Did you ever play the license plate game on long road trips? I’m not that old, but we certainly didn’t have the luxuries my children now enjoy in the car like handheld video games, TV, tablets and more.
I guess my husband and I are still playing the license plate game… We collect license plates from every decade and every state. Over the years we have acquired quite a collection in our inventory of vintage goods. They are such a cool piece of history. Each state chooses to uniquely represent itself and document it’s history in color, design and era… let alone the story of the vehicle the plate once registered.
Old license plates often share dated trends of the time period they were used in and of course, it’s fun to find really old versions or unique themes. Fellow Hoosiers, do you remember the old western license plate or the “Wander Indiana” themed plates? Did you ever think of saving them?
As one of the first items we ever truly repurposed, we discovered that license plates can easily be cut and shaped into a variety of objects, so that’s just what we did. It is our favorite (and most unique) Robb Restyle shop creation to date.
Once we drew the templates out, these works of art moved quickly. It usually takes longer to select plates with colors or designs that compliment each other. On average it takes 2 plates for heart, 3 plates for a flower, and 4 plates for an arrow.
We use reclaimed wood as the base for our shapes and attach the license plate pieces with a nail gun. Cutting the pieces can be tedious but we recently discovered this handy tool that attaches to your cordless drill. It’s absolutely amazing and life changing! Although it may be too late for my husband’s tennis elbow symptoms… No pain, no gain? Right?
Being proud Hoosiers from the State of Indiana, most of our license plates hail from our neighbors in the midwest. As our family travels for work or vacation, we are always on the lookout for plates from even farther destinations! We discovered some unique plates during our South Dakota vacation this summer.
No matter the state, we enjoy combining unique colors and themes. Got a favorite state or a specific color in mind? We also take custom orders for flowers, hearts and arrows in our Etsy shop.
I am in love with these! Beautiful workmanship. 🙂