Bell shaker – with added bling!

My two boys are like little squirrels and after every walk they come home with pocketfuls of natural treasures. As a consequence I keep finding little stashes of sticks, pine cones, feathers, stones, soil and acorn cups around the house…and in the washing machine!

From their stash I ‘borrowed’ a stick and some acorn cups to make this cool shaker…I’m developing a soft spot for handmade instruments!!

The idea comes from a wonderful bottletop shaker I saw on the web.

They are very easy to make and you only need a few basic tools.

♥ First you need to find yourself a bit of fallen branch with a ‘y’ shape bit in it! I took some secateurs (pruning shears) on our walk with us so I could hack the branch up ‘on-site’! Make sure you stamp on it a bit to check it’s not rotten.
♥ When you get home, grab a saw and chop the ends off neatly.
♥ If your stick has beautiful bark then all well and good. My stick was a bit green and slimy(!) so I removed the bark and my son helped me to give it a good sand down.
♥ Drill two small holes in the end of the stick to thread your fishing wire into.

I used some bells, acorn cup and wooden beads to thread onto the fishing wire. I also put some gold leaf inside the acorn cups because it looks soooo lovely (remember my unfinished bracelet post!!)

If you don’t have bells handy then you can use bottle tops (hammered flat)….or old keys would work a treat. You could also decorate the wood. Later on you can turn the instrument into a catapult – I’m not quite ready for smashed windows yet though!

Just remember full supervision for those under three because of the little bits.