What can you do with license plates? Here are a few ideas.
Collect them. Collecting license plates is a fun hobby for pre-teens to senior citizens that can be done anywhere. The cost can be relatively inexpensive and you don't need a garage or shop to store them in (until your collection outgrows the house).
People form all kinds of collections. Some of the most popular are 50-state sets (one plate from each of the 50 US states), and birth-year runs (a plate in your birth year from each of the 50 states). Some people form centennial and bicentennial collections. Others specialize in collecting certain plate types (passenger, truck, motorcycle -- or specialty plates like amateur radio, judicial, etc.).
Other people collect Vanity (personalized) plates embossed with their name, initials, or vehicle name. Vanities can contain hidden messages, and on some the message is mirrored (reversed), so you have to look carefully.
Make license plate crafts. Your mind is the limit. We've seen bird houses, purses, dust pans, CD holders, maps, sign letters, and dozens of other neat license plate crafts. Some crafts are simple and easily made with basic hand tools, others require skill, time, and tooling.
Learn from them. Some pre-school and grade school teachers use license plates to stimulate student's interest in geography and as "flash cards" to help children learn state names. Many plates contain contain the official state slogan, too.
Decorate with them. License plates make colorful room borders in children's bedrooms and school classrooms.
Collect them. A simple collection of common license plates is easy to start and are inexpensive enough for young children to collect on their own. They don't require much room or any special storage. They are good indoor "rainy day" projects.
Use them to build or support window and in-store displays. Depending on your product, other props and materials used in the display, and the message you want to convey, license plates can emphasize automotive, travel, or vintage and nostalgic themes.
Depending on the purpose, you can mix them with other items, sprinkle a few on a wall, use them as a border to line the ceiling, or cover an entire wall with them. Depending on the setting, you can use shiny "new" plates or rusty, bent plates that show plenty of signs of use. We have customers that prefer both, which is why we have plates ranging from really rusty to shiny new ones on the website.
Decorate waiting areas with them. Even if they don't collect them, people are fascinated with groups of license plates. They go well as decorations in restaurants, bars, truck stops, and auto dealerships.
They can also be used effectively in waiting areas to provide customers a way to pass time. Vanity (personalized) plates can be used to build a "guessing game" to occupy customers while they wait. Mix a few hose meanings are obvious with many that only the original owner knows what they meant or which contain highly abbreviated or hidden messages.
Register your antique vehicle. Many, but not all, states allow antique vehicle owners to either register their vehicle using license plates issued by that state in the same year that the vehicle was made, or to display them on the vehicle provided it is registered through normal channels.
A Year of Manufacture plate completes an antique, vintage, or classic vehicle restoration. Check our Year of Manufacture section for details.
Teenagers and Adults, or the entire family ...
Decorate with them. License plates make colorful decorations for children's bedrooms, home garages, game rooms, and dens.
Some people display a few plates with their birth date, their wife's, and their kids or grandkids birth dates.
