I'm Up To My Ears In My Kid's Artwork!!

Our kids produce some great art, and we would love to keep it all, but there comes a point when enough is just enough. Here are some ideas for organizing and displaying all those works by our little Picassos.

ORGANIZE IT!

1. Pick 5 things every year to save. Use this as an activity to do with your child. Let him/her decide which are his/her favorites.  Store these in a portable file box. Label the front of the box with your child's name and have a file for every year of artwork. Another option is to purchase the Alex Toys My Art Expandable File. You can find this on Amazon.com and retails for $17.99

 2. Take photos of all the art that doesn't make it into your "5 a year." Use these photos to make an album and you can chronicle your child's art throughout his/her life without taking up so much space. Also use some of these photos and download to Shutterfly or your favorite photo site and make mugs to give as gifts to grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, etc.

 3. Also, give some of the artwork itself as gifts to family. What Grandma doesn't love getting a personalized painting from her grand kids?

4. Larger projects (again, limit to 2-3/year) may be stored in a clear plastic bin with a top. Also labeled with child's name.


DISPLAY IT!

Undoubtedly you will want to display some of this art. And why not?! It makes for a great addition to any home. Here are just a few of my favorite ways to showcase your kids art in a clean and organized manner.

1. I love this idea from IKEA.com. In fact, I'm about to incorporate it in my kids room this week. This is the Fiskevik and starts at $5.99. What a great option to allow you to quickly display and change the art.

2. Another great idea is to frame the artwork with the Dynamic Artwork Frames(TM). This allows you to display the art and easily open the frame like a book to change out the picture anytime you want (you never even have to take it off the wall!). Found at Improvementscatalog.com and starts at $24.99.

3. You can also create a great looking bulletin board by using carpet tiles. This will allow you to play with color schemes and change them at any time. It makes for a very clean looking place to display the artwork. Check out Martha Stewart's site and she gives you the step-by-step instructions on how to do this (it's super easy!). http://www.marthastewart.com/article/carpet-bulletin-board

Lastly, if all of this sounds wonderful, but you just don't have the time, give us a call. With the end of the school year coming up. Space Savvy Design is offering a Children's Artwork Organization and Display Special. Check out our website for details and contact us at heatherryder@spacesavvydesign.com

Create Beauty Thru Order,
Heather