Home Decorating
with Mr. Stinkhead

Hawaiian Paradise

The Joy of Belly Dancing

And So To Bed

Swinging 30's

Tom Jones LIVE

20 Minute Work Out (hanging in my bathroom)

So I'm watching Trading Spaces all the time with my girlfriend. She is always inspired to do something crafty with the apartment. Well here is something you can suggest the next time you feel you need to spruce up the place a bit.

A couple of years ago, I started trolling thrift shops for tacky album covers. Really tacky. I also looked for subtly sexy. Or all out weird. It's kind of cool, these things are never more than a dollar, and every place has at least one really sweet record. I'm going to pop an extra album into each of our e-mail list drawing's prize pack. Click here to see the one our first winner got. Sign up today.

The made-for-albums frames at such stores as Restoration Hardware were a little pricey. However, perfectly square frames are difficult to find. Then I found gold. My local Wal-Mart had perfectly square frames... cheap. So I bought about five or six of them and some flat black cloth. The frames were a little larger than the album dimensions, but this was the closest I was going to get for $7 a pop.

It's real simple, you take out the vinyl record, pop off the back of the frame, center the album face down on the glass, and pop the backing back into the frame. If your frame is a little larger, cut some black cloth to fit. I picked up like 3 yards for a buck at the same Wal-Mart, and I still have plenty. Ok, it's obviously a pain in the ass to do several times, which is the reason I took these pictures behind the glass.

Now stick them up in a swingin' position. I staggered mine a bit and put a few in the bathroom.

There are a couple of books out right now full of great album art. I just picked up Album Covers From the Vinyl Junkyard which is full of painstakingly researched horribly tacky album art... ugh! And then there is Naked Vinyl which features the fine art of nude album art, particularly from the 50's and 60's.

You can patrol eBay for some good albums, but you'll pay for them. I highly recommend scouting the thrift stores and yard sales for treasures so cheap your eyes will bleed.

In my older apartment, I had the 20 Minute Workout (bottom picture on the right) girl hanging above the toilet, and Lawrence Welk and his Magical Organ hanging on the opposite wall. So the dudes look at the work out girl when using the rest room, the girls were treated to a scary, smiling Lawrence Welk. My new layout has forced me to place the workout girl above the shower. She gets fogged up often.