Freestanding Large Double Wind Chimes

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Large Freestanding Double Wind Chime

Intertwined copper supports

Natural Pacific beach stone base

I love large freestanding double and single wind chimes. I think they look great and that they are very different and cool.

I do not love packing them! They are amongst the most challenging of the works I ship to box up. And certainly the most expensive to ship, with postage often exceeding $100.

I have several in my Facebook Shop Now store, where fans get 10% off my usual prices, and where I hold periodic sales. There is a 25% sale coming up, probably this week, to celebrate hitting 200 fans. Just visit my Facebook page, click the 'like' button, and start saving on all my Shop Now stock.

Copper Wire Wrapping: If Practice Makes Perfect...

75 meter spool of no. 2 bare copper wire, 7 stranded

I've been wrapping glass with copper wire for fifteen years now, and I just figured out roughly how much copper I have used: A lot!

For wrapping, I use bare copper wire no. 2, 7 stranded, and I buy it in 75 meter spools. So the 7 strands means each spool has 525 meters of wire. I use two spools a year. Not counting my early years, where I did not use as much, I calculate that I have used at least 14,000 meters (28,228 feet). That's 9 miles of wire!

I still have a few of my early copper wire wrapped pieces around, and I can tell you that while maybe practice does not make perfect, it will take you in that direction. Below is a recent wrapping.

Bears, Sunshine Coast, British Columbia

A little black bear in my backyard.

Several days ago, my wife was out in our backyard painting a stool when she heard a branch crack. Around here, when a branch cracks you look to see why. This time, it was a small black bear coming out of the brush right behind her, about ten feet away.

My dog chased it up that tree for a few minutes, just enough time to take a few pictures. But bears here are used to dogs, and people, and it soon assessed the situation, and decided to come down and waddle off. Not much concerned.

I said at the time that given the size of that little guy, it's mother was probably not far off. Well, late yesterday afternoon I heard frantic barking just outside of my workshop. Sticking my head out the door, I saw six feet away my dog absolutely face to face with a HUGE bear. Hello Mom!

It was quite a scene. Even though my dog is large at over 100 pounds, the bear was easily three or maybe four times larger, and clearly not impressed by my dog. The bear moved an inch towards my dog, and he jumped back about six feet! Having made its point (ie, I am king), the bear slowly turned and trudged off.

That was something else. I wish I had had my camera, as a picture of those two face to face would be a keeper. However, I am mostly just glad there was no bloodshed. Henceforth, I will try to keep my camera with me more often. And I will also be keeping my bear spray handier!

Wind Chimes Garden Art 25% off Sale

To celebrate achieving over 100 new fans in a week, I am holding a 25 % off sale on all the items in my new Facebook 'Shop Now' store.

Now you can shop right on Facebook: easy, fast and safe. My new Shop Now store is up and running, and you always receive a 10% discount. Even better: right now I am celebrating with a 25% off store-wide sale! The sale ends at 6:00 PM PDT, so don't delay.

Why not rush on over and pick up something beautiful for yourself, or for a friend? To receive your discount, all you have to do is click the little 'like' icon at the top of the page. Click Here to see the store. Enjoy!

Facebook ShopNow

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A screen grab of my Facebook ShopNow shop

10% Discount! Soon, a 25% off sale!

I've been adding stock to my new Facebook shop, and sprucing things up with larger pictures too. There is quite a large selection available.

In one week I have climbed to 83 fans-- people who 'like' my shop. By clicking the little 'like' icon, you automatically will receive a discount on your purchase, and also stay up to date with Coast Chimes news.

As soon as I hit 100 fans, I plan on a surprise sale. I'm going to increase the fan discount to 25 % (!) for one week to celebrate-- my way of saying Thank YOU! Why not visit my Facebook page now and click the like button, so you will be notified when my sale starts? Just click on this link: my Facebook Coast Chimes Page.

Chimes: Freestanding Double Wind Chime

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Freestanding Double Chime

Natural Pacific beach stone base

Antiqued handcrafted chimes

Visit Coast Chimes by clicking here.

Lately I have been working with beach stones. They are great to work with. The only problem is shipping. Even fairly small ones are very heavy, and large ones like the one pictured above are extremely heavy.

That means shipping the above item in two boxes, and also means expensive postage. It will probably cost nearly one hundred dollars to ship. I don't make my customer pay for all of that directly (who doesn't run when they see $100 for postage?), but I do have to take it into consideration, so as not to take a loss.

As usual, the more you do something the better you get at it. I have made many of these freestanding works, but the intertwining of the copper supports is just how I like it in the above one. I think it's gorgeous.