DIY Vinyl Record Letter Holder

Here is a little gift idea for those of you who are quite crafty. I originally found this idea on Pinterest with my sister-in-law. The only problem is that no one explained how to make it! So here is the website I found to Mary’s Making, which explains in detail how to make this.

Do not be intimidated by the process. It is very easy! However, I have modified Mary’s version for a few changes that I found useful.

Supplies

3 to 6 vinyl records, 1€/each at the thrift store
2g of crazy glue, 0.49€ at the Big Bazar
1 large frying pan, wide enough to soak your vinyl
1 thermos of boiling water or 1 pot of water that you continuously boil on the stove
1 strong black twisty tie

Total cost: under 7€

Directions

Boil about 3 cups of water in a pot or in a water kettle
Pour the boiled water into a frying pan. Your frying pan is cold and so your water will only stay hot very shortly. You will probably only be able to melt 1 single record on your first try (the water has to be surprisingly hot to melt these vinyls). However, because your pan is now hot, you will be able to melt 2 records on each subsequent try.
Quickly submerge the vinyl up to the label. There is no need to submerge the label fully. I only dipped it up to the lower part of the label. Otherwise the sticker starts to come off.
Dip the record into the boiling water
Next, bend your vinyl record like a taco on the edge of your counter top. I have a stainless steel counter so I wasn’t worried about it being ruined. That being said, I very much doubt it would ruin any counter top as the black colour of the vinyl does not tend to imprint onto anything once hot. But please, if you have an expensive counter top, try using a cutting board instead.
Bend the vinyl like a taco!
You have about 15-30 seconds to quickly mold your vinyl. if you have incorrectly shaped your vinyl and want to reshape it, then you can fix that with remelting once it has cooled off. However, if you have shaped something that was once flat, you will not be able to go back! So please progress slowly. Observation: Sometimes the vinyl melts and creates strange waves in the disc. This will not go away even if you remelt it. It seems to me that it has something to do with the thickness and the quality of the vinyl.
Stack your records in the desired fashion. On Mary’s Making and on most websites, the top of the second record is glued to the curve of the first record above it. Because all the records are glued on an angle, all the letters seem to fall out. So instead, I have opted for the following fashion, where the top of each record is glued to the back of the other record.

Front

Side
Use crazy glue to secure your design. Be careful not to stick your fingers! And also, be careful not to put too much glue. The glue tends to run down the record and stain it with a dirty white colour.
The last step is to secure a hook at the top of your design. I have found that trying to jam a nail through the center hole of the top disc unhandy because I can’t fit my hammer into the curve of that vinyl. Instead, I use a sturdy black twisty tie that I shape into a loop and glue to the back of the top record.
Twisty tie loop
And there you have it! A nice little letter-holder to hang on your wall!