4 creative ideas for displaying and saving your child's art projects
Category General Information
Children between the ages of 3 - 12 are just starting to discover the world in their way, letting their creative juices take hold in several expressive avenues. From drawing, painting, and stencilling spiral graphs, parents of this age group know all too well that those little collections of art tend to pile up in just a few days!
While most of these pieces likely feature more of a Picasso flair than a Rembrandt, the question becomes; what do you keep, and what do you toss? Most of us have an innate desire to hold onto everything. But we believe there are easier ways to keep track of their work while creating timeless memories in a fun and organised manner.
"Tidying up" - deciding what to keep.
If you're a stay-at-home mom or dad, then you're likely to find scrap pieces of paper littered around the home. The first thing you need to do is chat with your kids when you fetch them from school. Tell them that you're taking up the task of "tidying up" their work to help keep things organised. Ask them to choose their favourite pieces that are special to them and what they'd be happy to part with.
Get them into the mindset that not all art has equal value and offer to help them decide while making it clear that it's their decision. You can even spare some of the work you don't necessarily want to throw away by contacting your local children's shelter and offering to donate some well-seasoned "decor."
Digitise - Photobooks, Live Online
Digital photobooks have become the new form of scrapbooking. The only difference is the convenience! Start by organising a clean flat surface in your home and make sure you have a fair amount of natural lighting. Grab some of your favourite pieces and explain to your kids that doing this will allow them to keep their art forever.
Digitising your selected art may take some time, but it's easier than sticking them in your old A4 writing books! Choose an application like Shutterfly, Chatbooks or Artifact Uprising to create a timeless, online photobook you can download and store in digital picture frames around the home.
What to Print and where to keep it
Digital photo books are a fun and modern answer to the art overload you may be experiencing at home. And while it's great for cataloguing, some of your personal favourites should always take pride in place and remain in a physical state. With a digital photobook, your possibilities are truly endless!
Local South African companies like Sharpline, The Poster Works, and Triocorp are experts at printing and assembling quality works from labels and stickers to wall posters and block-mounted canvases. Our favourite option is to have them freely printed on glossy paper, then find a few matching yet simple frames in different sizes and mount them around the home.
Magnets and Stringwire combinations
Let's get a little more creative with our online archive of our kid's home creations and kick things up to a fun scale! Collect some of your smaller pieces or even crop out a few from a larger drawing and create some photo magnets. There are a few companies that offer this service, such as Qphoto and Minuteman Press Centurion, for reasonable prices.
A fresh and clean way to display your child's art in and around the home can be achieved with nothing more than some string wire and a hanging kit! They're pretty much available everywhere and can be ordered from @Home. Should you run out of space, then this presents a cool opportunity for your child to curate their own work by prioritising and removing pieces at their leisure. Once they're done with a particular piece, digitise it before it's time to say your final farewells!
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Author: Bryce Anderson