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Technology Bytes
by Francine Brokaw
Re-Cycle Your LPs into Usable and Decorative Bowls
Most of us have updated our music collection. With iPods and CDs, there’s little use for the old vinyl LPs of yesteryear. If you think about it, this newest generation hasn’t even owned let alone seen a vinyl record! If you have replaced your old albums with CDs or have recorded your albums onto CDs, you’re probably wondering what to do with all the albums that are taking up space on your shelf. There are plenty of options. Some LPs are valuable to collectors. You can check on eBay to find out if you have a hidden treasure in your collection. There are several stores around town that purchase old LPs, but you won’t get much for them. With digital music sounding so much better than old analog recordings, record collectors are quickly becoming dinosaurs.
One creative, fun, and useful thing to do with your vinyl records is to turn them into bowls or artwork! Yes, you can turn a flat, black vinyl record into a cute little candy dish. Think about it! You can create your own dishes, and even make them for party favors! They make fun gifts.
If you think this is something you want to try, don’t worry about having to buy a lot of supplies. You probably have everything you need in your kitchen already. All you need is some cooking oil, parchment paper, a cookie sheet, paper towels, oven mitts and an oven.
Step one: Clean the record with some warm soapy water with a paper towel or soft cloth. Make sure it dries completely before going onto the next step.
Step two: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step three: Cut some parchment paper a little larger than the album and set it on a cookie sheet. If you don’t have a cookie sheet wide enough for your album, you can turn the pan over or you can use the bottom side of a broiling pan, if that works better for you.
Step four: Put some cooking oil on a paper towel and gently coat one side of the album and place it oil-side down on the parchment paper, then place the pan in the oven.
Step five: Heat the album for 45 seconds then turn it over and heat for an additional 45 seconds.
Step six: Remove the album and place it on a cool, safe surface. Use oven mitts as it will be hot. With the mitts on, you can now bend and form your bowl. If it cools too quickly, you can reheat for about 25-30 seconds.
Step seven: Let it cool completely before washing your new bowl with a soft cloth.
Tip: I have found that leaving the oven door open and continually replacing the album/bowl inside to lightly heat for several seconds makes it easier to form the bowl. This can be done several times in order to create the bowl you desire. Once the LP is out of the oven though, it cools very fast so you must work quickly.
Now you have a wonderful bowl to use for candy, nuts (if you use it for nuts you will have to glue something over the hole in the center), gifts, party favors, or even modern art.
And you thought all old record albums were good for was collecting dust and taking up space!
© 2006 Francine Brokaw
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