Open and Closed License Plate Signs

I was in need of an open/closed sign and didn't want (or have the money) to go to the store and buy. I decided it would be fun to make my own out of license plates, barn wood, and an old wire hanger we had laying around.

Here are some of the things you need. You don't have to make an open and closed sign.

Materials in the sign

• Enough license plates to spell out what you want
• Carpet Tacks
• Barn wood (you need enough to spell out what you are going to spell out). In this case, we used about 14 1/2 inches.
• A wire hanger
• A nail

Tools needed to make this project

• Carpet tacks
• A nail
• A hammer
• A power grinder
• A chop saw
• Tin snips
• Pliers

If you don't have a chop saw, that's ok. You can use tin snips to substitute for the chop saw, but it won't be as easy.

Once you have all the material, you need to decide what you want to make. Once you have all of that figured out, get your license plates. Get out your tin snips/chop saw and cut the license plates into the individual letters. Keep in mind that if you have older license plates with raised letters, it's best to use the chop saw. If you have newer license plates that don't have raised letters, it's best to use the tin snips. Arrange the letters into the word(s) you want.

Once you have steps one and two complete, get all the letters that you want. Take them and grind all the letters until the sides are not sharp. If you don't have a grinder, you can also you a file, but a grinder works best. Once you are done grinding all of the letters, order them and make sure they fit on your piece of wood.

Use the nail and hammer to make a hole in the middle of the bottom and top of the license plate. Once you have done this to all the letters, use the pliers to hold the carpet tacks in place while you nail them to the wood. If you feel the need to add more carpet tacks, then use them as needed.

Use the hammer to nail the nail into the wood. Get out your wire hanger, then cut off the hook and then in half. Once done, use the pliers to bend one end of the hanger into a small circle, then wrap the other end around the nail. You should now be able to hang your sign up.