DIY Record Bowls

 So after making the mail organizer from cheap records (click here for details), I had a lot of leftovers. After thinking of what I can do with them, I decided to make some bowls. Here's how I did it...

I used:

• A baking sheet
• Tin Foil
• Records (duh)
• Stainless steel mixing bowls--3 different sizes: in my set of four, I used the small, medium, and second largest
• Work gloves, oven mits or an old T-shirt to transfer the hot record into bowls

I lined a baking sheet with tin foil, and set the oven for 250 degrees. Once the oven was pre-heated, I placed the record on top of the foil-lined pan and stuck it in the oven to "cook" for two minutes. When I pulled it out, I used an old T-shirt to transfer the now soft record into a stainless steel mixing bowl. It ruffled itself inside the mixing bowl, and then I used another smaller mixing bowl (the next size down) to flatten the bottom of the record by putting it inside the record that was inside the bigger bowl. Once it's cooled off a bit (about 30 seconds to a minute) I took it out of the mixing bowl and was done! Super easy!

If the ruffles are too uneven for your taste, you can plop it back into the oven for another two minutes. It softens the record flat again so you can reform it.

I found placing the record inside the bowl gave me the best results. I also tried draping it over the top of an upside down mixing bowl, but didn't have the greatest luck that way. I think it'd be fun to use some smaller square dishes, but I didn't have any, so that's a bummer!

Since I didn't need five record bowls, I gave them away to friends who were a little too excited about them. I was surprised by the Facebook reaction I got to them. Before giving them away, I personalized them like I did the mail organizer. Here's one I gave to my work BFF, Molly. 

I used a picture of her kid, I mean dog, Eddie. Using Publisher, I changed the shape of the picture to a 5" circle and printed it out. I used Mod Podge to glue the picture inside over the existing label. 

As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask in the comments!