Point of View: The Summer Edition

Photo mosaic by Camilla of Rosy Red Buttons.

Welcome to the July edition of Point of View, a creative collaboration wherein every month the Point of View (POV) craft bloggers take on a theme and run with it, and then we get to see what they've conjured up! This month's theme is Summer. See the collage above? It is a peek at each blogger's summery creation. Look at the loveliness, the sewiness, the scrumptious variety... I see food. Hungry.

Welcome to you all, my fellow Point of Viewers. It is a pleasure to share this space with you today! Who are the POVers, you ask? Well this month, they are:

Jonie from Just Between Friends

Amy from Ameroonie Designs

Gwen from Gwenny Penny

Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything

Carolina from Always Expect Moore

And yours truly, um... Me!

Where do I fit in? Well, I'm pinch-hitting for a regular POVer who is on holidays. And I have to say, this has been a lot of fun! I'm meeting a bevy of crafty bloggers, witnessing their work, and also seeing what you've been up to - all rolled in one! You see, in addition to the above craftiness, you get to join in the fun by linking your summer-themed projects too. Find the POV link party over at Leanne's blog, Organize and Decorate Everything!

Now for my contribution... I decided to use up an old piece of bamboo that was taking up space in our shed and summer-ize it. I threw in a stick, some string, drilled a couple holes and BAM, a wind chime was born.

Question: What is more summery than a wind chime?

Answer: Nothing. It is the epitome of summer. The sight, the sound. Plus, when two pieces of hollow bamboo connect in the breeze, they sing the sweetest song. Just imagine: "Bonk bink. Bonk bink. Bunk bonk. Bink. Bink. Bunk." Is that not a delight for the senses? If you listen hard, you can hear it now...

Yes indeedy, simple yet wholly satisfying. Find the Summer Time Chime tutorial HERE.

Now it's your turn. Visit the other bloggers and their crafty concoctions, and if you have any sunny crafts you'd like to share with the world, remember that Leanne is hosting the Point of View Link Party over at Organize and Decorate Everything today. No no, don't be shy. Go on and strut your summery stuff!

Now have a great weekend, stay cool, and I'll see you Monday!

P.S. An extra big thank you to Camilla of Rosy Red Buttons for putting together the lovely Point of View photo mosaic. And to Gwen of Gwenny Penny for the opportunity to join in. Hugs to you both!

Tutorial: Summer Time Chime

My husband set aside a few days last week to clean the garage. He's a truly great man. Had you seen our garage before the clean-up you'd think so too. It was a colossal mess before he swooped in. He wrangled that eyesore into shape, and while he was at it, he managed to dig up a few goodies, namely a few old stakes of bamboo that were still in decent shape. I decided to snag them for my Point of View project, hee hee: the summer time chime.

Now I know how clever you are. You? You don't need a tutorial for this. You could make this chime with your eyes glued shut and both hands sticky-taped behind your back. Nevertheless, I will walk you through what I did.

Tutorial: Summer Time Chime

You will need:

• A bamboo stake or two
• A stick (like, from a tree)
• A drill with small drill bit
• A handsaw (I tried the miter saw but it shredded the ends of the bamboo so I used a handsaw which worked like a dream.)
• String
• Needle
• Acrylic paints and paintbrush
• Sharpie
• Varnish

Using a handsaw, cut up your bamboo into progressively longer pieces. I cut my pieces 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 inches long.

Paint 'em! Starting with the lightest colour and getting progressively darker, free-hand some designs on your bamboo pieces. Do whatever you like: add stripes, dots, blobs, lines, waves, leaves, the Mona Lisa, whatever... Once you've applied all your paint colours and allowed them to dry, add some details with a Sharpie. Apply a few coats of varnish over the bamboo pieces to make them weather resistant.

Drill holes every 1-1/2 inches (4 cm) in the stick to accomodate the string hangers. The holes in the stick are not too far apart. They have to be the right distance apart to allow the bamboo pieces to hit each other in order to produce that satisfying "bink bonk, bonk bink" sound. If your bamboo is smaller or bigger you may have to adjust the distance between each piece. It's a balance.

Now drill holes through one end of each bamboo piece as well.

Use a large needle to facilitate the stringing process. Thread your string onto the needle. Slipping your threaded needle through the hole in the stick and then the bamboo, attach each bamboo piece to the stick. Knot the ends of each piece of string.

And that, as they say, is that!

Hang your bamboo chime where it can swing freely and listen to its sweet sweet music! It really is too pretty to express in words...

For all the details on all Points of View and to join the linky party, check out this next post.

I'll meet you over there!