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denised_gw

license plates

denised
16 years ago

Anyone have any good ideas of what to do with old license plates? I picked up some at an auction this weekend and would like to reuse them in an ingenious way.

Thanks,

Denise

Comments (25)

  • lydia1959
    16 years ago

    I've seen them used as roofs on birdhouses and curled (or bent) around to make a purse.

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

  • sweets98
    16 years ago

    That's neat!

    I, too, often wonder what to do with them. I have seen them just hung up on the wall in a house, restraunt or whatever. I don't have enough different ones to make that look interesting so I was thinking about a birdhouse with one for a roof. Just need to get DH to build one when he's bored!

  • sunflrlvr
    16 years ago

    OMG
    That site "Lydia1959" sent is great, just gave me alot more ideas to use;)

    Thnx Lydia

  • sudiepav
    16 years ago

    I copied this idea from my brother. I nailed them to the steps from my deck. I have 3 different sets of stairs of varying heights, and I nailed one in the middle of each tread. They look pretty cute. I'd love to learn how to make a purse or birdhouse using them, but it takes more skill than I have. I've measured the roofs on ready to paint birdhouses, but they don't seem to be the right size to nail a license plate on the roof without cutting the plate.

  • des_arc_ya_ya
    16 years ago

    LOL Lydia, that map and the other "art" behind Aaron Foster (I think that's his name) are some of my favorite things about the show! I always pay attention to what's on the wall behind him and the map is my favorite.

  • rosemarythyme
    16 years ago

    What about using them as garden edgers?

  • lilpeaches
    16 years ago

    I have seen the two corners turned forward then a small ridge turned forward between the turned corners, add a handle and WAH LAH! Dust pan! They are real cute!

  • Adella Bedella
    16 years ago

    I was in Las Vegas last month. Outside the House of Blues in Mandelay Bay, they had some really cool bench like chairs covered in flattened tin cans and I believe others were covered in license plates. The chairs themself sort of remind me of the headboard benches several people on these forums have made. The flat parts of the seats and backs of the chairs were covered. They aso had keys and locks dangling down from the backs. Some had bottle caps nailed in.

  • luvstocraft
    16 years ago

    A friend of mine cuts out the individual letters from license plates and nails them onto birdhouses to spell out words. Latest one she did had "Birdy" spelled out on the front of the birdhouse. She usually uses a whole license plate as the roof too. Another one she made was for a wedding gift, and she spelled out the wife's name down one side and the husband's name down the other side, then put the year in the middle. Wish I had a pic to show you--will have to see if she will email me one. Luvs

  • payd6
    16 years ago

    how about a metal pocket hanger for the fence, gate or wall? rivet or wire together to hold greenery, plants, hens and chicks, ivey, etc!

  • theboysmom
    16 years ago

    On television last week someone punched holes in each of the four corners of a number of license plates and then hooked them together into a large grid with links of chain to make a window covering.

  • luvstocraft
    16 years ago

    Today on Creative Juice on DIY network, they used two license plates and hooked them together with those round metal key holder things. They had made a scrapbook for a man out of them. Had pages between the two plates. You could probably check it out on DIY. Luvs

  • karenforroses
    16 years ago

    I love bird houses with license plate roofs. You use a wooden floor and walls and bend a license plate in half (an inverted "V") for the roof. Really rustic and cute. You can follow through on the car theme by attaching wooden wheels on the base of the birdhouse and/or attaching a small metal or wooden toy car to the front of the house, or just keep it plain.

  • thrift_shop_romantic
    16 years ago

    I've seen people use them as covers for three-ring binders/journals, too. There's a place here in Pittsburgh, called Little Earth Productions, that uses them for a lot of recycled products. You might get some ideas from them. I believe they're online.

  • barefootin
    16 years ago

    here is a link to an ebay item using the license plate as a dust pan. This is not a true license plate, but it gives you an ised of how simple it is. I have made a few and they work great!

    Sherrie

    Here is a link that might be useful: pic of license plate dust pan

  • garden73
    16 years ago

    I have a collection of maybe 30 old plates between 1913 and 1927 from the states that the Lincoln Highway ran through. New York to California. After lots of considering, I finally hung them up like a wallpaper border around my living room. they were really cute up there and blended nicely with the other antiques in the room. It didn't look junky at all. Fun and funk, i like that. It was a conversation piece often times. Old road people LOVED it and came to my house to see them used like this. I'd post a picture, but we had to paint the room and i took them all down. Eventually after a remodel, they might go back up again somewhere. They are too cool to leave in a pile unappreciated!

  • diarich
    16 years ago

    We put a porch roof off our home on the patio.
    I wanted to do something rustic with the underneth.
    This has given me an idea to use the plates under there
    as ceiling tiles. With my hubbie being a caraholic, that would be cute for him. We have a bunch of plates from some years ago when the kids wanted to collect plates from states we vacationed through. I can go to the junk yard for more :-)

  • lindasewandsew
    16 years ago

    I finally jumped on and posted several bird houses with license plates over on the garden junk forum. They may give you some ideas. They were posted over the last 3 or 4 days, so they're still on page 1. I also located a great license plate source. He lives in Ohio, and gave me a good deal on the kind of plates I needed. I don't find many color plates here for the price I'm willing to pay. Linda

  • luvstocraft
    16 years ago

    Do go over to GJ and see Linda's birdhouses--you will be glad you did. She reuses lots of things and turns her birdhouses into a unique piece of art. Be sure to check out her redo of a music bench and a dresser too. ;o) Luvs

  • otterkill
    9 years ago

    Here's an idea for this old thread. This was done using a bicycle license plate.

  • concretenprimroses
    9 years ago

    Nice one Otter!
    Kathy

  • PRO
    Juboka Ltd
    5 years ago

    Specifically trailer plates 30's -60's for vintage trailer enthusiasts are worth 60.00 each!

  • che11e
    5 years ago

    I love this blog....

    http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

    She does cool stuff with license plates, among other things!


  • pippabean_5b
    3 years ago

    Love this one. My backsplash area would require hundreds of licenseplates though...


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