Kaleidoscope Wind Chimes and Suncatchers by Coast Chimes

Freestanding Kaleidoscope Suncatcher
Perfect for a Sunny Windowsill
$95 free shipping at Coast Chimes

My kaleidoscope suncatchers and wind chimes are much loved: when the sunlight filters through the artist-made sea glass, you are treated to an awesome display of colour!

I make a lot of different styles, from freestanding and hanging suncatchers to small or large wind chimes. They are all great!

Check out my store to see them all: Coast Chimes

Extra-large Works, at Coast Chimes

Extra-large Kaleidoscope Suncatcher
19 1/2 inches by 19 1/2 inches
Available at Coast Chimes with Free Shipping

Just having received a new supply of plate glass, I decided to make an extra-large kaleidoscope suncatcher hanging. I cut a plate in half, making 2 12 X 12 inch pieces, cut extra-large pieces of cedar, and filled up the box frame. It's really BIG, and really nice. Pictured above on a dark, cloudy day, you have to use your imagination to see how bright and beautiful it will be when the sun comes out.

I will update the pictures on my website, first blue sky day. You can also visit the suncatcher section of Coast Chimes to see smaller ones pictured with better light, to see how these look lit up.

Framed Glass Suncatchers by Coast Chimes

Cedar Frames, Freshly Oiled
Ready for the Addition of Beautiful Glass

These wet, dark, cold days are perfect for tackling some long put off projects. Making cedar frames to fill with my glass is a great thing to tackle.

The end of January through much of April are the slowest days at Coast Chimes for orders, so there is less interruption for answering emails, packing, shipping, and I can concentrate on the somewhat more complex projects, demanding precision use of saws and so on.

I have to admit that I do not overly care for using saws and other power tools, due to the noise, the dust, the bit of danger (will never forget sawing the tip off my left thumb years ago!). But I do enjoy the end result.

I should have these three frames completed later next week, with luck, and then I'll photograph them and have them on my website (Coast Chimes) and in my Etsy store, as soon as there is a bit of sunlight for taking pictures. That might be the longest part! There are a lot of dark, wet days here currently-- sometimes it feels we may never see the sun again. But it will happen, and so will my pictures.

Framed Cobalt Glass with Driftwood, Coast Chimes

Framed Cobalt Blue Copper Wire Wrapped Glass
with Driftwood by Coast Chimes

I always loved this framed glass with driftwood piece, and regretted not having any pictures. It sold very quickly at an annual Sunshine Coast Art Crawl a number of years ago. Then, during this year's Art Crawl, the person who now owns it revisited. I was very happy she agreed to send some pictures.

Seeing it again, at its new home, I am again struck by how beautiful it is— sorry, no modesty here!

Now I am inspired to attempt making another of this style. Top of my list when I get my tools back out at the start of 2020.

In the meantime, there are many nice things to see (and buy!) at Coast Chimes.

Eye-catching Suncatchers at Coast Chimes

Freestanding Kaleidoscope Sun Catcher
$95 at Coast Chimes, Free Shipping

The glass is loosely (you can shake it around) trapped between two plates of extra-thick glass in a well crafted cedar frame. When the sun shines through, you are treated to an amazing kaleidoscope of colour!

The cedar is treated with an exceptional eco-friendly hand rubbed finish that will never peel or flake.

This freestanding kaleidoscope suncatcher is great anywhere, but it looks especially nice on a sunny windowsill.

Find many different styles of suncatchers at Coast Chimes.

Freestanding Kaleidoscope Suncatcher from Coast Chimes

Freestanding Kaleidoscope Suncatcher
Perfect for your Sunny Windowsill
Find it at Coast Chimes

The freestanding kaleidoscope suncatchers are a very cool way to brighten up your indoor space. Fits neatly on your windowsill, and when the sun shine through the glass pieces you are treated to a kaleidoscope of color!

The artist-made sea glass pieces are loosely trapped between two plates of extra-thick glass, so you can shake them around.

The well crafted cedar box frame has been treated with an exceptional eco-friendly tung nut oil. Looks (and smells!) fantastic!

See all the freestanding suncatchers at Coast Chimes.

Adding Beauty to Your Outdoor Environment

Large Beautiful Glass and Copper Wind Chime
by Coast Chimes

It's clear: from the number of orders pouring in, the wintery areas of the USA and Canada have thawed out, and people are turning to their yards and gardens, deciding to add some decor.

Why Coast Chimes? I designed with three main elements in mind.

First, appearance: my wind chimes and suncatchers must be beautiful.

Second, durability. My works are designed to last: Coast Chimes is the environmentally right decision in what is far too often a throw away world.

Third, for the chimes, they must sound fine, and not annoying. I worked on the sound until satisfied that they sound great: pleasant, not too loud, blending with the natural environment so as not to intrude on ones peaceful moments in the outdoors.

• Beauty
• Durability
• Lovely sound

These days, with the price of copper (I just invested in more raw stock), they are also frankly a good deal. Back when I started, I hardly paid attention to my copper, as it was not very expensive. I pay attention now! And while the price of copper has increased several 100's %, I have not raised my prices in years. So enjoy a good deal!

