educators, and other areas alike will mainstream this all into an ordeal helping all people from all walks of life
I loved that my grandsons could do some of them . Thanks for sharing with us.
This would also be nice with smaller laminate sheets, if you have a home laminator like we do. Then cut to size and voila! Great job, guys! I love them!
I love it
Got two of my bigger granddaughters coming here in a week.
We are gona make sun catchers .Awesome idea
That’s a really cute idea. I love that most of it can be done by the child.
I love this and I want to make them too
What a wonderful idea! They should be kept out of direct sun, so the beautiful colors of summer don’t fade.
Hi Jamie!
I’m working as a camp counsellor this summer and I’m in charge of selecting the crafts for kids. I would love to use this craft however I’m running into a bit of trouble. Considering our budget, mason jar lids aren’t really a possibility for us. I saw that someone recommended embroidery hoops but those are a bit pricey too. We need to have enough for about 25 kids. Do you have any recommendations for things we can use other than mason jar lids?
What about paper plates? Wouldn’t have the ‘chime’ effect, but would be cute. The smaller plate you could find the better. Or just cut circles out of cardstock.
Thank you so much Jamie! Will give it a try. :)
You can attach everything to a flat lid from a can if you have a can opener that takes the ring off and doesn’t leave a sharp edge. You will have on side that shows the collection of flowers and the back side the lid to get the windchime effect.
I found used mason lids at our “recycled craft” store for 1 cent each. The materials for nine kids cost $9.00
Hi
You could try “popsicle” type craft sticks, or even collect twigs (free!). It won’t be round but…..
Do you use matte or clear gloss contact paper? Thanks for the beautiful craft activity!
I never knew that was an option – we just got the clear shelf liner contact paper in the kitchen section of Walmart.
I love these! My little man loves making contact paper collages with stuff we find on nature walks, so this is a great variation – thanks for sharing!
going to donate some of my jar rings to the first grade class for their moms day project. thanks so much. keep up with your art imaginings.
I love these. I’m a little confused about how they stay inside the lid? Thanks.
If you cut them the same size as the lid they just kind of pop into place and stay there. You can tape them to secure them if you’re hanging them outside.
I am also having trouble locating contact paper. I tried Wal-Mart and Staples and they hadn’t heard of it. Any suggestions?
Hi, here in the UK we call it sticky back plastic or self adhesive clear film. All of our stationary and art supplied shops sell it but hardware stores should sell it too.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=sticky+back+plastic+roll+clear&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=26284504131&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12998504450237768938&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_5k8wy1ecpu_b
Ace hardware
This is a fantastic idea. I plan on doing this as a 4-H project. How long do the flowers/leaves stay looking fresh? I would assume they may wilt or fade. Maybe if they are pressed ahead of time they may stay looking nicer, longer?
I love this!! Please share it this coming week at Sharing Saturday!!
Love this Idea! Just was thinking, there may be a way to use those plastic round kids bracelets, just figure just some pretty neon thread to kinda sew the contact paper to the bracelets, or maybe use a hole punch..But they are sure ate cute!!
what an awesome idea, you could also use the old yucky rings that you use but really don’t want to for a more permanent suncatcher. Do you think you could laminate them as well instead of using contact paper?
I know you can laminate leaves (especially the autumnal ones, in different colours), after you have ironed them in between two pieces of newspaper and then dried in a book. I use such things as jettons, during our didactic games, to write on with non-permanent markers. Maybe you can use dried pansies and petals, in general, for laminating.
How fun! These are so clever and creative! PINNING!
Wow, these are so gorgeous and so much fun!
These are the prettiest windchimes ever! Such a cute project for the kids; adding this to our summer bucket list. Thank you for sharing at Inspire Me Wednesday. Featuring you in this week’s issue.
I absolutely love this idea. We’ll be making these at our house. Thank you so much for the idea. Your post is being featured on this weeks Laugh and Learn Link-Up! Thank you again for sharing your content.
This is such a fantastic way to make a flower suncatcher — love it! I’m linking it to a post I wrote as an example of another amazing way to make a suncatcher. Thanks for the creativity :)
I love this idea! I’m planning on trying it and hanging it outside. I’m guessing it’s not rain friendly? Or is it?
We made these with our Cadette Girl Scout troop last night while working on their Breathe Journey. They all turned out so beautifully, thanks!!
That’s awesome to hear! I’d love to see photos if you have some! Share them on the FB page if you can :)
Maybe a dumb question but what is contact paper and where is it purchased?
yes I do know what contact paper is, but have never seen clear. Where can I get it?
