I absolutely despise those free trial discs, from AOL for example, that I will never even look twice at. What a waste of a CD, non? I, like most other people, possess more than a few CDs that I regret purchasing. I often rummage through my CD collection thinking to myself ‘Why did I spend $19.99 plus tax on a musical overture from hell? Why have I not learned my lesson yet? What can I possibly do with these discs?’ Well, being a crafty girl who doesn’t enjoy throwing anything out, I was determined to find multiple uses for all the reject CDs I have on hand. If you are in the same boat as I am, drowning in a sea of undesired CDs, I will reassure you that there is no need to worry; you can turn this catastrophe around in your favor! Here are three crafty ideas to make your unwanted CDs fun and functional.
You need:
Old CDs, of course
Felt (if desired)
Tools:
Gluegun (only if using felt)
This idea kills two birds with one stone; coffee rings on tables just don’t look good.
1. Decide which side of the CD you'd like to be visible. To save yourself the embarrassment of displaying that Lou Bega CD under your juice glass, flip it over. Your guests will never know that you, like the rest of the world, were sucked in by the Mambo #5 craze. You’ll also appear extra-hip for giving your friends such a cool place to put their drinks. And if they don’t appreciate your effort, tell them to turn the CDs over and everyone can have a hearty laugh at your expense.
2. If you are worried about scratching up your tabletop buy some felt from your local craft store and trace the CD onto the felt. Cut out the felt and gluegun it to the bottom of your CD. There you are, problem solved!
Gotta have:
Another awful CD
A clock motor or clock-making kit from a craft store (I bought a cheap clock and dismantled it for the motor; you can buy a mini motor here.
Paints/other decorative items if desired; let your imagination run wild! The possibilities are endless for your clock face.
Tools:
Paintbrushes (only if painting a design on the face of the clock) Ruler Permanent black marker (or paint if your clock face is going to be black)
This project requires more skill than the last.
1. Find a CD that you hate. If you already like the front of the CD you can skip step 2. The front (or back, depending on which side you prefer to display) is now your clock face.
2. Now it's time to decorate. If you have a lot of time on your hands and you are really crafty you may want to design your own clock face. You may want to sand the CD and apply a primer. Then you can paint any design you so desire on your CD clock. If painting isn't your thing you can always trace or print out a nice design and tape it with double-sided tape to the front. Either way you'll end up with a very unique timepiece.
3. After the fun part comes the functional part. Take your clock face and use a ruler to evenly space each of the hour marks. Begin with 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00. You may keep it simplistic using just these measures of time or you may want to add each hour between the marked quarters you now have on your clock face. Just be careful that the lines are accurate. 4. Remove each of the following pieces from what I will call the "motor rod": (the longish piece of metal sticking out from the actual motor.) the cap, then each hand (hour, minute, and second hand if there is a second hand), bolt, and finally, the washer. Check this diagram in case you have trouble disassembling the pieces on the "motor rod". stick the CD through the bare rod and now layer on the pieces in the order you took them off: washer, bolt, each hand and finish it all off by applying the cap.
5. Don't forget that you can decorate multiple outcast CDs and use these as new clock faces to add some spice to your life. What a conversation starter!
Required Shite:
Another terrible CD, if you have any left
Paints/other decorative items if desired; be creative!
Tools:
Scissors
X-acto knife
Drill
For the music lover in all of us.
1. Use your old cover as basic template. Mark where the switch will be. Then mark the location of the two screw holes above and below the switch opening.
2. To cut out the switch opening carefully use scissors to make the initial cuts and then use an exacto knife to cut and scrape away at the hole. This may take painstaking amounts of time; be careful not to cut yourself.
3. Use a drill to make the screw holes above and below the switch opening.
4. Now you may want to decorate the front. I had a round advertisement for a local DJ that I used
5. Repeat this process a few times. You wouldn't want to make your friends jealous with your extreme craftiness, would you?
Stacey Fowler is an aspiring writer hailing from Ontario, Canada. She loves lasagna and crafts and has tried more than once to mix the two together somehow. Chaos always ensues.