Visit Coast Chimes and choose something amazing for yourself or for a friend?

Modern Suncatcher: Artist-made Sea Glass with Driftwood

Framed Artist-made Sea Glass with Natural Driftwood
Coast Chimes

I love this framed glass piece. It took me a long time to find just the right piece of driftwood wood, but it all came together very nicely in the end.

Almost all of the works in my studio gallery are photographed and available on my website, and Etsy, but a few I hold back, including this one. I am reserving some of these for the fast approaching Sunshine Coast Art Crawl 2017, October 20-22. A few others are just too big to ship. A few are just not ready for me to say goodbye to yet.

If this framed piece does not sell during the Art Crawl, I will probably put it on my websites, and say goodbye to it pretty fast, especially with the Christmas rush soon to start, the busiest time of year.

Add caption

Sea Glass Freestanding Kaleidoscope Suncatcher

Freestanding Kaleidoscope Suncatcher
Perfect for a Sunny Windowsill
$75 at Coast Chimes

My freestanding kaleidoscope suncatchers can really jazz up your sunny windowsill. When the sun shines through the artist-made sea glass, you are treated to a kaleidoscope of color!

The glass morsels are loosely trapped between 2 plates of extra-thick glass in a well crafted cedar box frame. The cedar has been treated with an exceptional eco-friendly tung nut oil finish that will never peel or flake.

See all the awesome suncatchers on the Coast Chimes Suncatcher pages. $10 expert shipping to anywhere in the USA or Canada.

Freestanding Sea Glass Inspired Kaleidoscope Suncatcher

Freestanding Kaleidoscope Suncatcher
$95 at Coast Chimes

This freestanding kaleidoscope suncatcher is perfect for a sunny windowsill. When the sunlight passes through the small pieces of glass, it comes alive with beauty! The artist-made sea glass is loosely trapped between 2 plates of extra-thick glass in a well crafted red cedar box frame.

Coast Chimes has many styles of suncatchers, with and without chimes. Visit those without chimes  in the Suncatcher Section of Coast Chimes.

Kaleidoscope Sea Glass Wind Chimes with Five Copper Chimes

Handcrafted Kaleidoscope Wind Chime
Five Copper Chimes
Beach Stone Clapper
Coast Chimes

When the sun shines through the glass in this wind chime, you are treated to a kaleidoscope of colour. Beautiful!

I have been making my kaleidoscope wind chimes for about 20 years, and they are popular. In fact, I better learn to keep a better eye on my stock, as the last week an order came in, and I found out I had none left!

Fortunately, I had a good supply of the small artist-made sea glass pieces to fill the box, and also the copper chimes already made— those chimes are extremely labour intensive, and so it would have been quite some time before having more in stock, if I did not have some of them already made. I could put together the box kaleidoscope sections in not too much time, so I fulfilled the order, and have a few extras back in stock. You can find them in the Kaleidoscope section of my website: Coast Chime Kaleidoscope Wind Chimes.

I noticed that I am also starting to run short on the copper section; the actual chimes. So that is the next priority. They are the most beautiful sets of chimes, but they do take an awfully long time to make. Cutting and drilling the roundels, making all the hardware (copper hooks and rings), fetching and cutting the copper, double sanding / brushing and treating the copper... so many steps. But worth it, as the final result is in one word: awesome!

For The Non-Wind Chime Person

Unique Glass and Copper Sun Catcher
Handcrafted
$75 with free shipping at Coast Chimes

Not everyone can own a wind chime. There are neighbourhood rules and condo rules that sometimes prohibit even small chimes with soft, pleasant sound like my smaller chimes.

That's okay. I make a great selection of sun catchers that look great outdoors all year round, any weather (so well made!), or inside by a sunny window. These are a wonderful choice if you are giving a gift, and you are not absolutely positive that the person is a fan of wind chimes. My advice, if you are not sure, is to not give a wind chime, as there are people who really do not appreciate them.

Of course, they usually got their aversion through a negative experience with those super loud aggressive aluminum chimes all too popular, and when they get a set of Coast Chimes they change their minds. So beautiful, and not annoying or terribly loud.

So Coast Chimes has you covered, even if you can't have or don't want a wind chime.

Suncatcher, Windowsill Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope Suncatcher

Perfect for a sunny windowsill.

I've been very busy making as many things as I can for the fast approaching holiday rush. One of my new designs is pictured above: I like it! When the sun comes out and shines through the glass, it really comes alive.

There are a number of these now on my website: Coast Chimes

They are also on Etsy.

Sun Catcher Chimes, Fancy

Fancy Sun Catcher Chime

Beach Glass Inspired

Visit the 'Under $100' page of my website to see more.

Sometimes I need to go into our solarium, where I take the pictures of my work, and where it hangs until sold, and have a good look around. This is what I did late last week, and I realized that there were no more fancy sun catcher chimes! I have no idea how long I have been sold out of this style, but I got busy right away and made five new ones.

