Putting a new Spin on Vinyl Records

A few weeks back I stumbled upon a blog post that brought back some wonderful childhood memories for me. Check out this fabulous upcycling idea over at Something Created Everyday and then read on to find out what it reminded me of.

When my mother was growing up, she listened to the crooners of her generation on old 78s. She had quite a large record collection but by the 70s she'd moved on to Pop music.

So what to do with all those old records? She couldn't bare to part with them; she had grown up in the depression where you didn't throw anything away. So she came up with a unique way of recycling them - not into tiered cake platters but into bowls for nibblies. Let me share her idea with you.

Firstly, you'll need an old record. I couldn't find any old 78s but I picked up a couple of LPs for 50 cents at Vinnies.

Heat the oven to 165°-170°C (330°F) and place a sheet of silicone baking paper on a flat tray. I used Glad Bake just to make sure it didn't stick to the tray. Place the record on the paper and heat for 3 or 4 minutes.

Find a heatproof item to mould your record around.

Place the item in the oven with the record on top. Try to centre it as best you can. Close the oven and watch the record softly drape around your mould. You might need to adjust the folds as they form to distribute them more evenly around the shape. I did this without oven mits, but it was HOT and I recommend using the mits. The record cools very quickly so you might need to keep placing it back in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes at a time before you work on it a bit more.

Remove the record and the mould from the oven and place it on the kitchen bench. Allow it to cool just a couple of minutes.

Then remove the mould from inside the record bowl and allow it to cool completely.

I tried a second method to see if I could get a more even shape and I found this worked even better.

Start by placing the record in the oven as before to soften it and then place it over a heatproof bowl. I've used a glass salad bowl. Return the whole thing to the oven for a couple of minutes.

Remove from the oven again and this time tip the glass bowl right side up and place the record inside the dish, gently pushing it down to give it a flat bottom. Return to the oven for a few more minutes. Adjust the folds as the record softens.