| |

Organising and Displaying Kids’ Artwork

What do you do with your kids’ artwork when it comes home from school, playgroup or that you’ve made at home? Is it piling up on your dining room table? Do you stick it to your fridge?

I don’t remember what happened to my arts and crafts when I was a kid. I don’t think it was ever displayed in the house (except for the odd special piece). I guess Mum was quick to archive it (i.e. throw it in the bin).

Tips for Organising and Displaying Kids Artwork

But I love the idea of showing off the kids artwork (within limits). They took time and care to make it, so it’s nice to put it on display. It also gives them something to talk about with visitors.

Here are some tips and ideas for displaying kids’ artwork:

Define the Boundaries

When your kids are in kindy and primary school, there’s an endless stream of craft projects coming home. If you’re not careful, every wall and flat surface will be covered with them. Define a space for art and craft display – maybe a wall in the living area or their bedroom. If you’ve got lots of space, you could do this found on Roomzaar:

Huge Kids Art Display

As a new piece of art comes into the house, discuss with your child where it’s going to go. If you don’t have space, talk about what should come down to make space. Ask your child if they’d prefer to have this new piece or an old piece still displayed. (Or you could, umm, just decide for them after they’ve gone to bed…).

Gallery Options

If you mainly have drawings and paintings, a set of photo frames like these used by The Blue House Chronicles look great:

Framed Kids Art Display

Or this gorgeous one from Velvet & Linen:

6a00e554d7b827883301348870f559970c-500wi

When you start to get pieces of odd shapes and 3-dimensional, a hanging rail may be a better option. I started with a crocheted chain between two hooks, using pegs to hold the artwork in place (but one of the hooks fell down, so I decided to do something different!). For something a bit more stylish, check out this curtain wire rod from Apartment Therapy:

Curtain rail art display

Pin boards are a great way to define boundaries, but have some flexibility with displaying art of different sizes and shapes. Cork board or felt notice boards are easy to find in office supply stores, and you can decorate them to suit your home. Here’s mine, with one for each child (more details of how I made them coming soon!):

Painted Corkboard Art Display

Of course, you can stick to the traditional fridge and magnet method. Here’s a before and after from Positively Splendid, using magnetic photo frames to make it that little bit prettier:

 refrigerator art frame tutorial 3 refrigerator art frame tutorial 10

And lastly, if you’re confident it won’t pull off your paint or damage your walls, Blu-tak is a great way to stick the art wherever you like!

Keep the Best

Keep a portfolio of the best pieces, but once again, with limits. A display folder that the kids can look through whenever they like or an archive box are great options. But when the box or folder is full, it’s time to consider which pieces of art are worth keeping. Consider what space you have and how much art you want kept. One folder per year might suit you, or maybe one that covers a few years.

Photograph the Favourites

When it’s time to say goodbye, if your children are particularly attached to their art, consider photographing or scanning it. When you have lots of images, make it into a photobook, like this one made on Blurb (affiliate link).

3496542-633f7a908fac9bd42cd70cd378d7090b-fp-1336583994

You can also use the photos make a collage. Then you can display lots of art in a smaller space.

If you’re feeling crafty, you could even print the photos on fabric and make a quilt, like this one from Bluebird Gardens:

custom artwork quilt block

Finally, if your kids have lots of large paintings and pictures, they make great wrapping paper. Don’t just throw it out, reuse it!

How do you organise and display your kids’ artwork?