I decided to recycle old scratched up or non-useable CD's. So I made these into centerpieces and cake toppers and sell them for extra money. Each one is different and one of a kind or sometimes I have doubles of some figurines.
The CDs are my base and then I go from there. I buy my figurines from thrift shops and yard sales and dollar stores, and I save all my scrap material and lace to glue to my base. I also have people save me their old CDs, including thrift shops where people donate their things. The owners said they end up just throwing them away, but now they save them for me.
By Myra from Allenhurst, GA
Do you have a bunch of those free CD's laying around? Turn them over, the backsides are mirror like, use double sided tape and attach them to the back of the bedroom door for a funky full length mirror. Your teenage daughter will love it.
We all have lots of old floppy disks and cds around thanks to AOL and CD Burners. Do you have any good uses for them?
This is something that I have done with those old CD's we all seem to get in the mail. I painted the advertisement side black. On the computer I made a "birthday label" on card stock, which is better than a label, cut it out and glued it over the center hole area on the shinny side of the CD and hot glued twelve pieces of hard candy around the disk. To the back side, I used one of those FREE heavy duty magnets that some pharmacy's give out, to the back.
Just use your imagination.
"Syd - who's always thinking!
I also decorated my home office Xmas tree with CD's. I guess you could use the floppies as well. I prefer the CD's.
Make a wind chime. Glue two CD's together, shiny sides out. Drill small holes for stringing the wind chimes, etc. Hang in a covered area of a porch where you get breezes. You can copy off some commercial wind chimes for ideas.
Syd Barr - never at a loss for an idea!
I have a great use for old CD's. Last Christmas, my grandaughter and I made gifts for her teacher and parents, by cutting pic's from old Christmas cards and gluing them onto the shiny side of the CD. Then, we glued bits of fake Christmas trees or weaths, to make little trees. (This makes it look 3D) When the glue was dry, we used craft paint and painted snow on the ground (if you used outdoor scene) and also painted small dots of snow all over the pic. We then glued narrow red ribbon onto the backside for hanging; and/or used small pieces of magnets so they could be displayed on the refrigerators. This was such a big hit with the teachers, etc. we do this every year for Sunday School projects, etc.
I put small stakes in the ground and put a CD on each one along my walkway shiny side up. They pick up the light from the porch light and make energy free illumination along the dark walk.
- Marianne
Use the shiny ones in your straawberry paatch. Hang them on a stake to scare the birds away.
3 ideas:
1. With spray adhesive or any good craft glue, attach a circular cut out of a snapshot in the center of the shiney side of a CD disk. This makes a nice shiny rim. Glue four small magnets around the rim of the back of the disk, at 12, 3, 6 and 9 O'clock and attach it to the fridge.
I use the cds when I crochet to make CD hotpads. There are many different patterns to chose from. They also make wonderful gifts.
- Margaret Fraleigh
During the Christmas season,hang your CD's from wire on a tree to decorate. They make great outdoor decorations. When the lights hit them the shine.
My husband is not only a computer user, but also a webmaster and a programmng student. As you can imagine, he gets piles of those throw-away cd's from a-oh-well, and other companies that advertise that way. So, I went looking for ideas on how to use them.
I thought they would be pretty and effective tied in long cords and hung around berrry bushes, etc where you don't want the birds stealing your garden goodies. They twirl in the wind and flash gloriously, as good a treat to the eye as a diamond tiara or a crystal chandelier. You do want to pull the cords rather taut to get the most dynamics, so you'll need some kind of stakes or poles.
Just as they are, they make tolerable coasters. You can improve them a bit by gluing a circle of felt to the lable side.
I'm also considering how I can make Christmas ornaments with them. I have a few ideas, but I won't list any, so that you can let your own imaginations run away with you. Instead, I'll just suggest that they could show off thread-crochet, or just about anything could be glued on.
I read that some people warm them on cookie sheets, and make bowls (with holes) when they are just soft enough to droop over a form. This might also make an interesting flower dish with a drainage hole. I have not tried this.
I saw a picture of a home-made gazing ball, done by breaking them in pieces, and pasting the pieces onto a bowling ball or something, with that adhesive/grout used to make mosaics. If you do that, you might like to cover other shapes, too, and incorporate other materials like broken plates, marbles, seashells, etc. Can you picture those reflective fragments under water as a bird bath? Or on stepping stones, on tables or storage cubes, on large flowerpots, on mirror/window frames etc? (Mirrors are wonderful in the garden. Display one, and you have an instant "secret garden".)
Rose B, mother of three, in NC
I would like to find complete directions on how to make costume jewelery pins out of 'free' CD's. I know you 'warm' them before you cut shapes and use acrylic paints but does anyone have any more tips or directions?
I'm looking for directions for making a hanging mobile using CDs and some foam-type of material. A friend had one hanging in her child's room and it was really cute. The body of the fish was a CD, a plastic eye was glued to it, and heavy-type material was stuck thru the CD to make a fin. Does anyone have specific directions on how to make these? Thanks!
I saw an interesting window treatment the other day. A computer shop had used CDs to cover a window; overlapping two layers, to create a sort of round pane effect.
Christmas wall, window, and tree decor. Drill a hole on an old CD and tie a ribbon or a yarn through the hole. Hot glue a poinsettia/leaves or any Christmas symbol on the CD. Make a bowtie and glue just above the the flower.
In order to make the picture of this craft work, without an intense reflection, I have covered the CD with invisible tape. Your actual project will allow the shine of the CD to show and reflect holiday lights.
