Tutorial DIY Eco Friendly Recycled Wind Chimes

I've been collecting #6 plastic items ever since I found out you can shrink them to make them into jewelry. Here's the post on the jewelry I made: A bit of recycled fun
When creating the jewelry items I couldn't help but notice the beautiful noise they made when they clanged together. It sounded like small hail pellets hitting a tin roof ; not annoying like a small bell or gaudy like a cow bell. 
So I began making many tiny #6 shrink plastic items. And just tossing them around in my hands to hear the sounds. I could close my eyes and picture a dark cold day in the middle of nowhere. Hail falling gently from the sky and onto the tin roof. Sitting outside cuddled up in a blanket smelling the crisp cool spring air. The hail bouncing off the asphalt. It was truly therapeutic. 
I had collected two black #6 plastic pie containers from lemon meringue pies I had brought to a party. I find the look of silhouettes to be soothing as well. So I decided to create a wind chime to hear the beautiful noise and use the black #6 pie containers as silhouettes. 
I have been watching "The Following" ever since it first started, and honestly cannot get enough of it. I'm nervous of where it's going but hope that it remains as good as it is. Anyways, in "The Following" Edgar Allen Poe's writings are referenced many times. So I thought what better than to create a wind chime of my favorite Edgar Allen Poe poem; 'The Raven'


Here's a tutorial on how to create your own. 

What you'll need:

* An Idea
* Clean #6 Plastic container (Any color)
* Shapes, colors, cut outs, or drawings
* Sharpie permanent markers (optional)
* Fishing Line or Invisible thread
* Baking pan
* Oven 
* Parchment paper or Paper (optional)

Step 1:

Clean your #6 Plastic with soap and water, dry. 

Step 2: 

Draw or trace your images or ideas onto your plastic. For those using clear plastic feel free to color it in with sharpie (as seen in my post A bit of recycled fun) This will cause your plastic to look like a sun catcher.

Step 3:

Cut out your shapes and place them on your pan.

These were my shapes, if you look carefully you can see the #6 sign in the leaf. (Don't worry when it melts it disappears.)
I used the pan I designated for polymer clay, and baked my shapes on parchment paper. It's not necessary but if you have left over oils on your pan they will bake into your plastic. Normal paper works just as well. 

Step 4:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and turn on your oven light. 

Step 5:

Once preheated place baking sheet in the oven, put on your oven mitts and watch your plastic shrink. It should take less than 2 minutes from start to finish. First they should shrivel and curl. When they are done they should be flat again. Do not move from your oven during this time. It happens very quickly and you'll need to be there to remove your pan once they are flat. 

Step 6: 

Let them cool. They should be cooled in only a few minutes. 

Warning: If your plastic is irregularly shaped or way too long it may curl and refuse to uncurl. As you can see. I lost 2 of my branches because they curled and melted together. Sometimes this happens. If it does, it may just be the shape, so try a different shape. 

Step 7: 

Assemble your pieces. Try to hang them so that they will hit each other when the wind blows. 

Step 8: 

Hang your wind chime and relax to the soothing sounds. 

Update:
Made a new one, in color this time. :) Happy summer.