Sometimes I also find it useful and interesting to go back and look at pictures of my work from past years. I often see something that I used to make, and like, and have not made for a long time. So inspiration can also come from the past, if you keep a record.

Now there are some really nice, new fancy sun catcher chimes available on my website and on Etsy.

Suncatcher Hanging

Click on the picture to see it larger

Suncatcher Hanging

Visit my Facebook Shop, my Website or Etsy

I just got my yearly order of plate glass from Vancouver. It's enough to cut 200 pieces for my kaleidoscope style wind chimes, and 30 of the framed pieces as pictured above. At first I was mildly taken aback, because unlike in past years this time the glass is not all cut to size. But then I realized it is easy to cut, and this gives me more options.

I plan to make some things that I have not made in quite a long time, like diamond shaped kaleidoscope hangings and windowsill suncatchers.

Another bonus having the glass uncut is that I have been using some of it to put windows in the door of my workshop. Brighter and nicer. An easy improvement. Little things can make a big difference.

Suncatcher, Beach Glass Inspired

Suncatcher, beach glass inspired stained glass hanging. So pretty! So well made!

Visit my website 'Under $100' page to learn more, or to buy it.

What a shock. I expected things to get a little busier with spring in the air, but it suddenly got crazy busy. In fact, I don't believe I have ever had a week with so many sales.

Of course, it happened just after I accepted a large wholesale order. I promised the store that I could have everything made and shipped by next Monday, at the latest, and then someone opened the flood gate on orders. Even the pre-Christmas rushes in the past have never been this busy. Go figure.

So I pack and ship and pack and ship, and in between I try to get out and make something for the wholesale order. I could use a few more hours in the day, right now. Up at 5:00 AM and working right through until it's time to cook dinner. No complaints, I'm thrilled to have this success.

Suncatcher, Beach Glass inspired, Hanging

Click on the image to see it larger

Suncatcher, Beach Glass Inspired Window Hanging

Visit my website for more information, or to buy.

It's been busy. Putting together a fairly large wholesale order always takes more time and work than I anticipate. The thing is, while I put together something like that, I also build some stock for my website.

For example, the wholesale order included two hanging suncatchers. While I was building those, I built another three for my website, too. In the end, that's a more efficient way of doing things. They all came out really well, as you can see from the one pictured above. You can view the three extras on my website right now.

I feel lucky today. My son came home from University the other day, and asked if he could take my car to drive to Kamloops, BC, to visit a friend of his. How funny. I had just been getting into some serious head scratching over how to ship my huge driftwood birdbath to the customer. Well, she lives in Kamloops! This works for everyone. I can ship pain-free, my son gets his gas paid for, and the customer gets her birdbath express delivered to her doorstep. Sometime things just work out.

Suncatcher Chime Fancy, Inspiration

Click on the picture to see it larger

Suncatcher Chime, beach glass inspired, cold forged

hammered copper diamond connectors. Three handcrafted copper chimes.

To learn more, or to purchase, visit the website by Click Here.

After all these years of making suncatchers, I still come up with new ideas. Having left over heavy copper sheeting from the patching I had to do on the hammered copper sink for the birdbath I made, it occurred to me that I could use this to make some neat new decoration on my suncatchers and wind chimes. Above, the results: the hammered cold forged copper diamonds between the glass pieces.

Inspiration is a funny thing. I find it has to come to me, that I can not go to it. It comes in a flash, from (as far as I can tell) nowhere. It seems most often to be triggered by materials: a piece of stone on the beach, a stick, a scrap of metal. Sometimes, it comes from a question someone asked (i.e, 'can you make a birdbath?'). Where ever, and what ever, I feel grateful that I do get ideas, and that often those ideas do seem to work out.

Wholesale Wind Chimes and Art

Left, center and right, several of my suncatchers hanging in the window of the Full Moon and Candle Company, in Sequim Washington.

Recently I improved the Wholesale Ordering page on my website. Now not only can you custom order for your store or gallery, but I have also put together some Easy Order bundles. These are especially suitable for the first time order, when you want to try out fairly small selections of items. So now you can instantly order a selection of suncatchers, or a selection of wind chimes.

Some of these easy order selections are even suitable for individuals, who may want to order a larger selection for their home, yard or garden, or as gifts. There is even an easy order cold forged copper earring page, which would be a great way to get all your friends something unique, beautiful, and for an amazing price.

Neat Suncatchers

New!
Beach Glass inpspired
Suncatchers
Click on the pictures to see them larger

Freestanding suncatcher above and
hanging version below.

I've just added several really nice beach glass inspired kaleidoscope suncatchers to my website.

There is a hanging style, and a freestanding style. These are really fine for any sunny window. As the sun shines through the glass, the colors come alive producing a beautiful display.

Despite being extremely well made with eco-friendly tung nut oiled red cedar box frames and extra-thick plate glass, I have decided to place these in my Under $75 section— and the price includes postage and insurance for the USA and Canada!

Why not have a look now? Click Here to visit them on my website. Enjoy!