DIY Garden License Plate Dragonfly

by **Nanneerose** Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:09 pm

MATERIALS:

Paint
1 chair leg or spindle
4 license plates
Old keys, 1 key ring, heavy-gauge wire (or other decorations)
Seven 1-in. multipurpose screws (or more as needed)
Picture hanger
Marker
Safety gloves
Metal file
All-purpose aviation snips or cutting torch (see note)
Drill

Crafter’s note: Aviation snips are sold at home improvement stores. Older license plates may require a stronger tool, such as a cutting torch. Be sure to wear safety gear.
BACKYARD TIP If you don’t have a chair leg or spindle for the dragonfly’s body, try the handle of a hammer or a tall candlestick.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1

Paint the chair leg in a color that coordinates with your license plates.

STEP 2

Create a pattern for the wings. This dragonfly has 9½- x 4-in. wings. Trace the pattern onto the underside of each license plate. Trace two for the left side, flip the pattern and trace two for the right side.

STEP 3

Wearing heavy gloves to protect your hands, use snips to cut out wing pieces along pattern lines. File down rough edges.

STEP 4

Lay out the pieces, right sides up, as you’ll want them to look when attached to the chair leg (body). On the wrong sides, mark the top-right (TR), bottom-right (BR), top-left (TL) and bottom-left (BL) pieces.

STEP 5

With wrong sides up, position the top-right piece (TR) beside the top-left piece (TL) on the body, overlapping slightly to form the upper set of wings. Drill 2 holes through both plates into the body. Repeat for the bottom set of wings.

STEP 6

Attach the wings to the body, using 4 screws.

STEP 7

Use remaining screws to attach keys or other decorations to your dragonfly. Ours has keys for the head and eyes, and antennae of heavy-gauge wire drilled into the top. Attach a key ring with key to the bottom to decorate the tail.

STEP 8

Attach a picture hanger to the underside and hang the dragonfly in a prominent spot.
DIY Garden License Plate Dragonfly DIY_Garden_License_Plate_Dragonfly_2-278x420

DIY Garden License Plate Dragonfly DIY_Garden_License_Plate_Dragonfly_2-278x420

Read more: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/backyard-projects/diy-garden-projects/diy-garden-license-plate-dragonfly/#ixzz415Bl21hy

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