Hi ML, I love prisms and crystals. When I was younger and wore 'coke-bottle' glasses, I could always amuse myself by making the spectrum appear on objects with straight vertical lines, by turning my head at certain angles. Now you know what a nerd I am!

My brother-in-law laughs at me for hanging crystals in windows. I don't attribute any special 'powers' to crystals, but as I mentioned before--if I see a rainbow, I'm happy, so why not be happy in every room?!

A friend of mine gave me a coil from a thermostat, and I suspended a teardrop crystal from it (with a red ribbon, of course), and hung it in a south-facing window. As the sun heats the coil, it turns very slowly. The motorized crystal hanger sounds like fun. LOL, kinda like a disco ball.

My hubby is tapping his foot, waiting on me to go to Lowe's. See you later, and thanks for this thread!

What I want is a Rain Chain. Darn things cost too much. Trying to find a way to make one myself. Water being part of Feng shui, these are wonderful sounds during rains.

I saw a huge bronze art piece that had a rider and horse coming through a cave. It was also a fountain. The water was diverted different ways and sounded like music being played.

The only crystal I have is a glass star hanging in my bedroom window. My daughter loves crystal and has bunches, plus a lot of other mystical stuff I don't get. She goes to the fairs specifically for this and always finds something that intrances her.

Emagineer, that is probably a crystal star? And when we got married in 2006, I gave each of the granddaughters, nieces, and their mamas the 2005 Swarovski crystal star Christmas ornament as a memory. Every year since then, I give them the current star from Swarovski as one of their Christmas presents. By the time they are grownup, they'll be able to decorate their whole Christmas tree or a window year round.

It helps that we only have seven granddaughters/grandnieces and 4 mamas, and then I get one so it is a dozen stars total that we get. I also gave one to my brother, and he has it suspended from his rear view mirror in his Mustang.

It is for the light show that I get them, not for any supernatural powers.

I've looked online for the rain chains too. I think a copper one would be lovely, aging to that nice verdigris over time. I do not have the rain gutters. I've wondered how to suspend the chains where they will keep the rain from tearing up the flower beds beneath.

I have a link somewhere and will look for it. Reasonable prices for an 8' chain, with option to add links to make it longer.

In Costa Rica, they used regular old chain at the rooflines of the resort where we honeymooned. Then a splash block at the bottom. They get serious rain there, and these chains were two stories long...about 20 feet? If you have a plastic linked chain, why not try it first before you buy something? A weight at the bottom would keep it in place.

I really want one with the copper "bowls". They look so easy to make and hoping I'll run across something cheap or used or ? One would still need to have a splash block, but a water tank for garden use could work well too. There are attachments with the sets or sold separately for the chains. I think it would be easy to come up with something that works the same way.

Emagineer, when you think about a plain old chain hung off the edge of the roof with an "x" across the hole where the downspout goes, it tells me that you could use anything to get the effect.

They sell sheets or strips of copper or galvanized metals, which could be sliced into strips, the way kids made a paper chain to decorate a Christmas tree. Then you make it as long as you need. It might be a little bit untidy as compared to a store-bought rain chain, but such a sense of personal satisfaction you'd get.

If you can upload a picture of what you are describing in your previous posts, I'd appreciate it.

The rain chain would only give you the sound of rain when it was actually raining. Maybe you can get a small garden pump that would have enough of a head lift to get about 4 feet fall to give a water sound any time you turn it on.

If I had the kind of space that Mama Goose has, and a real antique buttery for a private sanctuary, I'd have to put something out there. Even if it is just solar powered, what a nice place to retreat and do your gardening or reading. To me, that is what Feng Shui should achieve, peace and contentment.

Oh, I'd love rain chains, too. I had a 'rain bug', that my sister bought at Lowe's. It had metal bells for feet, and when the raindrops hit them, or the wind blew, they tinkled. They fell off eventually, but I keep planning to reattach them.

Speaking of things I'm planning to do...I went out yesterday to try and make some head-way with the mess in the p0tting shed. As soon as I looked around and decided where to start, my grandson (2 yrs old) called from the back door, wanting to come out with me. That was the end of that--I can't concentrate on anything outside and keep an eye on him too. That's my excuse, and I'm stickin' to it!

ML, your lovely vision for my shed reminded me of the summer that I shared it with a black snake, which I didn't mind, as long as I knew he was there. I remember cleaning the chicken h0use (former milking parlor) one time, and when I was almost finished, finding him relaxing in a nesting box.

Then there was the time that my younger daughter ran in crying that one of her young 'banties' was missing...and there was a snake in the hen house. Well, you know the end of that story.

Ah well, if you're interested in crystals and wind chimes, how about a crystal wind chime?

No relationship to the shop, but I gave some of these as gifts last Christmas and everyone loved them. (She's very flexible, incidentally. I told her how many I needed and what the budget was and she made some to order for me.) Her chandies are beautiful, too. Can't wait till I have a place to put one.

Here is a link that might be useful: sheri's crystal designs

You do need to be careful with copper in your gardens. It will kill plants. Not sure if just letting water run over it to spread on lawn will hurt. I do know I had a lovely plate bird bath on copper pipe I put in middle of a nice stand of perennials and it killed off about one foot all around the stake. Found out if was the copper in the stake doing it.

I too love rain chains but they would never work here. Snow breaks down gutters or gutters hold snow up in the roof. Neither is a good thing. Maybe I can make a rain chin fountain thingie. Hummmmmmmmmmmmm

Chris

After looking for a "how to", the work sounds really tedious. I like doing my own thing though and would enjoy figuring this out. The link below is from a catalog I've used for years. The price of the rain chain is too cheap to ignore. Two though would be needed I think the length is 5 for one.

Chris, never thought about the freezing in our country winters. Very good point. They would have to be taken down for winter or probably pull the gutter off, damn up runoff.

You would still need a gutter on the ground under one or a rain bucket/barrel to catch water.

Here is a link that might be useful: affordable rain chain

OH That is a pretty rain chain. The bottle tree stake is nice too.