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You can do this in your oven too!

I made my own for 15 cents. Pop an album in the oven.

CaseyB - how long, what temp or is it trial-and error?

When I tried it my record labels came off and the records got all lumpy and folded. Any one know how to do this?

awww..please let me know as well, how long I should leave it in the oven.
Thanks

These are fun to make! Put the album in the over, set on an upside-down bowl (or plate) - the album softens, and you can pull it out and quickly press is down a bit onto the mold (you can use your fingers, or something smooth to keep the surface smooth).

The deeper the bowl, your record will fold up a bit - could be a cool effect.

I keep the oven pretty low - 200? 250? Just keep an eye on them - and if it doesn't turn out the way you wanted, just re-melt it!

I gave these to a DJ friend as a wall decoration - and the hole in the center worked perfectly to nail it to the wall!

I, too, have been making my own for awhile, now. The website I rely on for instructions is not only helpful, but hilarious! Go to: http://backseatkiss.com/recordbowls.html. Let me know if you have any luck!

yes, i've made them, too. low heat! and don't breathe the fumes! man, i'd love to sell them for $25! ended up giving them away with purchase at a yard sale.

The first thing I thought of when I saw this was the backsteatkiss tutorial!

But yeah, they're cute and everything but I can't believe people would pay $25 for something you can easily make yourself for 25 cents.

I make them at about 250 degrees in the oven. You can also cut the record when it is hot (carefully!) to make all sorts of other things.

I would not advise melting records even on low heat in the oven. The polyvinyl chloride gas that is released is highly toxic and carcinogenic.

Yes indeed, like everyone else has said, it's really easy to make them yourself. Have made a few from thrift store finds. You can probably also find a bunch on Etsy for less. These do look really good though, sometimes getting a perfect shape is tricky. :)

Other things that are carcinogenic:

stress
eating animal products
pollution
not eating enough fiber
solar rays
x-rays
microwaves
pregnancy
childbirth
free radicals

So, you can either spend your entire day going out of your way to avoid carcinogens, and then get cancer anyway from the resultant stress levels, or you can just be sensible and make sure not to be exposed to any of the above carcinogens for weeks on end.

Some records melt/react differently than others, or get more bubbly.

If you are doing record after record, you will probably want to alternate bowls, as remelting over a hot bowl didn't have great results for me.

You can melt the records down smooth to the bowl, then let them cool to pop off quickly. If you pull it out of the oven much sooner, you'll get a wavy finish.

Try vases, or bowls with ridges if you've got bonus records to experiment with.

Or, my favorite: colored/see-through vinyl.

I recall turning some 45s into wavy little dealies and hanging them on a holiday tree one Christmas. They looked a little large, but always got lots of attention.