- Floppy Disk -
Windshield Wiper Blade Picture Frame

We just bought a new car and now I have all those old wiper blades that have accumulated left over. I just didn't want to throw them out. So I took them apart. Once I removed the rubber wiper from the frame holding it, I started to see possibilities. There were all kinds of grooves on the frame part that would be handy, but for what? Then inspiration struck and here is the finished result:

Materials:

• 5¼ inch Floppy Disk
• Old Windshield Wiper Blade
• Photograph

Instructions for Floppy Disk:

• Remove the magnetic plastic center from the floppy disk and throw away it is now all crumpled anyway.
• Now turn the disk around so that the read/write opening is at the top. This is going to be your built in picture hanger.

Instructions for Wiper Blades:

This is how a blade looks. I used a pink blade because it shows up better than the usual black ones. The pink part holds the rubber part that cleans the window. The pink part is usually inserted in the wiper arm of the car.

In this side view there suddenly appears another groove on what I call the top and bottom of the wiper and this part gave me the idea for the picture frame. A picture can be easily slid into the groove, making for an easy picture change.

Remove the rubber wiper and use only the pink part.

Instructions for Frame Assembly:

• Paint the disk any way you like it, or to match your photo or home decor.
• Cut the wiper blade with strong scissors or wire cutters to the width of the floppy and paint in a matching color.
• Coat painted floppy and painted blades with a couple of coats of varnish before you assemble the frame.
• Glue blades to floppy. Start with bottom blade. Once this one is glued on, place photo into grove and hold top blade against the top of the photo and note where it needs to be glued on. (I did this on a piece of graph paper or anything else that has a graph on it. That way you can align the floppy with the graph so that you can just glue the blade on according to the straight lines of the graph paper underneath).
• Now insert photo.

Finished Frames:

Below I have used the same photograph in all three frames to show what a difference the color of the frame makes.

Click on photographs to get a full sized view. The photo was taken by my then 9 year old daughter at a local park.

Second Variation of Floppy Picture Frame February 1999

I just came up with another use for those old 5¼-inch floppy disks. They make a wonderful frame for photographs or other pictures and stand on their own when two are put together.

• Punch holes along the top of the disk with a leather hole punch tool or small hole punch.
• The holes are not aligned on the two disks. They alternate.
• Sew the two disk together with Raffia with a big wool sewing needle.
• Punch a hole about 2-inches from the bottom of the disk on either or both sides.
• Tie a piece of Raffia through the holes so that the two disks are about 1½-inches apart.
• To support the pictures I used a piece from a car window wiper and glued it to the disk. Now the picture just slides into the grove and won't slip.

Third Variation of Floppy Picture Frame without Wiper Blades

• Again remove the magnetic center from the floppy.
• Paint the floppy any way you like. This time have a little something handy to cover up the little round hole next to the center of the floppy or you will have trouble inserting a photo without it showing through.