We just did this craft today, and it turned out so gorgeous! Lovely! What a great idea – thanks for sharing! Wish I could post a picture right here.
We had fun making these today, http://delcef.wordpress.com/2014/08/26/335/ for pictures of the ones we created :) thank you for the idea :)
Those are so awesome! I’m so glad you shared them with me Leigh!
Lovely idea! Unfortunately it is difficult to get Mason jar lids in Germany.
Another similar and interesting activity is to use a sheet of sandwich paper (or better: a sandwich bag) put a few flowers, dried leaves etc. inside together with a few pieces of grated white candle wax and iron it with another piece of paper on top.
What a great idea. Can’t wait to make my own and to see what other craft ideas are out there.
Thanks Jennifer!
I love these. They are such a pretty way to use nature treasures.
Thanks Katie!
Those jar lids are very expensive to buy here in the UK, so I thought maybe I’ll try using embroidery hoops instead.
Be sure to tell people to get CLEAR contact paper! This is a fantastic crafts to do! For another type of rings, how about pieces of gold wire coat hangers, clipped, formed into a ring, and twisted at the top? This would be more along the Sun catcher line, unless you had a way to fasten the contact paper with the wire exposed. Perhaps two rings for each one, and the contact paper fastened in the middle? Still thinking about it.
Good point ;)
didn’t want to comment…keep clicking “subscribe to e-mail activity planner” tab…
so hopefully this’ll do! love the windchimes rhough-got a 7yr old & aome pressed flowers at the ready! x
Hey Sylvia – did you get the activities planner figured out?
Perfect iam always looking for something the grandchildren can make for there parents for Xmas and that this years project perfect
I think you could use artificial flowers as well. Beautiful idea. Thank you
I remember doing something similar to this as a child. But it wasn’t contact paper it was wax paper. my mom melted the pieces together with wax paper. worried though as these days there seems to be less wax on the paper.
I love the idea with wax paper! I need to try more crafts with wax paper. I always have it on hand!
I absolutely adore this! It’s so brilliant, and I could actually see myself making one :).
Thanks Katie!
These are simply adorable.
Thanks Alpana!
What a wonderful way to display the treasures my son finds in the backyard!
Thanks JDaniel :)
Such a fab idea! I’ll be giving this a try one day. Thanks for sharing x
Thanks Gemma!
Oh my goodness…this would such a fun thing to do for my mom…she has lots of flowers and loves wind chimes. My boys (9 & 4) would have a blast making these for her. We are housesitting for them for a few days..she may come home to some new things to look at!
Heather, I was just chatting with a friend about how these would make great gifts – so I think you’re spot on! Hope she loves them!
That is indeed a wonderful idea! I have one question, from where did you buy the contact paper? Thanks!
I just get the contact paper at my local walmart in the kitchen section, there’s usually shelf liners and such. Contact paper can be found there. Here’s an affiliate link to some on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1qB8U7f
There are ads on your page that cover the article and I can’t get rid of them:(.
Um, shoot, I’m sorry Amanda. Can I ask what browser you use? Are you on mobile? I’d like to be able to solve that. But I’ve never seen the ads cover anything before.
How long do the flowers last?
I’m not sure Rinn! I’ll let you know. But we’ve done the nature suncatchers before and kept them inside and had them hung in the window for months. I don’t recall them ever fading or drying out. But not sure why they wouldn’t though either.
I think you could use pressed, dried flowers, and they would last for a long time. My kids are grown up, but this looks like a summer project when my grandchildren visit next.
That’s a great idea Karla and could make it be another part of the project. Split it up between a few days :)
Just want to update you – that the flowers are now dried and browned. Still pretty, just doesn’t have the vibrant colors it did have. So it lasted a couple of weeks. I’d love to try it again with the pressed, dried flowers that Karla suggested.
LOVE this idea!
Thanks you Michelle!! :)
Very beautiful, absolutely love it.
Thank you so much!
Oh my gosh these turned out beautiful! We have to make these especially since my daughter loves to pick and cut the flowers around our house! The only thing I don’t have is the mason lid jars…boo! We’ll either buy some or make it work another way! Love, love, love this!
Thanks so much Susen. I’m not sure what part my kids loved the best – they always love picking flowers too — but man, they really love how these turned out – they’re so excited every time we’re on the porch to listen to them in the wind!
As far as the Mason Jar lids… I’ve been trying to come up with alternatives that would be similar. We’ve made wind chimes with tin cans, but not sure how to bring the suncatcher part into that.