Recycle Your Vinyl Records and Create One of a Kind Vintage Gifts

At my daughter's sweet sixteen party, she received an attractive, fluted black bowl filled with bath products as a gift. Imagine our surprise later, when we removed the fruity shower soaps to discover that the bowl was sculpted an old sixteen inch vinyl record.

As a child of the 70's, this craft really appealed to my creative bug. So, of course, I promptly encouraged my daughter to find out where her friend got the dish. It turned out that said friend had gotten the idea from her mother and she promptly sent a set of directions over. The rest is record history.

Needless to say, everyone on my Christmas shopping list that year got a personal record, selected and geared towards their taste, filled with an assortment of goodies. They all continue to rave about the novelty and when I'm visiting, it's fun to see the creative ways in which they are displayed.

Now, before everyone gets their preservation panties in a bunch thinking that I destroyed my own pile of nostalgic records (come on, do you really think I could de-construct a Beatles original?) I found an easier and better way to obtain the prime part for this simple craft-our local Salvation Army store.

Baskets full of vinyl history await the creative crafter at thrift stores. When weeding through to find titles, I chose records with obvious scratches or wear and tear that indicated the record had damage rendering it useless (don't worry, these imperfection disappear during the molding process or add character to your piece.) If I couldn't find a band that I knew the recipient would like, I look for movie soundtracks, well-known icons, or funny titles instead.

These bowls are super versatile. You can fill with gifts, gift it on its own, use it as a chip bowl, use them for planters, or even use the small single vinyl records for potpourri or candles. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

If you are looking for a creative, simple craft that is also recycle-friendly, creating a vinyl record basket is the vintage lovers dream.

Following are the instructions. Take out your boogie or blue suede shoes and enjoy!

Recycled Vinyl Record Bowl

Items Needed:

1 Vinyl Record

Glass or Ceramic Oven-Safe Mixing Bowl

Cookie Sheet

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

On cookie sheet, turn glass or ceramic bowl upside down. Place record on top of the bottom of the upside down bowl. Carefully place items in the oven, making sure the record stays squarely on top of the bowl.

Heat for three to five minutes, until record softens and begins to melt. (The record will appear to begin drooping onto the sides of the bowl.) Using oven mitts, remove items from the oven immediately. Flip the record and the bowl so that the record is now situated under the bowl. Press the record upward so that it takes on the shape of the bowl.

The record should form a fluted pattern along the sides (as pictured.) Adjust the shape until you achieve a satisfactory shape.

Remove bowl from center of record shape and allow to cool for one to two hours.

Note: If you do achieve a desired shape before the record cools, the record may be placed back in the oven (using the original stacking process) to re-heat and re-mold.