Many people would agree that everything is better on vinyl. Especially their coffee! These are very cool novelty coasters for people with gray hair, or younger people with a longing for a time machine, as they were born in the wrong era.
What are vinyl Record Coasters anyway? Vinyl Record coasters are exactly as it sounds. Coffee table coasters to protect the surface of the tabletop from the bottom of your cup, or the contents of your mug.
Where to buy Vinyl Record Coasters
This set of vinyl records is a cool set of 6 called the DuoMuo Coaster Vinyl Record Disk Coasters for Drinks.
They have rubber undersides to prevent slippage and have a variety of record labels on the fronts.
I was actually quite surprised at how inexpensive they are on Amazon here. (This is an affiliate link, which means I would make a small percentage of the sale if you click and buy something, at no extra cost to you. Thank you!)
A more creative way to buy these novelty vinyl coasters would be Etsy.
If you have a bit more time and patience and don’t need them urgently, you could get far more interesting and customized Vinyl Records from Etsy as well as music related accessories.
Here is one set from Etsy that’s pretty cool. They will put custom Spotify codes on each one for you. Brilliant idea! Show your friend or loved one that you know about them and their personal interests, as while also giving them a useful gift.
How to Make My Own Vinyl Records
We talked about how to buy coasters that are made to look like Vinyl Records. Now let’s look at how to use Vinyl Records to make coasters. Yes, I am talking about using actual vinyl records.
Of course, my first thought was that this is crazy talk. Who would start crafting and baking perfectly good musical records. It’s like burning a book. Are you insane?!
Thankfully, this project involves using already scratched and unusable and unplayable old records. Make extra sure though!
In fact, if you think about it, not only are you avoiding the abusive of functioning music records, you are actually giving new life to old records that once had a purpose. Now they are sitting at a thrift store collecting dust, thinking about the time they first met their new owner at the record shop.
They waited in anticipation while customer after customer came in to the record shop, flipping through the record albums. Eagerly thinking “please, pick me, pick me! I sound good! I promise!”
Finally, one day, a customer locked eyes on the album cover and thought “sure I will give this one a chance.”
Another lucky vinyl record gets a new home!
The new owner slides it out of the fresh new crisp cardboard album sleeve and gently places it on the record player.
“This is it! My first spin around with my new owner”
Over the years, it gets played less and less, and develops scratches and warps. Perhaps an accidental splash of Kool-aid from a child’s birthday party.
All the memories of a full life swirling around, and around, and around. Then suddenly, a sharp reminder that those days are gone. This is the end! Sitting here in this box in the corner of the second hand store.
“Nobody wants me now. Nobody will ever want me again.”
Then suddenly a jolt! “The box is moving. What’s happening? Where are you taking me? To the dump?”.
No. It’s a crafty person who is loving and generous who doesn’t want to settle for some store bought junk from a box store as a gift.
A whole new life is breathed into the vinyl record, as it now lives on in a new home, with new sounds, and new sights to see! Mostly the bottom end of a coffee mug, but nonetheless, it’s a whole new world that has opened up!
Here is a video showing you how to be a thrift store hero and be the best gift giver on this side of Martha Stuart!
This is a great gift giving idea if you have the materials and time!
Video Summarized
- Find already unusable and unplayable vinyl records
- Preheat Oven to 250 Degrees
- Place Vinyl Record into the oven, but keep the light on and watch diligently
- Have oven mitts and scissors handy so you don’t have to look for them when it’s ready and the records cool off
- We are looking to warm it up to make it easier to cut, we are not making Thanksgiving turkey. Be quick and ready.
- Take the vinyl record out of the oven and begin cutting with the scissors. Cut following a line around the outside of the label.
- If it cools off too quickly and becomes difficult to cut, repeat above steps, placing it back into hot oven to warm it up, then take it out and proceed cutting. Repeat as necessary.
- Once you have it cut, warm it up again, then it take out and put it on something flat. You want it to cool off while flattening, not warping.
- Lightly sand the edges.
- Trace circle around the coaster on felt material. Then cut a smaller circle from that circle. (I’m almost certain that didn’t make sense). This will be your backing of the coaster.
- Go outside or somewhere with good ventilation so you can spray an adhesive on the felt material to attach to the underside of the coaster.
- Spray light coats of clear acrylic over top of them.
- Let it dry and we are done!
In Conclusion
Whether you plan to buy vinyl record coasters or make them at home, either way these are great gift giving ideas. You almost can’t go wrong, especially if you are able to customize or put some personal touch to it.
There’s also nothing saying you can’t combine the 2 ideas if you need to. Buy vinyl coasters online for the more professional look and to save time, then add some sort of personal touch to them before gifting them to someone.
