Bowls

I've long wanted to try making the a bowl out of a vinyl record, but only recently actually got around to doing it.

I have several records in my garage that I had painted on one side. I was going to use them to make big polka dots on my daughters' bedroom wall to match their bedding. However, before I got it done, their grandparents game them new bedding that didn't match my dots. lol

And, if you're wondering why I didn't just paint the dots on the wall, it's because I was pretty sure I couldn't make a nice edge on my circles. By using spray pain on large vinyl records I eliminated that worry completely.

Okay, back to the bowls......

My first one was a fail because I didn't know it had a crack in it.

That crack became glaringly obvious once the record started to melt.

 The second one was much more successful.
(sorry for the blur....I really need to wear my glasses when I take pictures.)

Side view....

I made the bowl tighter and more upright than most I see because I want to put it in the girls' bathroom to hold some of their hair stuff.

So, to make it here what I did.

Preheat the oven to 200 F. Then, I took a small glass mixing bowl, turned it upside down on the oven rack, and placed the record on top of it painted side up. Turn on your oven light so that you can watch what is happening. It takes less than 2 minutes for the record to start softening.

Once it starts to droop take it out and push it around the bowl. Since I wanted mine to be more closely formed than that I quickly put it into the next larger mixing bowl and pushed on it from the inside.

This must all be done quickly because it only takes about 30 seconds for the vinyl to cool and start hardening back up. If that happens, just put it back in the oven for a little bit and keep going.

That's the beauty of this. You can keep reshaping until you're happy with it.  Unless, of course, there's a crack in it. :0) And, this whole project took less than 5 minutes - and that includes waiting for the oven to preheat!! So why in the world did I wait so long to do it??

Let me know if you give it a try. I would love to see what you come up with.

Oh, and just in case you wonder.  I was nervous about how the paint would react with being in the oven. I had just used regular old pink spray paint. And, to my delight, it worked fabulously. I didn't have a problem with it cracking, bubbling or peeling. Woohoo!!