A few years ago I participated in a Trash to Treasure craft fair at which I showcased my bottle cap creations (Who knew bottle cap earrings would be such a big hit?). I noticed a vendor selling bowls made from records and since then I’ve wanted to try to make the infamous record bowl. THEN, I saw a post on Pinterest that begged, “No more record bowls.” I still wanted to try this project, but I figured I’d make the trite project a little more exciting by including a how-to
Since the only records I own are framed Springsteen records — and there was no way I was gonna melt those — I bought two records at the thrift store for super cheap.
Those are some super exciting records, huh? Now, let’s get melting.
For both the record bowl and bracelet, I preheated the oven to 300 degrees. For the bowl, I placed the record on a glass casserole dish and waited for it to curl. It didn’t take long — maybe 2 minutes.
Since it didn’t take too long to start to curl, I was able to take the record out of my oven without using a mitt or tongs or anything. I was hot, but not painfully hot. I immediately placed the hot record over a glass bowl and formed it into a shape I liked. Within 30 seconds or so, the record was firm again. Project complete!
The hubby was surprisingly impressed by this project. I guess he doesn’t frequent craft blogs and Pinterest to know that everyone and their mom has tried this project. Oh well. I never pass up a chance to melt stuff.
Now onto the more exciting project: the record bangle bracelet.
For this project I cut out an arch in the record, sanded down the rough edges, and placed it on the glass casserole dish. Once it melted, I wrapped the melted strip of record around a glass cup I had in my kitchen.
Once the bracelet was sturdy I tried the bracelet on to see how it looked.
I liked the bracelet a lot and it was very comfortable to wear, but I thought it was missing something. So, I added a flashy little silver and black button. Perfecto!
A Smith of All Trades 