Cute Upcycled CD Animal Decorations {Fish and Bird}

Don’t throw away those old CDs! Recycle them into these cute upcycled CD craft animal decorations! So easy to make, with craft supplies you might have on hand already, these animals are sure to make kids and adults, alike, smile. You can so easily customize these and make them unique! Have fun making those old CDs or DVDs into a fun new craft project!

CD fish and bird on blue paper

Upcycled CD Animals

I love upcycling everything I can. It’s easy for any piece of trash or junk to turn into a gorgeous treasure. The best part of this project is that kids love making their favorite animals with them. Of course, we adults will like making them as decor as well. It’s always great to see something that would have been thrown away turn into a fun new thing!

If you like using CDs or DVDs to craft with, there are tons of other ideas that you can use. This moon and sun baby room decoration is a personal favorite, but you might also prefer making something like this little old CD coffee bean coaster instead! Like I said, tons of ideas to make yours into something new and amazing.

Brown CD bird on bush with pink flowers

What Animals Can I Make Out of CDs?

You can make anything animal that you can think of. However, the easiest animals to make are a fish, frog, owl, bird, and cat. With a little imagination, you will be able to branch out and make whatever your favorite animal is. Below are some more ideas that are great to create with a CD or a DVD as a base. You can add other items from your craft closet to make them unique.

Giraffe
Elephant
Lion
Pigs
Horse
Chicken

Woman holding blue CD fish

Where Can I Hang These?

These cute upcycled cd animals can be hung anywhere. It makes a great decoration for a kid’s room, clubhouse, or treehouse. It would also be really cute used as a party decoration or as part of garden décor as well.

I love the idea of making a variety of them to use in a bedroom for a Noah’s Ark or zoo-themed decor idea. Of course, you can also use different animals to create a unique look for a birthday party or event. I’d even use them for our church at Vacation Bible School in the summer months when we have animal themes!

Woman holding bird cd craft

What Do I Use to Hang These?

If you want to hang these from your ceiling, you can use a few different things. My preferred option is to use a knife to poke a small hole at the top and string a fishing line onto the CD to hang it from the ceiling. Another option is to glue a piece of twine, string, or yarn to the back of the CD or DVD and hang it from the ceiling.

You can even use a magnet and glue it onto the back of the CD or DVD to stick it to a metal surface. There are tons of ways to put these around your home and hang them easily without needing a ton of extra tools.

Blue fish on stone

Can You Cut CDs or DVDs With Scissors?

If you wanted to splice the disks together, you can cut the CDs and DVDs with scissors. You can also break the disks. Be careful, however, because the pieces will be sharp, and sometimes smaller pieces might break off and fly through the air. Safety glasses are recommended.

I’ve used a Xacto knife, scissors, craft knife, box cutter, or tin snips at various times with great success. All of these ideas work well but should be used with caution to make sure nobody gets cut or injured.

Blue CD fish on grass

What Paint Should I Use on Old DVDs and CDs?

When I am painting the old DVDs and CDs I like to use acrylic or spray paint. Acrylic comes in many colors while spray paint is the easiest because you simply spray. No brushes needed. This creates a thick coating that covers the disk well. If you want a more translucent look, you can use a watercolor-type paint or a glaze and then cover it with a sealant.

Brown CD bird on blue paper with clouds

Supplies Needed

Supplies for CD animals

How to Make an Old CD Animal Decoration

On the back of the brown glitter paper, trace a circle using the CD as a guide.

Tracing circle onto white paper

Cut out the circle of foam paper.

Cutting circle out of foam paper

Peel the sticky backing off of the circle and press on top of the CD making sure it is aligned and sticks to the surface well.

Adding brown paper to CD

Cut a small orange triangle from paper or foam.

Glue the triangle onto one side of the CD so the pointed side faces outward.

Gluing beak onto CD bird

Glue a feather to the middle of the top of the CD so that it sticks out over the edge.

Add a small piece of feather toward the bottom back of the CD and one on top of the CD securing in place with hot glue.

Adding feathers to bird

Glue a googly eye onto the front of the CD just above the beak.

Adding googly eye to brown bird

On a piece of blue craft paper or foam paper, trace a fishtail shape, a large fin shape, and a small heart.

Tracing on blue foam paper

Cut out the blue shapes.

Glue the tail to the back, the fin to the top, and the heart with the rounded portion facing outward on the side as lips.

Gluing foam paper fins onto cd

Attach a googly eye just above the lips if desired.

Gluing fin onto CD

Display or hang the decor with a fishing line.

CD bird and CD fish on white table

More Great Craft Ideas

If you want more great ideas for making upcycled crafts, below are some of my favorites. These are easy to make, fun for kids, and great for upcycling something you might otherwise throw away.

Yield: 2