How Erin Napier Turns A Common Thrift Store Find Into A Unique Statement Decor Piece

Stylish bookends can make a bookshelf or arrangement of titles look clean, cohesive, and put together. While you can fill your shelves with utilitarian, store-bought metal bookends, decorative ends can add loads of personality to your space, be they fun brass animal statues or stately marble busts. Sometimes, however, the best sources for holding books upright come from things you may already have or can easily thrift. Vinyl records, for instance, can be turned into stunning bookends on a budget with the application of just a little heat. On a recent episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show," HGTV's Erin Napier showed how to create these cool bookends in just minutes.

This is a great opportunity to upcycle your old vinyl records (or ones you pick up secondhand) into a statement piece. Used vinyl records can be found aplenty in thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales, many with scratches and damage that prevent them from being played or collected by vinyl lovers. These damaged albums can be used for fun home décor projects like these bookends. Not only do they look awesome holding up books (or other vinyl albums) on a shelf, they can have numerous uses around your home, like holding cutting boards to clear kitchen clutter, or organizing handbags in the top of a closet. Leave them as they are or paint them with acrylic paint for a more decorative look.

To bend the record into the shape of a bookend, you will need to apply heat. In her demonstration, Erin Napier does this by carefully pouring hot water from a kettle over the vinyl to soften the material so it will bend easily. By placing a cutting board at the emerging crease, you'll create a 90-degree angle. As the vinyl cools, it will retain the bent shape. There are other methods that can heat records, including placing parchment paper over the album and running an iron across or using a heat gun. Keep in mind, however, that the goal is to soften, not melt, the album. Do this in a well-ventilated area and wear a respirator, since the fumes may be dangerous if inhaled.

There are many other cool things you can do with these melted vinyl records, as well as different ways to bend them according to what you need them for. In addition to bookends, you can create small bookshelves for the wall by bending the records in the middle and adding some screws to attach them to the wall. While they will not support a large stack, you can use them to hold a couple of books. Pull some fishing line through small, drilled holes between the makeshift shelves, then anchor the top end of the line to the wall to make the unit more stable. Such shelves are also great for small items and plants, and depending on how you bend them, they can be wide or skinny at the base.