Ways to Repurpose Record Albums and CD’s

Clever Ways to Repurpose Record Albums and CD’s

With the emergence of the internet and mobile phones, we had to have known that just like eight tracks, records and tapes, CD’s would become obsolete too!  I wanted to come up with some ways to repurpose record albums and CD’s. I remember when I drove by an old Tower Records building which was about three blocks away from a vacant and empty Virgin Records store. It was so strange seeing most of the Blockbuster Video stores around town boarded up as well.  Yikes!  Man, I’m old.

Here are some ideas.

Turn Them Into Art

I am in an upcyling and repurposing group on Facebook and one of the fellow members, Georgiann Rose from Oregon, posted this amazing Mermaid dress form she upcycled with CD’s and DVD’s. She said, “I repurposed an old dress form with glued on DVDs lots of buttons and stuff and a crochet mermaid tail. She now lives in the mermaid room inside my guest/lighthouse.”

Look at these gorgeous photos she posted along with her whimsical guest house!

Use CD’s to Create Mosaic Tile

I made this cool tray by cutting up CD’s and applying resin over top. Can you believe this was once a thrift store mirror?

Here is the full tutorial: RESIN MOSAIC TRAY WITH RECYCLED CDS AND DVDS

Of course, you can use this technic for other mosaic crafts with CD’s and DVD’s like:

• Embellishing a Wine Bottle or Jar
• Mosaic Wall Art
• Table top art or other furniture
• Mosaics for your yard, patio, or garden
• Decorative bowls or planters or mirrors and frames

You can also watch the video I made.

Turn a record album into a bowl

This craft is so fun! It also makes a great craft to sell. While writing this tutorial, I also found that this is the safest technique to melt records as opposed to melting them in an oven. Remember, these are not food safe, but are perfect for wrapped candies, keys, or for decorative purposes. You can get the full tutorial here and watch the video tutorial below.

Melt Albums into other formations

Using the technique in the above video, you can also melt record albums into:

1. An iPad Stand – Melt the record into a “Z” shape, Making one long side the stand and a shorter side the lip to hold the iPad.
2. Bookends – Melt one side into a 90 degree angle, which can slip perfectly under books.
3. Mail Organizer – Melt 2 or 3 albums into a “V” shape and mount them on a wall to create mail slots in an office.

Other Cool Repurposing Ideas

Here are some more inexpensive crafts from recycled old record albums, DVD’s, and compact discs.  They make great DIY gifts too! If you  don’t have any old LP’s, you can buy them for about $1 at almost any local thrift store.

• Make a cool Record Valet Tray also from Etsy
• Use the covers to make an Album Notebook
• Use CD and DVD’s as canvases to create Wall Art like these from Creative Solace
• Make a CD Chair with lumbar support like this one from Gizmodo
• Use CD’s to make your own jewelry.
• Turn the covers into Record Album Gift Tags

Tip: Some old record album covers have beautiful artwork on them.  Frame and arrange a few in coordinating colors to make interesting wall art. Group several together to make a gallery wall.

Check out these other creative ways to recycle

• 10 Ways to Recycle Newspaper
• 4 Ways to Reuse Old Boxes
• Creative Ways to Repurpose Old Books
• 6 Ways to Recycle Bottles and Glass Jars

 

This post was originally published in 2011 and has been updated and improved.