• Give an old record new life with some creative re-purposing.vinyl record image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
  
  Give your old vinyl records new life as decorative objects around the home. Projects that re-purpose vinyl from these outdated, but well-loved, treasures may leave them unfit for the turntable. Consider whether you want to save the record before turning it into a craft project. If you don't want to part with some of your collection, hang the albums on the wall to create a mosaic of color and musical memories.
  
  

Bowl

• Heat a vinyl record at a low temperature until it becomes flexible enough to manipulate its shape. While wearing oven mitts, firmly press the center of the album down into a heat-safe bowl until it takes on the bowl's shape. Allow the record to harden. Use the finished project--a bowl with a ruffled edge--as a planter, a centerpiece or for anything that requires a lightweight, durable bowl. The shape of the bowl mold determines whether your vinyl bowl will be tall and narrow, like a vase, or wide and open, like a punchbowl. Place another bowl inside the vinyl bowl if you intend to use it for eating.
  
  

Clock

• Keep the beat by turning a record into a clock. Remove the hands and intact mechanism from an old clock or buy them from a thrift or craft store. Secure the clock mechanism to the back of the record, then attach the clock hands--and numbers, if you want --to the front. Attach a hook or other hanging hardware to the back of the mechanism to hold your clock on the wall. For greater impact, frame the album cover and use it as a backdrop for your clock. To accomplish this look, frame the album cover but don't use the glass that may have come with the frame. Then hot glue the record to the front of the framed album cover. Use a screw driver or sharp scissors to punch an opening through the hole in the record and the album cover. Attach your clock mechanism to the back of the album cover and insert the hands through the front of the record.
  
  

Mail Holder

• Create a stylish place to keep your mail. Slowly heat a record until flexible. Carefully remove it from the oven, then bend about a third of the record upward, leaving a half-inch of flat vinyl between the record's parallel sides to hold your mail. Once cooled, use the hole in the record to hang the mail holder on the wall. This is a good project if you want to create craft items that showcase a favorite record label, as the label should still be visible on the completed project.
  
  When creating crafts that involve heating vinyl, be sure your kitchen is well ventilated and don't overheat the record. Use a disposable cookie sheet or pan to hold the album. Don't cook with pans that have been used to heat vinyl.