Tea Bottle Wind Chime

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SipYourSummer #CollectiveBias

Those of you who are parents {especially if you’re home during the day} know that as fun as summer can be, it also has its own challenges. All of a sudden, our kids who are normally in school for six or seven hours a day are home for all that time and want to play. Little Crafter has never been a fan of independent activities, aside from playing games on the tablet, so he’s constantly looking for engagement and interaction…which makes it difficult to find the time for myself that I {as an introvert} so desperately need! One of my favorite ways to keep him busy is to give him a craft project to create, like this Tea Bottle Wind Chime.

Tea Bottle Wind Chime Craft for Kids

This is a fun project with multiple steps that can entertain a child for a good bit of time. Depending on the child’s age, he or she may need help at certain stages, but there are definitely parts that school aged kids can do all by themselves. It’s also practically free…you may even have all of the supplies you need on hand already like I did. The main materials you need are an empty Snapple tea bottle and six bottle caps. Since iced tea is a favorite drink of mine {second only to coffee}, I always have some in the refrigerator. Flavored teas and Sweet Tea are my personal favorites.

Snapple Teas

I pick mine up at Walmart when I’m doing my grocery shopping because I can find a six pack of my favorite flavor, Raspberry Tea, as well as individual bottles of the relatively new Snapple Straight Up Tea, which is available in Sweet {yes!}, Sorta Sweet, and Unsweetened. There’s also Lady LiberTEA, new for this summer, which contains a blend of delicious black tea with RED raspberry, WHITE peach and BLUEberry flavors. This flavor is available in stores between May 1st and July 4th in 16oz singles and 6 packs…you can find out more about it at Snapple.com.

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Here’s a complete list of what you need so that your kiddos can make their own wind chimes from the bottles…

Materials:
– 6 Snapple bottle caps
– 1 empty Snapple bottle
– paint, assorted colors
– tissue paper, assorted colors, cut into small pieces
– Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe formula
– sponge brush
– washi tape
– twine
– scissors

Step 1: Paint the silver side of the bottle caps. We used glitter paint, because we firmly believe that glitter makes everything better, but you can use whatever you like.
While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out the “Real Fact” on each cap! We learned lots of interesting things, like the fact that cats have two sets of vocal cords, one for purring and one for meowing. Who knew? And did you know that sick plants can run a fever? Me neither!

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Step 2: While the lids are drying, apply a thin coat of Mod Podge to the bottle. Place tissue paper squares all over it to cover the glass.
You can use whatever colors you like; we had red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Overlap the pieces so that none of the glass is visible. This is a great part for kids to do independently.

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Step 3: Give the entire bottle a thin coat of Mod Podge to seal the tissue paper in place, then let it dry completely.
Be gentle because if the tissue paper gets too wet, it can move, bunch, and tear. There are many different formulas of Mod Podge available, but we chose to use the Dishwasher Safe kind because if we hang the chime outside, it will get wet and we wanted something that would withstand some rain.

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Step 4: Attach a piece of twine to each bottle cap and tie it around the neck of the bottle. Cut some pieces longer than others to vary the height of the caps when they are hanging.
Ours are attached using washi tape. We covered the entire back sides of the caps with patterned tape so that if they turn around in the wind, there’s still something fun to see.

Step 5: Tie a piece of twine around the bottom of the bottle {which is the top of your chime} and create a hanger.

Wind Chime from a Tea Bottle

All that’s left to do is hang it up on your porch or in a tree and enjoy! In the meantime, while the kid{s} work on the project, mama gets to relax with a nice glass of tea and a snack. {I’m partial to Nutty Pretzel Logs, which you can grab the recipe for right here on the blog.}

Snapple and Nutty Pretzel Logs

Want to try this whole thing out? Now’s a great time, since 18.5 oz Straight Up Tea and Premium Glass are on Rollback for $1.00 in-store at Walmart! Grab some tea, get your kiddos crafting, and enjoy some time just for yourself. What little folks in your life would love to make a fun Tea Bottle Wind Chime? And what are your favorite ways to enjoy a little me-time over the summer?

Snapple Bottle Wind Chime

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4 Comments

  1. WOW! What an incredibly creative craft! My kids would love to do this! I would love the reuse of Snapple bottles that are always in my house!! LOL #client

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