What to do with that CD Spindle?

For years I have been throwing away (or trying to recycle) the CD Spindles my bulk CDs come in. Standing over the trashcan I hold it in my hand and wonder if there could be some use for this thing and my mind comes up blank each time. At my new job we do a lot of CD Duplication and we have a TON of empty CD Spindle cases. I knew there HAD to be some way to use these cases!

So I ask you my faithful readers, do you know of a creative solution to use these plastic cases? Maybe you have examples to share? This is an untapped resource!

In my google searching here are some great examples of creative solutions.

Bagel sandwich case

My favorite the bagel/sandwich holder. I just HAVE to try this out tonight. I will post my feedback tomorrow. What a great idea!
read more here

TP Dispenser

TP dispenser! I can see this working for camping trips to keep the TP dry and un-squished. Directions to make your own here and also directions for a handy tissue holder!

Hamster Wheel

Now this is an unexpected use quite genius I might add. Props to you! and your happy hamster. Read more about it here.



Earring Display

Now how great would this be at a craft fair? I bet it can even fold up and if you save the cover you can just plop it on top and it's safe for transport. I'm going to attempt to make one of these myself and see if my crafter friends would use them. Great cheap gift idea too? I see a lot of crafty applications of this idea. Directions to make it here.


So that is what I found. Now I want to hear from you! What solutions have you found? Any crafty ideas?


by the way Superuse is a great site for recycling ideas. One ingenious idea is creating a mail box out of your old mac G4! check them out! http://www.superuse.org

For the Smart Crafty business woman

Here are some books that are definitely worth checking out.



Lauren and Emira's book, The Boss of You, is officially out and the back of the book says something I love: "This is the business book they wish they'd had."

The book goes through all the aspects of starting a business, the things you know and the things you don't know that you don't know, working through them in a conversational tone. Each section has examples from real life experiences, either from Lauren and Emira or a bunch of people they interviewed while writing the book. Full disclosure: I was one of those people and I'm am psyched to see my name in the back of the book.

They cover both aspects of business for those who will be making an actual thing, and those who will provide a service. They talk about what you should do when your business grows to large for you (raise your prices!). And they work you through all the processes of setting up pricing, billing, and the dreaded business plan. It's a great resource for anybody setting out to start a business, whether you plan to grow it large or keep it small. Lauren and Emira are Canadian, the resources they list include both US and Canadian sources, and I know a lot of people who will be thrilled to know this.

(book review found on http://www.notmartha.org/)

I haven't read this book yet but it looks like a keeper. You can find copies from Amazon here.






Craft Inc is a very handy book for anyone starting out into the crafting industry. It has practical advice such as: "Do you really know what you are getting into?" I had this on my book list for a long time and finally invested in my own copy. THIS is the book that I wish I had read three years ago when I started this whole endeavor. Great advice and a checklist for what you need to do to start a buisness such as write a business plan, get your business license, file for your tax ID# and setting up your records for taxes! It's a great investment and an easy read.

get your copy here