By Donna Erickson
King Features Syndicate
Do you have a stack of old CDs collecting dust around your house? Don’t toss them out, even if they’re scratched or warped. Instead, recycle them into wavy-shaped CD lampshades to give the bulbs on your string of patio lights extra shine. The CDs won’t make music anymore, but they’ll definitely add life to your next party.
To get started on this simple summer craft with your school-age kids, gather your old CDs, a toaster oven and a string of patio lights (the bulbs of which must be larger than holiday minilights on a string). If you don’t happen to have any patio lights, now is a good time to find reduced prices at your local discount and garden stores.
Here’s how to make the trendy shades:
Preheat the toaster oven to 300 F. Rest an old, unusable CD, shiny side up, on top of the open end of a clean 6-ounce-size tuna can or pineapple can with the label removed. Set both on a toaster-oven tray. An adult should place it in the toaster oven for about 25 seconds; do not leave unattended.
Using an oven mitt, carefully remove the tray from the oven and quickly push your mitted hand down through the center of the CD and into the tuna can. Hold for a few seconds. The CD instantly forms into a little lampshade. It might be hot to the touch. Make as many of these shades as you need for a string of patio lights. Attach the molded CDs by unscrewing each bulb, sliding a CD onto the fixture through the center hole and replacing the bulb.
Note: For this project, I use a toaster oven at counter height because it’s easier to handle the CD and can in a small space. Although it is more awkward, a standard oven could also be used to shape the CDs.