Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Thrifty Gifty #7, I think

From this

To this

For .25¢ (at my thrift store all albums are .25$, even the ones with two records in them).

If you are as old as I am, you know that leaving a record out in the sun makes it warp. Well, take that knowledge one step further and you can make really funky, artsy, hip gifts for friends and family. These are fabulous for treat bowls, New Years party decor, catch-alls for your teen's rooms, etc.

Here's what to do:
1. Go to your local thrift store and pick up some old records. WARNING: If, by luck, you happen to find one labeled Blue Note, do not melt it.
2. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
3. You have a couple options now, for more artsy, funky shapes, take a small salad bowl (all bowls need to be over proof), place it upside down on a cookie sheet. Then, put the record over it, put it in the oven and wait for it to melt. When you take it out, the record will be pliable and you can play with the design a bit. However, if you want a more uniform, perfectly round bowl, take a large salad bowl and keeping it right side up, place a record over it. Put this in the oven with the smaller salad bowl. Wait for it to get hot. Take them out and before they cool, push the record down into the large bowl with the smaller bowl. Wait for them to cool before handeling..... not just so you don't burn yourself, but because the record will reshape as long as it is hot.
4. Decorate the label as desired. If my records had really cool labels, I would have left them. But, at .25¢ a piece, you can't expect great design. So, I used our Get Happy papers and stickers to make fun little lables.



18 comments:

Chriss Rollins said...

Oh I remember those fruit bowls thanks for the memories.

chriss x

Bumbles and Fairy-Tales said...

Very cooool ;)

connie said...

I remember Albums! Still have a box of albums in the closet along with a RECORD player that we never could find a replacement needle for.

Anonymous said...

this is such a cool idea :) thanks!

ScrapMomOf2 said...

Cool idea!

ScrapAloha said...

TFS this awesome idea!

Cass said...

Note that is seriously cool! :)

AniB said...

No way - that's so cool.

R. Dorrian6 said...

Oh wow! what a fun project. I bet my kids would love to make these. Thanks so much for sharing this great idea!

Danisha said...

What an absolutely fantastic idea!!! I am going to have to try this!!

ScrapMomOf2 said...

Wow! I just got done reading your interview over at Cath's Moxie Fab Blog! It's awesome! Julie, some of your replies are so funny!! GREAT job and very inspiring!

wendy said...

This is a GREAT idea :) Very good conversation pieces and so inexpensive!

Rita S. said...

What a unique idea and gift! I do have to ask - is there a smell while melting plastic records? Since I have 2 parrots in the house I have to be very careful of baking, cooking, heating anything that gives off fumes. We still have some albums - the thought of melting Journey and Styx however... seeing as they all belonged to DH when we married, I suppose I shouldn't, eh? (LOL)

BethW said...

Too cool! I will go to the Thrift Store however because I'll not be melting my treasured vinyl. Oh god I am so old. I still have Sonny and Cher's FIRST album and Neil Diamonds. I shall not slink silently into the night.

Liz said...

I love this idea! It makes me think of other things I might be able to do with old records in the oven.. hummm I'll have to do some experiments. :)

Just a little bit Crafty said...

WOW, I love this idea. No need for me to go to a thrift shop, I have piles of these albums. I am having a garage sale and I am going to use these bowls as plant pots (hole already provided). I am thinking that one would be great as a mini herb garden (gift for Christmas). Thanks for sharing this GREAT idea.
Irene :)

Mary said...

If you have time, see if you can search through the records and find red ones. Even better for Christmas! I found some last year and melted them! :)

paulsmith198914@gmail.com said...

How interesting it is! I also love this original idea, thanks a lot for sharing! Take advantage to utilize custome writing when it's needed!