Vinyl Bowl

Spring cleaning has begun in our house house this weekend. It's funny how some time off of work + some rainy weather = purging. I love it!

Among our household rejects, I found a pile of old records that were too scratched to play (yes, I own and use a record player). What a waste to just throw them in the garbage. Why not make something fun out of them? How about bowls?

You're going to be surprised as to how simple making a bowl out of an old record is.

First, set the record on an upside down, oven safe bowl. Put the bowl and vinyl in the oven on the lowest temperature possible. I also recommend placing the bowl on a cookie sheet. This merely makes it easier to get the bowl out of the oven when the melting is complete.

Keep an eye on the record as it melts. It only takes a few minutes.

Once the record is drooping onto the bowl, take it out of the oven. Carefully take the record off the bowl using oven mitts. Then, flip the bowl over and put the record inside the bowl.

Place the bowl back into the oven. Wait a minute or two and then try to push the album further down into the bowl until you have transformed the vinyl into a bowl itself.

Once the vinyl is shaped the way you like, take it out and let it cool on the counter, keeping it in the bowl.

Once it is cool, you can use it to hold anything.

Mason Jar Rainbow Cakes

Have you ever made a cake and ended up with a bunch left over that you weren't quite sure what to do with asside from eating it on your own? This is the dilemma that I face whenever I make a cake. This is why I am so excited about the cakes in this post...

Mason Jar Rainbow Cakes!!

First, prepare your favourite cake mix. If you intend to add colours to your mix, pick a white cake. Evenly divide the mix into bowls. The number of bowls you use depends on the amount of colours you decide to use.

Next, add food colouring to your bowls to create different colours. I prefer to use the jell food colouring as I find it creates more vibrant colours compared to liquid food colouring.

Layer the cake mix in mason jars. I filled mine a little too full...try to only fill the jars about half way.

I didn't grease my jars and found they still worked fine, but I have read that you should grease them using a spray before adding the mix.

Bake the cakes on a cookie sheet (in case they overflow) at 350 degrees for approx 35 - 45 minutes. Baking times really depend on the size of the jar and the amount of cake mix in your jars. Just keep an eye on them.

Ice the top of the cake like you would a cupcake and enjoy. Put lids on the leftover jars and put them in the fridge or freezer. I left a jar in the fridge for 2 weeks and it was still great when I ate it.