Ready for one more summer project?  Try making your own bamboo fountain!  Bamboo can bring luck and prosperity to your home and adds a harmonious element to any Feng Shui design.  The project below outlines how to make a smaller fountain for indoor tabletops (or desktops) but simply use larger elements to create an outdoor fountain to enhance your Bamboo Garden!

Here’s what you need to make your Bamboo Fountain:

• Small fountain pump
• Decorative bowl (metal, wooden or terra cotta are common – choose whatever best fits your décor)
• River rocks or aquarium gravel
• Plastic tubing
• Water-resistant glue
• Hollow pieces of Bamboo
• Scissors

To Make Your Bamboo Fountain:

1. Fit the fountain pump into the bowl.  Make sure it has enough room to be covered with rocks.  Use a small amount of glue just to tack it into place temporarily.   Make sure the cord comes out of the back of the bowl so it is easily hidden.
2. Choose a piece of bamboo to be your central piece.  Cut it at a 45-degree angle to create a spout for your fountain.
3. Attach the plastic tubing to the correct hole on the pump.  Take a piece of bamboo and thread the tubing through the center.  Use the glue to tack the bamboo to the top of the filter and to tack the tubing inside the bamboo.
4. Use the central piece of bamboo to create the spout.  Drill a hole in the center of it that is big enough for the tubing to fit through.  Sand it down slightly to make it smaller and insert the bamboo tubing piece at the cut to see if it fits.  Continue sanding until the spout fits inside the bamboo with the rounded tip pointing outward at a 90-degree angle. 
5. Once it is sanded to fit, pull the tubing through the hole and slide the spout into place.  Glue everything firmly into place.
6. Trim the extra tubing and use glue to create a seal around the hole and to hold the tube into place.  The tubing should be flush with the surface so it isn’t visible.
7. Use more glue to attach additional pieces of bamboo to the center piece to make it decorative.  Add as many as you like but make sure that the bases are attached at a similar level.  For a more dramatic effect, try alternating shorter and taller pieces.
8. Fill the decorative bowl with rocks to cover the pump and bottom edges of the bamboo.  You should end up with a fountain that hides all of the hardware and rough bottom edges.
9. Fill the bowl with water to the top of the rocks and turn on the fountain.  Add more water as needed. 

When finished, the water will cascade out of the center bamboo piece and over the other pieces of bamboo and rocks.  Whether it’s in your bedroom with your luxurious bamboo bed linens or outside as you enjoy the summer in your bamboo T Shirts, the fountain is sure to be a soothing and beautiful addition to your home. 

For more fun projects, visit Green Earth News section on Bamboo Crafts.

1. How To Make A Bamboo Wind Chime
2. How To Make A Bamboo Picture Frame
3. How To Make A Flying Paper Lantern With Bamboo
4. How To Make A Bamboo Bee House Or Nest!

Tagged as: bamboo, bamboo fountain, feng shui, garden fountain, how to, summer project