Meditative Wind Chimes with Kuchi patch

Today I am sharing a set of wind chimes I created using many of the fabulous papers and textiles from Gwen Lafleur's Mixed Media online store.


There are many steps here in my post,but rest assured the hardest part of making these chimes was the patience in waiting on the drying paints!

First,here is a list of the items I used,then I will go over my steps with you.

Better grab a cuppa,lots of photos!

Gwen's Ornamental Peacock Feather Stencil
Gwen's Decorative 6 Petal Flower Screen Stencil
Gwen's Art Deco Flower Medallion Stencil
Irresistible India Mini Wood Block Stamps~Leaves
I also used another Wood block stamp not listed in the store- it was a special gift from Gwen upon her return from India,such a treat!Thank you Gwen!
Going Global Small vintage Kuchi Patch
Going Global Hmong Embroidered Star
Gwen's Essential Florentine Paper Sample Pack
Gwen's Essential Marbled Paper Sampler Pack
Gwen's Essentials's Emerald Creeks~Enhanced Gold Pearl Embossing Powder
Gwen's Beautiful Butterflies Collage Download
Gwen's Lovely Lotus Collage Download
Sari Ribbon from Darn Good Yarn
Darn Good Yarn Sample Pack

I had the idea in my head of what I wanted to do,so I assembled a mass of materials to pour through for my inspiration...

Once I had my chosen papers,stamps and stencils,I went to town putting down the color;golds and blues,turquoise and magenta.
 I had so much fun laying down the stencils and stamp marks and that glorious color!

Some I even got a little crazy with,and added embossing  using the wood block stamps and Emerald Creek's Enhanced Gold Pearl.

While waiting for the paint to dry and in between layers,I did my fussy cutting of the Butterfly and Lotus collage papers. I chose these two downloads not only for the beauty of these sheets but also because the Lotus reminds me of serenity and Butterflies of the beauty of change.

Above are some of the background papers I created using Gwen's stencils.

When these papers were dry,using a template I made from a container lid,I cut circles in pairs out of the papers till I felt there was enough.

Below, are my circles....

some of these I painted with an overall wash watered down turquoise and magenta acrylics

Next, using my sewing machine,I stitched two circles together, leaving a small space for stuffing.

Knowing that these circle papers alone would blow too much and possibly tangle,this is where I came up with the idea to stuff them with some paper grass and add glass marble halves for weight 

Once stuffed I finished closing the circle with more machine stitching.

The idea worked brilliantly!The weight was just enough,as I hoped!

Then,I set about to adhering with gloss matte medium some of the Butterflies and Lotus flowers I had cut onto some of the circles and left them to dry overnight.

First thing in the morning,I began stringing together the circles, using the jewel colored yarns from the Darn Good Yarn sample pack.
To do this,I simply used an awl to push through the papers, and then threaded the yarn through.

(A tip here is that I used a tiny bit of strong glue where the knot was tied so that it would not come undone from excessive movement or overtime)


As I strung,I varied the length of the strung yarn pieces as well as what size circle went where and then I also added vintage jingle bells in different sizes between these circles.

Somewhere along the way,I worked on the actual hanger for the strung circles and bells.

What I used are two different size embroidery hoops that I covered in glue and wrapped with gorgeous Sari ribbon,overlapping each wrap of the Sari.

When this was done,again using the Darn Good Yarn,I wrapped and strung together the two hoops,tying knots,adding strong glue at the secure point and made sure to keep sides as even and the yarn as taut as I could.

This was also left to dry overnight.

Once everything was dry and strung it was time to hang each row onto the hoops. At this point I also added more Sari as the main hanger pieces on four sides to give balance.

Hoping you get the idea from the photos as it was hard to string and photograph,and honestly, I was making this up as I went. I suppose a video would be good for this- maybe next time!

 

 finally,I added was my small Kuchi patch,which had been thought of to use on another project,but when I daydreamed these chimes,I just knew the Kuchi belonged here.

So, I added papers to the back of the Kuchi and let that dry.

When dry,I very,very carefully drilled down through the felt on the Kuchi,lengthwise,wide enough to get a darning needle through. And then I darned the needle with some maroon Sari and pulled it through the Kuchi as well as through two vintage Tibetan bells I had found some time ago.

 Once that was done,using strong hold glue,I adhered the Hmong embroidered star of the back of the Kuchi,completing the center hanging.

and now just throwing this out there...

Kuchi's are still on sale over to Gwen's till the end of this month-there's still time to get a great deal on these!

and now for the rest of this post,I am sharing lots of photos as it was truly difficult to the capture the beauty of my wind chime.

my opinion of course to which my husband agrees~lol

Phew, have you seen enough?heehee

I just wanted you to have a look at all the beautiful color and patterns that make up,my meditative wind chimes.

 The bells I used are soft enough and make the slightest tingling in the gentle breeze-just enough for prayer and meditation.

Thank you so very much for joining me on my artful journey.

 Your thoughts and comments always fill my heart with joy~

Namaste'

Jackie ")

Other supplies used:
Embroidery hoops- 4",10"
E6000Glue
Ranger Glossy Accents
Aleene's Tacky Glue
Embossing Ink
Darling Needle
Awl
Sewing Machine
Vintage Bells-assorted
DecoArt  Media Fluid Acrylics~
Cobalt Turquoise Hue,Primary Cyan,Green Gold,Cobalt Teal Hue,Cerulean Blue,Quinachridone Magenta,Metallic Gold
DecoArt Dazzling Metallics~Rich Espresso