Ugh, hubcaps! Not even your car likes them. Much like those smokin’ hot but uncomfortable stiletto shoes that have no function other than to look good, cars can’t wait to kick them off their feet after being in them for a while. They end up discarded on the side of the road like heels piling up against a wall towards the end of a party.

When Reeves at The Weathered Door kept seeing them along her commute she took up a new sport: hubcapping! To play, keep your eyes peeled while driving and when you see a hubcap, pull over, jump out of the car and grab it. Transforming these abandoned hubcaps into desirable garden art is a great recycling project and displaying them out front is a clever way to say “hey, a car guy/gal lives here so you know we’re awesome.”

Having battled the outdoor elements, your hubcaps will probably be covered in dirt and grime so give them a good wash. Sand down the entire surface to smooth down any scratches and to create mechanical adhesion for your paint. Reeves chose really bright colors so they’d stand out against her bushes and mixing up different hubcap shapes will give you some stunning results. You can even add embellishments like gems, beads and other craft store decorations to bring the more plain hubcaps to life.

The stems were just some broken shovel handles she already had and the leaves were made out of wood or foam to make the hubcap flowers look more realistic. Reeves attached the leaves to paint stirring sticks that were then screwed to the stem for extra support.

I could only imagine using some of the more ornate vintage hubcaps for this project, back when they were still made of metal. Time to start my own hubcapping league!

For more details on starting your own hubcap garden: Reeves | Hubcapping | The Weathered Door