Upcycled CD Craft Ideas

Upcycled CD craft ideas that are creative and cool

What do you do with those old CDs that you can't use anymore? There's a long tradition of making art from old CDs dating back to the days when AOL shipped out millions of CDs to mailboxes all over the country. CD arts and crafts have become even more popular as the importance of cd recycling has grown. Check out these ideas for making art from old CDs.

Coasters from Old CDs :

Years ago, computer programmers around the world figured out that an AOL repurposed was the perfect thing to keep coffee rings off your desktop. It's just the right size for the bottom of a coffee mug. Since then, crafters have offered dozens of variations on the old coffee coasters from old CDs meme. The basic process is simple.

1. Decorate one side of the cd wind spinners as desired.

2. Cut a felt circle the same size as the CD.

3. Glue the felt circle to the undecorated side of the CD.

Need ideas for decorating your how to recycle cds coasters? Here's just a few :

- Make a photo collage by gluing photos to cover the front of the CD. Cover with clear adhesive paper.

- Paint a design with acrylic paints.

- Make a 3-D CD coaster by cutting out pieces of 2-3 CDs, stacking them so that the cutouts reveal the CDs below, and topping the stack with a clear spacer old things.

- Engrave the shiny side of the recycling cd discs with a Dremel tool.

Disco Ball from Old CDs :

There are several different versions of CD Disco Balls out there ranging from Christmas ornament size to full-size take-it-to-the-club balls. Again, the basic process for making a disco ball from old CDs is the same, no matter what the size.

1. Start with a ball form for the core. A styrofoam ball works well.

2. Cut old CDs into rectangular pieces with snips.

3. Glue the old CD pieces to the ball shiny side out.

4. Add a hanging string and hang it up.

The finished CD ball makes a great sun catcher.

Photo Frames from Old CDs :

Old CDs are also the perfect size to serve as a frame for a standard size photograph. There are ways to turn unused can cds be recycle compact discs into photo magnets, photo holders and photo frames. The process varies, depending on the finished product. One of the most innovative cd mosaic photo frames uses this method.

1. Cut photo to fit CD.

2. Glue photo to cd art back. Glue a strip of hook and loop tape like Velcro to the back. Make several.

3. "Hang" photos on the wall by sticking the fuzzy side of the Velcro tape to the wall.

Using Velcro tape to hang the photos makes it very easy to rearrange photos to your heart's content.