A tool tote with plate sides and a dowel handle2 plates, whole. Two wooden ends and a wooden floor. Screw a plate along each long side; fit a dowel between the ends.
The whole alphabet collected letter by letter and framed in one long rowUp to 26 plates, cut. Keep a list of the letters still missing. Lay out A to Z before fixing any of them.
A two-plate folder: whole plates as covers, laced together through the bolt holes2 plates, whole. Thread leather cord through the holes along one long edge. Slip maps or papers between.
A child's name above a row of coat hooksA plate per letter, cut. Mix the colors freely. Screw the letters to a plank and fix one hook under each.
A date to remember, such as a wedding day, in plate digitsUp to 8 plates, cut. Lay the date out in digits, with a bolt head between each part.
A family name on a board, every letter snipped from a different old plateA plate per letter, cut. Trim every letter to the same height. Mount them on a dark board with even gaps.
A house number built from the digits of old platesUp to 4 plates, cut. Choose digits of one color so the number reads at a glance. Mount on a painted board.
A one-word sign for a cabin or camper door, such as WANDER or RESTA plate per letter, cut. Pick plates from places you have driven through. Screw the letters to a board.
A pet's name for the wall above the food bowlA plate per letter, cut. Short names suit this. Add one plate digit after the name for the year the pet arrived.
A rebus that mixes digits and letters, such as GR8 or 4EVERUp to 5 plates, cut. Choose the digit first and match the letters to its color.
GARAGE in mismatched letters for over the workbench6 plates, cut. One letter from each plate. Let the heights wobble a little and nail them to a rough plank.
KEYS spelled over four cup hooks4 plates, cut. Mount the letters on a narrow board and screw one cup hook below each letter.
The map coordinates of a favorite place in plate digitsSeveral plates, cut. Write the latitude and longitude on paper first. Use bolt heads for the decimal points.
Two tall initials, each kept as a full-height strip of its plate2 plates, cut. One straight cut either side of each letter, nothing more. Frame the two strips side by side.
The whole alphabet collected letter by letter and framed in one long rowUp to 26 plates, cut. Keep a list of the letters still missing. Lay out A to Z before fixing any of them.
Maps and shapes 12
A Christmas tree of stacked strips, the longest at the bottom3 plates, cut. Cut strips of one width, each shorter than the last. Center them on an upright stick.
A fish with scales of overlapping half-circles cut from several plates4 plates, cut. Cut the body from one. Overlap half-circle scales from the others, tail to head, like shingles.
A five-point star with the serial running straight across it1 plate, cut. Draw the star on paper, tape it over the characters, and cut round it. Hang it from one point.
A flag of your own design from strips of two plate colors3 plates, cut. Cut equal strips of two colors and alternate them on a board. Add a square of a third in one corner.
A flower with eight petals cut from two plates around a bottle cap center2 plates, cut. Cut four petals from each plate, one from every corner. Fan them round the bottle cap.
A guitar: the body from two plates, the neck a strip of a third3 plates, cut. Butt two plates together for the body. Add a long strip for the neck and wire for the strings.
A heart cut from a plate of the place where two people met1 plate, cut. Center the heart on the part of the plate that names the place. Mount it on dark wood.
A map of the whole country with each state cut from a plate issued thereA plate per state, cut. Work from a paper map cut into patterns. This one is collected over years.
A mountain skyline cut along the top edge of one plate, the serial left whole below1 plate, cut. Draw peaks along the top margin only. One long cut makes the ridge; the rest stays a plate.
A songbird silhouette with a wing cut from a second color2 plates, cut. Cut the bird from one plate and the wing from another. Rivet the wing on at a single point.
An arrow sign pointing home, with the miles written in1 plate, cut. Cut one end to a point. Paint on the distance and fix it to a post facing the right way.
The outline of your state cut in one piece from one of its own plates1 plate, cut. Tape a paper pattern on. Keep the serial running through the middle of the shape.
Birdhouses and boxes 12
A bird feeder: a wooden tray under a bent-plate roof1 plate, bent. Bend the roof down the middle. Hang a shallow wooden tray beneath it on four cords.
A birdhouse with one plate bent down the middle as its roof1 plate, bent. Bend the plate over a table edge along its center line. Screw it to the two roof slopes.
A desk caddy: a plate bent into a U between two wooden ends1 plate, bent. Two bends make the floor and the sides. Screw each side to a wooden end block.
A dustpan from one plate with the back edge and both ends turned up1 plate, bent. Snip two corners, fold up three sides, and bolt a wooden handle to the back wall.
A lidded keepsake box with a plate as the lid1 plate, whole. Build or find a wooden box the size of a plate. Hinge the plate on with two small hinges.
A mail holder: a plate bent into a shallow J that letters stand in1 plate, bent. One bend along the bottom third makes the lip. Screw the tall part to a board by the door.
A napkin holder: one plate bent into a narrow U1 plate, bent. Two close bends leave a floor a few fingers wide. The serial shows on both faces.
A notebook with plate covers bound by two rings1 plate, cut. Cut the plate in half across. Punch two holes in each half and in the paper; join with binder rings.
A pencil cup: a plate rolled into a tube around a wooden disc1 plate, bent. Roll the plate round a jar to curve it. Rivet the overlap and tack the bottom edge to the disc.
A picture frame faced with four strips mitered at the corners2 plates, cut. Cut four strips with angled ends. Tack them to the face of a plain wooden frame.
A planter box faced with four plates4 plates, whole. Screw one plate to each face of a square wooden box. A potted plant drops inside.
