Keeping Children's Old Artwork
How to Organize and Display Pictures and Paintings Without Clutter
Jun 3, 2009
Kids love to draw, paint, color, and create. But a single fridge can only display so many works of art. When children's artwork starts to become a clutter issue, it's time for some creative solutions on how to use and repurpose their masterpieces.
Create a Keepsake Binder
For each child, buy an inexpensive three-ring binder and plenty of empty sheet protectors. Let the child decorate a cover sheet with his or her name on it, then gradually fill the binder up with original works of art. To make this binder a special keepsake that will be fun to look back on decades from now, add a note to each page with the age of the child, a description of the picture, or anything else that is funny or memorable about where or when the drawing was made.
Personalized Stationery
Any copy store will be able to shrink a drawing or painting to whatever size is desired. It can be printed on 75 sheets of notepad-sized paper (popular notepad sizes are 3" x 4", 4" x 6", and 4.5" x 7") which are then bound together with a "perfect" or "glue" binding. The results are professional and very inexpensive to produce.
Customize Objects with Kids' Art
Many online photo sharing services like Snapfish offer customers the opportunity to make their digital pictures into any number of photo gifts. Take advantage of this for yourself by snapping a digital picture of a child's drawing or painting, then using the photo to create useful items like:
- Keychains
- Magnets
- Paper weights
- Christmas ornaments
- Coffee mugs
- Aprons
- Computer mouse
- Blankets
- Golf balls
- Postage stamps
Transforming everyday household objects with toddler's artwork not only eliminates the necessity of keeping every drawing and scribble, but it also brightens up ordinary items with a child's unique artistic vision.
Decorate the Playroom
About 2 feet below ceiling height, line the walls of the children's playroom with their own framed works of art. This gives a unique look of authenticity to the playroom and lets children feel proud of their creations. Swap the pictures out for new ones every so often to give the playroom a fresh makeover and let children showcase their latest work.
Create Monthly Homemade Placemats
A picture of any shape or size, as long as it's flat, can be laminated to make a placemat. Choosing a "drawing of the month" to use as their personal placemat at mealtime makes children feel very special. Don't be surprised if kids love the idea so much that they're planning out placemat designs for several months in advance!
Creativity is key in handling the reams of artwork that the average child can turn out in a single month or year. Organizing pictures in binders, printing them on stationary, creating digital artwork gifts, or using paintings as playroom decor and placemats are just a few examples of innovative thinking at work in a home with children.
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