When we were brainstorming centerpiece ideas for our Mexican-themed vintage-style wedding, we really wanted to incorporate something that really represented us, our life and our tastes. We HAD to have chips ‘n salsa on the tables (hello! Mexican wedding in Texas!) and wanted an economical, handmade vehicle for that tasty goodness.
So! After reading other people’s tutorials on making vinyl record bowls and realizing how stinkin’ easy it was we had to go for it! We’re vinyl record collectors and had a few records we felt we could sacrifice for the cause. It was hard to let go, but boy did everyone love these chip bowls! We ended up giving them away to people who wanted them after the dance-tastic reception.
This is OUR (hubs’ and mine) tutorial on how to make these bowls. You can find numerous others online, but we feel ours is the most descriptive and best one in the world. So here goes nothin’!
Materials:
- 7″ metal bowl (for shaping) —> or other heat safe bowl
- 8.5-9″ metal bowl (for heating) —> or other oven safe bowl
- cookie sheet
- vinyl record
- oven
CAUTION: use oven mitts or good potholders at all times
Step 1:
Preheat oven to around 185 degrees for ten minutes (set the timer!). Place large metal bowl on cookie sheet open side down. Place cookie sheet with bowl on it in the oven for about four minutes to warm it up and get it ready for your record.
Step 2:
Take your record, with the side you want on the INSIDE of your bowl facing down, and place it on top of the over-turned bowl in the oven. It sort of resembles a top hat now.
The sizes of your bowls depend on the look you’re going for. If you want a more upright bowl that resembles a slightly bucket-ish shape then use a smaller bowl with slightly upright sides (for the shaping bowl). If you want a more low-slung, fruit bowl style bowl then use a bowl with more relaxed, wider sides.
Step 3:
Bake the record in the oven like that until you see it start drooping over your bowl and getting pliable. Every vinyl record bowl + oven combination will take different amounts of time, but for us our record was ready to take out at about five minutes. Check it every minute or so by pulling it out (with your oven mitt on!) and gauging the flexibility of it.
It’s okay if it’s not flexible enough the first time you take it out of the oven! Vinyl is awesome in that you can just put it back in and heat it until it gets more melty and no one will ever know.
Step 4:
When your record seems pliable enough to shape, take it out of the oven and place it right side up inside your smaller (shaping) bowl. Press it down with your fingers in the bowl and shape it to your tastes. Don’t be afraid to get physical with your record shaping!
Step 5:
Let your record cool for a minute or so and then pull it out of the bowl and admire it! You now have an amazing, rad-tacular vinyl record bowl. If you plan to serve food in this bowl, then line it with plastic wrap, paper or another bowl first.
If your record is trying to stick to your melting bowl, then just spray a little Pam or similar on the bottom of the bowl before baking them.
16 responses to “How to DIY your own vinyl record bowl”
Great idea. I would have never thougth ot that.
Oh good point Miss Strange! Poly resin would be perfect! Yeah the plastic wrap works wonders. And I think some butcher paper set in the bowl (kind of like they do with chips at restaurants) would be super cute and slightly rustic as well.
An alternate method:
Boil a large pot of water
Place record on top of a soup can in the sink
Pour hot water over record
The record will become soft and pliable, then just bend it into the desired shape
Tada!
Oh, and I learned this lesson the hard way: be sure to check the record to make sure it does not say "unbreakable" Just trust me.
No fear guys… this Jethro Tull record isn't valuable. In fact it is scratched and slightly warped. I'm a record collector, so I get it 🙂
Now this is a DIY project I would use for my house!
I agree Lyn! Its a very cute idea but make sure your not using a record that you could sell for hundreds on Ebay 🙂
As I record collector I get it too ;o) I only do this with the new age/sounds of thunderstorms & excess hip hop 12"s that Amoeba Records deems not even worthy of their 50cent bin. On occasion I have kept one of those records for myself but usually they get made in to bowls or another craft project.
I made these record bowls and had them as the centrepieces for chips and lollies at our wedding party!!! They were a hit!
We are making these fro my wedding too, and filling them with different candies
Candies are a great idea! Also, you could put little favors in there: custom stick-on tattoos, wooden coins with the name and date, magnets, children's toys for the kids in attendance etc… the possibilities are endless.
Awesome idea, 6 months now till our wedding and i was having trouble finding “different” centrepiece ideas 🙂 Just wondering though, would the labels not burn while they are in the oven?
SammyLee – they don’t burn at all. They look perfect…probably due to the very low temp.
A great gift idea for lovers of vinyl records. My husband has a lot of them, tomorrow trying to 🙂
BRAVO!!!
I follow the same process and then use a clock kit from Michaels to make them into clocks. They are super easy and very unique gifts. There are lots of cheap and unique records on eBay if you want to use a special record. For example, I found a very scratched up version of a record from a New Orleans artist on eBay for very cheap and made it into a clock for my boss from Louisana. Real big hit!
Gah! This is so cool! Now I need to find a record I don’t care about to try this, haha.