Thrifty Thursday Wood Plate Upcycle

It has not been my plan to make all of my Thrifty Thursday projects from something round, but, well, er...next week I will think square! This week's project starts with round, wood plates. These look like they were used for actual plates, but I I often see wood chargers at thrift stores.

I though of a lot of different projects to upcycle these wood plates, but decided on a colorful, fun coat hook.

I lightly sanded the plates and then joined them together on the back with a thin piece of lauan. Because the plates are pretty thin and I could only use 1/2" screws, I did apply some wood glue to the luaun piece. 

I then painted the plates, using white first (unnecessary) and then four colors that blend well together--bright yellow, green, aqua, and teal. I use the same paint brush and layer the colors on, not waiting for them to dry. I tried to have one color be a little more prominent on the top of each different plate. Tip--use colors that blend well together. Start painting with your lightest color. Do not completely cover teach paint layer--just blend and swirl it together. I painted in a circular motion.

When the paint is ALMOST dry, I use a piece of scrap wood and scrape some of the color off and expose some of the wood. If I scrape too much, I use my fingers to add a little more paint. I scraped and finger painted until I was happy and then let the paint dry.

I then added hooks to the plates. Again, because the wood is not overly thick and I used 1/2" metal or machine screws, I applied a bit of two-part epoxy on the back of the hooks. They feel very secure.

Some D-rings on the back allow the colorful coat hook to hang evenly. I did use a clear spray over the paint to seal it. I think it is a fun and different coat hook. It would look cute in a bathroom for towels or on a fence for pool or hot tub towels.  

A few other ideas I had for the joined wood plates were to hang them vertically and add a binder clip to each one to hold a picture, paint EAT on them and use smaller hooks to hang pot holders and aprons, paint 1,2,3 on the plates, add a small, round mirror to the middle of each plate. 

PLEASE PIN ME!