What to do with those pesky things AOL and Earthlink send you
Where to get free cds
If you haven't been bombarded with enough free cds for your projects through the good ol' US Postal Service, there are a number of places you can go out and get them. I have seen them at Barnes & Noble, Fry's, Blockbuster, as well as several other stores. Your best bet is to keep your eyes out for a display of free cds in your neighborhood. I also discovered that once word had gotten out that I was collecting them, my friends and family began saving them for me too. If all else fails, or if you are willing to shell out a few bucks for certain effects (which I will describe in the next section) you can buy blank cds at a computer store.
A word about working with cds
CDs have some interesting qualities. First of all, if you use cds that are already burned, they will reflect a bit of a rainbow, which can be kinda cool. However, they are less shiny than blank cds, so if you are really picky about a clear look (like for the funky mirror) you'll have to buy some unburned.
A few of these projects involve cutting cds. If you've ever tried it before, cds are pretty tough to cut. Bending them doesn't usually make them snap, unless they have been scored. Cutting cds often results in them cracking and not doing what you wanted them to do. A good strategy for making cds behave is to heat them up. Boil a pot of water on the stove and put no more than one or two cds in the water to heat up (if they are heated too long, the backing will peel off so work fast). Pull a cd out and cut it in half, then put the pieces back in the water. With two cds, you can alternate and let the pieces have time to get warm again. Cut the cds until they are the size and shape you desire and then let them cool down. Heating cds in the microwave DOES NOT work: after a few seconds they crack all up (It IS a really neat effect, though I don't know how good it is for your microwave). Helpful tip: when trimming pieces later, simply rubbing them between your fingers will usually warm them up enough to keep them from cracking.
* Simple uses *
Coasters
This idea has been gaining popularity. They're great conversation pieces at parties. "Yes, you may put your drink there." Put them shiny side up, they're prettier that way. I've had guests go crazy scratching them, just cuz they'd always wanted to do that, but never wanted to ruin one. IMPORTANT NOTE: be careful to keep your music and computer cds somewhere where people won't use them as coasters! (it has happened more than once)
Frisbees
Nuff said.
* Simple projects *
Two-tiered coasters
This was my dad's idea. Get yourself some of those little foam pieces that are sticky on both sides and use them to connect the non-shiny sides together so that the coaster has some vertical dimension to it. This solves the problem of trying to pick up cds that are lying flat and do not want to be picked up.
Funky Mirror
You can make a spiffy mirror by drilling holes into the edges of cds and connecting them with jump rings. (which you can get at most craft or beading stores) Hang it on the wall and you've got a decorative mirror.
* Advanced Projects *
Disc-o Ball
This is by far the best idea yet. Disco balls can be really expensive. I opted to make my own with cut up cds. I got an eight-inch styrofoam ball at a craft store for $11 (ouch! you can probably find cheaper). Since most glues will melt or disintegrate the styrofoam and make it collapse, I put a layer or two of paper mache over it. A layer of paint over that makes for a regular background to work on. You will need to attatch a string to hang it from. I found that the best way to do it is to wrap the string around the ball twice the way you would wrap a ribbon around a gift and glue it down. When you glue, (white tacky glue works well) make sure to stick the string at the top of the ball where it will hang, so the string won't stick up except where you want a little loop. I waited for the glue to dry and then painted over just the string to make sure it would stay. Then you need to cut up the cds. See the section on Working with cds to learn effective techniques for cutting. I've been told that it's easier to cut them hot on a paper cutter (you know, those big mean ones that can slice off fingers). You can cut them to any size or shape you want. It takes less time to cut them larger, but I think the final project looks a lot better if you cut the pieces smaller. The rest of the project is what takes the longest. Just play jigsaw puzzle with the cutout cd pieces. You can trim them a little to make them fit better, and if you rub them between your fingers and get them a little warm, they're less likely to crack. I used a hot glue gun to attatch the pieces, but I've been told that a small dot of white glue works just as well. Hang it from the ceiling (under a ceiling fixture or in a beam of sunlight is best) and enjoy!
I've finished it and I have pictures!
discostill.jpg / discospin.jpg
Disco shirt
Some of Kathy's friends tossed this idea my way when we told them about my project to make a hoochie shirt for Kathy out of her business cards. You could make an entire line of cd clothing if you had the time, patience, and creativity. Gluing cd pieces to fabric probably wouldn't be very durable, so there are a couple of options I've come up with. A small drill works well to make holes in cds. You could cut them up (or not), drill the holes and then connect the pieces in the shape of a shirt. Another thought was to drill holes and then sew the pieces onto fabric, especially letting them hang down at one end and overlap so that they kinda clink (as much as cds do clink). Maybe someday when I'm bored enough and have finished my photomosaic puzzle, I'll try this project.
* Your ideas *
Craft CD Project: You can make magnets for your refridgerator using puffy
paint to make designs on the shiny side of the CD. Or make Christmas Reef Magnets, or
a Snowman decoration using 3 different CDs and cutting the top 2 smaller than the
bottom one.
from: Robyn
"Paint the shiny side of the cd with black acrylic paint and let dry...then
voila..you have a scratch board, you take a big quilt needle or the end of a
tiny screw driver and etch a design into it.... I'm attatching a photo of one
that I did last night.
from: Thom Cat
From the link listed below:
Have you ever loaded a faulty CD into a high speed (30X or higher) CD-ROM player, heard it spin up to incredible speeds, rattling and whining, and thought to yourself: "this thing is going to explode"? When CDs came out they were heralded as the solution for the need for high storage-high speed information devices, transferring data at a whopping 150kb/s, but like all technologies, 1x CD players quickly became obsolete as the need for higher and higher transfer rates pushed for faster players, and, with them, higher rotational speeds. As we advance into the 21st century CD players are reaching the ultimate speed limit: we are getting to the point where the CD player simply can not spin the CD any faster or else the CD will literally fly apart.
ÊOn the interests of the advancement of high speed computing PowerLabs brings to you:
"THE ULTIMATE CD SPEED LIMIT!"
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