Record Bowls - Inexpensive Christmas Gift #11

I remember going to Tower records and picking up a new album. I accidently left it in my car. The summer sun warped the record. Lucky for me the guy behind the counter let me exchange it. I never made that mistake again but I did learn that the sun and heat will reshape vinyl. We have a lot of old records that we really didn’t know what to do with so I decided to take advantage of the heat advisory today and repurpose some old tunes.

photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

Making a record bowl is easy and fun. I start out by laying the records over bowls and cups and setting them in the sun. They melt around the bowl or cup which makes the next step so much easier. The record melts and forms around the base almost like fondant on a cake.
Once the bowl is melted sufficiently in the heat of the day, which is to say it looks more like a bowl than a record you can start shaping it with your hair dryer.

photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

Set the dryer on the highest hottest temperature. You may want to do this outside because it will smell up the room.
Take the dryer and set it on the edge of the record. As the record melts you can start to maneuver the dryer from side to side to create a crease in the vinyl.

photo credit: CK Worley

photo credit: CK Worley

Move the dryer up to the top of the record. Remember the base of your bowl is the area where the label is so if you go too close to the hole in the center you’ll have an odd shaped base and it won’t sit on the table evenly.
Once you’re happy with the shape you’re done. These are great conversation starters and if you have a music or movie room or just love to entertain these little bowls will be quite a hit.
You can pick these old records up at any thrift store for anywhere from 20 cents to 50 cents each.
A gift of three bowls would be a wonderful Hostess or Christmas gift. You have to start now while the sun is hot. If you try to do this with only your hair dryer the likelihood of the record cracking is high.

photo credit: CK Worley

And now for your Rock and Roll Joke of the Day from Yuksrus.com

My daughter was doing a project on 70's rock groups, and she
asked me to name 2 of them.
"Yes!" I said.
"Who?" she asked.
"There you go, there's two of them" I replied.