A tool tote with plate sides and a dowel handle2 plates, whole. Two wooden ends and a wooden floor. Screw a plate along each long side; fit a dowel between the ends.
Whole plates, nothing cut 12
A checkerboard wall in two plate colorsMany plates, whole. Alternate the two colors along a row and start the next row with the other one.
A clipboard: a whole plate with a large bulldog clip on one end1 plate, whole. Clamp the clip over one short end and a notepad together. Hang it by the loop of the clip.
A coat rack: three whole plates in a row on a board with hooks between them3 plates, whole. Screw each plate to the board through its bolt holes. Fit a hook in every gap.
A landscape painted across a plate with the raised characters left showing1 plate, whole. Paint hills and sky straight over the plate. Wipe the tops of the characters clean while wet.
A road-trip collage: one plate surrounded by maps and ticket stubs from the journey1 plate, whole. Mount the plate in the middle of a board. Glue the paper pieces round it, lapping over its edge.
A row of whole plates in date order: every car a family has ownedSeveral plates, whole. Hang each from two nails through its bolt holes. The oldest goes on the left.
A two-plate folder: whole plates as covers, laced together through the bolt holes2 plates, whole. Thread leather cord through the holes along one long edge. Slip maps or papers between.
A wall clock with the movement through one hole in the center of a plate1 plate, whole. An adult drills the one center hole. Stick-on numerals go at twelve, three, six and nine.
A wall of plates arranged by color from light to darkMany plates, whole. Lay them on the floor first and shuffle until the shades run smoothly. Then hang in rows.
A wind chime with a plate as the top bar and old keys hung from it1 plate, whole. Hang it by its upper bolt holes. Tie cords through the lower ones and knot keys along each.
One plate in a shadow box with a photo of the car it came from1 plate, whole. Rest the plate on the bottom ledge of the box. Pin the photo and a spare key beside it.
Stair risers faced with plates, one to a stepA plate per step, whole. Center each on its riser and screw it on through the bolt holes.
A plate of your own on paper 12
A birthday card shaped like a plate, with the age as the numberPaper only. Fold card so the fold is the top edge. The name goes where the letters go, the age where the digits go.
A crayon rubbing of a real plate with raised charactersPaper and 1 plate, whole. Lay paper over the plate and rub with the side of a crayon. An adult holds the plate.
A full-size plate at 6 by 12 inches, with its bolt holes drawn inPaper only. Rule a rectangle 6 inches tall and 12 wide. Add the holes, then design everything inside.
A plate for a made-up country: its name, its colors, an emblem and a mottoPaper only. Choose two colors first. Draw the emblem between the letters and the digits.
A plate for a storybook vehicle: a pirate ship, a dragon or a moon buggyPaper only. Decide what such a plate would be made of: planks, scales, foil. Then pick a serial to suit.
A plate for each person in the family, with a favorite thing as the emblemPaper only. The same layout for all, a different color for each. Line them up along a shelf.
A plate for the year 3000, made for a flying carPaper only. Think about who reads it and from where. If that is from below, draw it for the underside.
A plate for your bedroom door with a state named after youPaper only. The made-up state goes along the top, a serial in the middle, a motto of your own along the bottom.
A plate for your bike with your initials and your agePaper only. Draw it on cardboard twice as wide as it is tall. Punch two holes and tie it under the seat.
A plate for your pet's bed or kennelPaper only. The name of the pet is the serial. Add a paw print where the emblem goes.
A puzzle plate that says something in seven characters or fewerPaper only. Swap words for digits and letters that sound the same: L8 for late, 2 for to, R for are.
A sheet of tiny plates for toy cars, drawn on sticky labelsPaper only. Rule a label sheet into small rectangles. Give each car its own serial, then cut and stick.
How it works
An old license plate is a sheet of lettered metal with bolt holes already in it. These 60 ideas cut it into words and maps, bend it into roofs and boxes, or hang it whole. Twelve are plates to design on paper.
Read the full guide
Whole, bent or cut
Most of the whole-plate projects need a screwdriver at most: a coat rack, a clipboard, a shadow box with a photo of the car. Bent projects, such as the birdhouse roof, fold a plate over a table edge. Letters, maps and shapes are cut out of the metal.
A plate of your own on paper
The paper group is the children's: a plate for a bike, for a bedroom door, for a made-up country or for a flying car of the year 3000. Drawn twice as wide as it is tall, it has the proportions of a real one.
Cutting, bending and drilling a metal plate are an adult's jobs, and cut edges are sharp.
Use a plate that is yours to keep. Your state's motor vehicle agency says what to do with an expired one.
A crayon rubbing needs raised characters, and a growing number of states print their plates flat.
Questions and answers
What can you make out of old license plates?
Signs spelled in cut letters, a country map with each state cut from its own plate, a birdhouse roof, a desk caddy, a dustpan, a clipboard.
What size is a license plate?
US passenger vehicle plates have been 6 by 12 inches since an agreement of 1956, with small differences between jurisdictions. Motorcycle plates are smaller, mostly 4 by 7 inches.
What can kids make with license plates?
Nothing that needs a cut. Children can take a crayon rubbing of a plate with raised characters, or design their own on paper: a puzzle plate in seven characters, a birthday card, a sheet of tiny ones for toy cars.
What can you do with a license plate without cutting it?
Hang a row in date order, face a planter box with four, hinge one onto a wooden box as its lid, or paint a landscape across one and leave the raised characters showing.