I have found a charity who can make use of unwanted CDs - they make them into a variety of items and then sell them at their annual bazaar.  If this is of interest please contact Mr. Brian LePas by email on blepas@shaw.ca or by snail mail at 311, Hemlock Street, Nanaimo BC, Canada V9S 1Z4.

General

Thanks to Denis Vermeirre for this information.

SUGGESTED USES:-

• Use those throw away CD's you get in the mail or check with a company who installs a lot of software. 

Cut a CD in half with old scissors you do not mind dulling. 

Then cut one of the halves in half. You will use 3/4 of it to make one angel. 

Using 4 1/2 inch paper doilies ($1 for 100 at DollarTree), fold one in half with a little larger half on one side and glue it over the half CD with the larger half over the printed side of the CD. Use the plain area of the CD as the front. 

Then fold another doily in quarters and fit it over the 1/4 CD and glue it on. 

She shines so pretty under the Christmas lights, she is easy to store flat, and she is very inexpensive to make. You can also use them to decorate gifts. I make them with pastel ribbon for a baby gift decoration. I take them to hospitals inserted in a card for a sick person. I put them in with a graduation or birthday gift.

• Use as a candle coaster.  With shiny side up place votive or small candle in the hole.  Candle will burn and make a cool reflection.

• Also, put two cds, shiny side up on the rear (bottom) with duct tape.  This will serve as a warning!

Thanks to Todd and Amanda for these suggestions.

• Draw or trace any design onto the printed side of the CD.  Place the CD on a piece of marble.  Using an electric stencil cutting tool, cut out the design from the CD.  The marble seems to keep the tip of the tool a bit cooler so that cut edges are very smooth.  If you want a design with "looser" edges hold the CD in your hand while using the stencil cutter (be very careful though).

I have used this technique to make lapel pins as gifts and to create 'branches' which I glued to a 24-in cone (on which I had strung mini-lights) to make a Christmas tree which I then donated to a local charity for their Showcase of Trees fundraiser - it won a ribbon.

• Old disks can be used as pieces of the board game checkers (chequers).

• Cut them up and make mosaics.

• To stop the boss creeping up behind you or to see what is going on behind you, stick a CD to the corner of your PC monitor using Blu-Tack (like a rear view mirror).

• Use as party invitations, handmade labels giving details and directions.

Thanks to Jon Pocock for this most unusual suggestion.

• Use shiny side up, stick on the front of a birthday card with double sided 3D tape or stickers for a teenager or someone into music or computers...  decorate with craft stickers or pens etc.

• Use CDs to scrape frost and snow from car windows.

Contributed by Jean Gormally

• CD Wall - drill holes at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock and attach together with cable ties in a large poster size lattice.   Put nylon string through the top ones and hang as a picture.
  

• If you have a dark work space and limited light, stick them to the sides and under anything hanging over the desk and then aim the light source at them.  You end up with way more light than before due to the reflection.

Both suggestion submitted by Clara Phillips - thank you.

• Hang several with fishing line under your deck to keep birds from building nests under there. The reflection scares them away.

Contributed by and anonymous visitor.

We do not have many decks in the U.K. but this suggestion may be useful for preventing house martins from nest building on the outside of houses.

I have been taken to task with regards this suggestion.  Terry Jones points out that these little birds travel thousands of miles from Africa, eat tons of insects and cause no harm.  If the droppings bother you nail a piece of plastic at right angles to the wall beneath to catch them and wipe it off each year.

CAUTION - I have received the following warning from Elliot Clayton regarding heating CDs in the oven

I was reading about what to do with spare cds or cd roms, and one suggestion involved putting them in the oven to melt them.  This can be dangerous because the silver dye is toxic.  When the plastic melts in the oven, there will be no protection for this layer of dye.

Be very careful though, they get very hot.

Make sure you ask first!

• Fancy Dress - Cover an outfit with CD Roms and go as a "Software Pirate".

Chris Heavey sent in this idea - thank you.

• Make medieval chain mail by drilling holes in opposite edges and stringing them together, vertically and horizontally.

Thanks to Jim Kline for this very original tip.

• Use as the ice rink when making Christmas gardens etc.

Courtesy of Nancy B.

• Mount them on plyboard using ply disk in center and screw.  The slight depression in middle of cd will give it a focal point.  Sun light can then be focused on to a single point to heat a water circulation or placed behind greenhouses, sun room to direct light in during winter.   By varying the tension in the centre it can be tuned to winter diffuse light or summer focused light.
  

