Thanks everyone. I might adjust the windchime some and remove the beads that sit up on top of the star, not sure you can see that from the picture but they look kind of odd up there. Patti, I love the idea of using a teacup. Did you have any trouble drilling holes in it or did you just tie string to the handle? I think using a teacup as the top hanger part (where my star tealight is) would be awesome. But I'm kind of afraid to drill holes in one. Maybe a thick one like a Fiestaware cup, I have a ton of those we don't use (too small for coffee and we're not hot tea drinkers). This is at least the 2nd year that we've had birds in the propane tank. I don't see the birds though because it's under my deck and I can't see it from inside the house. My water spigot is right next to the tank and once I was under there turning on the water and the bird flew out right past my head. But it was so fast and I was so startled that I didn't see what kind of bird it was. I imagine it's something small though, although the eggs are about the same size as robin's eggs so I don't know. I'll have to research it. thanks again for all the nice comments on my chimes! Robin

I've never seen them shaped like mushrooms,sounds interesting. I tried to click the DIY link and kept getting "timed out", I'd love to see and get some more ideas. Here are some I've made from silver-plated utensils and trays, beading wire,old glass prisms and glass beads.

countrygrl, the regular spoons and tea spoons are real easy to hammer flat. I put the spoons on a board and then used a short handled hammer with a wide head. You just have to flip them a few times to get them perfectly flat. Soup spoons are a bit harder to flatten though. To shape the fork I used a bench mounted clamp/brace (can't think of the right name) to get the tines pointing in the different directions and then used needle nosed pliers to shape them. I flattened the spoons and shaped the fork all in one evening while I was watching TV.

Hi, everyone- Thanks for the support in getting through this project. I finally finished the thing, and sent it off to my swap partner who was, indeed, happy with it. I guess there's some custody issues now between she and her husband over whether the chimes go on their main porch, or by the building where she makes her homemade soaps. I'll put the link to the swap pics below, if anyone wants to see how it turned out. Thanks again for hearing me out when I was trying to plan this project. Sometimes it's hard to know when you're first trying something whether it's a good idea or just silly. --Jenn Here is a link that might be useful: Birdhouse-Flatware Windchime and other swap stuff