Art with vintage cassette

Remember that time when music to our ears came in the form of little plastic pieces with a tape inside them, to be inserted into a box called the cassette player? That was long before floppy discs and CDs made their way into our lives. Thousands of families still have them in their household storage or lying around, sometimes getting discarded and sometimes crying away in some corner of a shelf. 

I chanced upon a cassette last week and it brought back memories of the hundreds of hours my father and we sisters spent listening to songs - devotional, film, classic and modern. You can turn these cassettes into souvenir art, or simply reuse and repurpose them in some craft. 

I opted for a simple piece of art. You need not make something similar, just try using a cassette in different ways around home.

What you need for this project:

-- acrylic or craft paint in two colours

-- an old cassette or cassette tape

-- paint brushes, one to apply, in size 10, and another with soft bristles in size 2

-- a tissue paper or cloth

-- glue gun

-- an A4 size cardstock in plain colour (I chose the paints and cardstock in earthy tones)

-- optional, is a cup of water, but a squeeze surface for paints is essential

Wipe the cassette tape clean. You will notice there is a sticker in place to mark the contents of the cassette. Make use of it. Read on how.

I painted on the sticker with the brick red paint that I had. You can opt for any colours, even think of making faces on top of these cassettes. Do not aim to be perfect at it.

On a whim, I decided to draw eye-lashes over the two holes that hold its tape. For this I used white colour paint.

And an arch to form its mouth.

The next step was to place it over the cardstock and figure out a way to make it look, good.

My cardboard colour was Camp Green, again an earthy tone. Instead of placing it straight, it helped give it a playful feel by tilting it. I wrote the word `Nostalgia' on it.

All I had to do was, to draw some bubble clouds and place the cassette over a big cloud.

You will need to fix the cassette tape on to the cardstock. I have left it at this for now, but will think of framing it soon.

Make sure you get thick cardstock. You can also stick this up a door or a wall.

Enjoy your memories.


Pics courtesy: Radhika M B

Write to: radicreative@gmail.com for permissions