• It may be possible to make a projector of the suns rays for viewing by passing the suns rays down a tube to the CD back to a secondary mirror at 90 deg. and projected safely to a white card.  The tube will help stop light scatter and the low reflective quality of the CD and colour cast could prove interesting.  It could be used to building models of telescopes etc. if only for educational purposes.

These ingenious suggestions were sent to us by Mr. Paul Moore - thank you.

• I would like to add a little warning here though - be careful when placing anything like this to catch sunlight as it can cause damage.  My mother once left her spectacles on an upholstered chair and the sunlight came through the window, shone onto the lens and burnt the upholstery on the chair.  This could have caused a very nasty fire.
  

• Stick them to the ceiling in a child's/teenagers bedroom.  If younger children have trouble sleeping, tell them to count the CDs.

Thank you Tracey Jolly.

• Mask for Mardi Gras, masquerade parties etc.  by glueing two CDs together so that the center holes line up with your eyes.  Poke two holes in the outer edges of the mask, string something pliable through them.

Thank you Camellia Pasque Woodsorrel (what a beautiful name)

Courtesy of Andrea Sullivan

One of the most popular ideas was "frisbees" -

• Childs' game - decorate the print side and then use clothes baskets, empty plastic milk jugs, mixing bowls, laundry baskets etc. as targets of different values.  The targets can be moved to increase point value with relative difficulty.  Decorating the targets is also a potential craft activity.

Thanks Tiffany, with similar suggestions fromBarb Harstine, Kelsi, "Msbossy....", Terry.

• An anonymous contributor also mentioned frisbees but made the very important point that dogs should not be allowed to catch them as they break very easily.
  

• Place Tags -  For dinner party place settings - apparently "sharpies" write on them.

Thanks BLADEBRAD

Thanks "cougie..".

Courtesy of Francie

Contributor Mr. Bob Miller

• Paint them in a design you like and put clock insert into the centre of the CD and hang them on your wall.

Thanks Paula.

• Take the CD turn shiny side up.  Buy a clock fixture and insert as directed on the packet into the central hole of the CD.  Glue the numbers in the proper order and position onto the front of the CD.  Add clock hands.  Put your new clock onto a plate stand ensuring the clock hands do not touch the holder.

Thank you Mary Goff

• Lamp Shade   -  free standing/desk top lamp.

Thanks to J. Walls for this idea

• Lamp - Stack them together and make a lamp out of them.  .

Anonymous

The electrical cable could be threaded up through the centre holes and the lamp fitting would fit in the top centre hole.

Stephanie Sirois - thank you

• Purchase a small resin figurine and glue it to the centre of the CD.  It will appear to be skating on the pond.
  

• Drill a hole in the top side of the CD.  Glue a recent picture of your child onto the CD.  Take rick-rack, lace or glitter flue and go around the raw edge of the picture.  Hang on tree with green dental floss.
  

• Purchase a small nativity scene.  Take 2 CDs and connect them with a small hinge.  This will reflect the scene from bottom and back.

Thanks to Siren

Anonymous

• Long range target practice.  Using a hot glue gun I put four dots of hot glue and glue them to a poster board (face up to avoid glare).  When you hit one they tend to shatter and the reflected light tells that you hit one.  At ranges of 200 - 300 yards this helps quite a lot.

Gary Buchholz - www.cyberjocki.com

• Chair Leg Stabiliser  - Put felt on one side and use as chair leg stabiliser.

• Drawing aids - Trace 4 3/4" circles (outside) or 9/16" circles inside.

• Decoration - mailboxes, shoes, etc.       
                                                                                               

• Fridge Magnets - put self sticking magnets on the back.   
                                                          

• Picture frames - put a wallet size picture on them:  design a picture wall, tree ornaments, rear view mirror decoration.      

Thanks "blessed"

• Charity Auction - if the CDs are saleable hold a charity auction.

• Coasters (with a twist)

Draw a square around the CD on a piece of paper making sure you leave about an inch all the way around.  Cut the square out and you now have a pattern.  Cut two squares from polar fleece or terry cloth.  Sew along three sides with right sides together.  Turn right side out and insert the CD.  Sew up the remaining side.  You now have a lovely coaster.  Make yourself a whole set.

• Jewellery holder

Use a drill to make tiny holes in the CD.  Use the holes to keep track of these earrings.  Necklaces can be threaded through the centre hole.

• Bird scarer

Hang them from fruit trees etc. to discourage birds from pecking the fruit.  Not only effective but they reflect the light nicely.         

4:    Unusual, but safe, handbag mirror.