Easy ways to display and re-use children's artwork

Finding a balance between keeping or tossing children's artwork can be a dilemma, there's a lot to choose from but normally only the special ones are the keepers. 

Way back when my children were pre-schoolers I was looking for a solution to storing the keepers, I wanted a more appealing and easy option than was available at the time so I embarked on creating my own range of children's art portfolios. 

I have stored many a self-portrait, mothers day card and painting over the years but before it was stored into an art portfolio, I also liked to put the children's artwork on display for a while first.

Here are some cheap and easy ideas that I came across to use and store children's artwork...

HANG IT

Using a piece of twine or string hung across a wall, door or corner space is a super quick way to make a hanging area for lightweight pictures.

Stick the twine to the wall with double sided tape, blue tack or glue dots - just check beforehand if they are suited to the surface and won't leave a nasty mark when removed. Most kids artwork is fairly lightweight so you won't need much adhesive to make it stick.

Use some pegs to hang the artwork onto the string and your done!

I always liked the look of the natural twine and mini wooden pegs combo.

WRAP IT

If you love an opportunity to re-cycle, children's artwork is perfect for wrapping gifts all year round. It saves buying commercial wrapping paper and adds an extra personal touch to the gift.

Re using artwork is also a great idea when playing pass the parcel at kids parties.

Tape a few pieces together for larger gifts, add a ribbon or bow and your done!

BOOKMARK IT

This option does require a bit more work but is worth it the extra effort.

Firstly photocopy your piece of artwork preferably using a colour printer - but shrink it down, depending on the original artwork size try reducing it down by about 50% then trim it down to your bookmark size.

Run your mini sized artwork through the laminator and cut out your bookmark shape, punch a hole in the top and tread a ribbon through.

Try making a few different shapes and sizes to mix it up from your standard sized bookmarks.

These cute artwork bookmarks are also a great little gift for the family.

FRAME IT

This works well for up to a4 size, larger pictures naturally require larger frames which can get expensive and bulky, consider the wall which the the frame will be mounted on and will it be a good fit?

Most local discount or larger department stores will have a range of quality frames at good prices. Choosing neutral frame colours such as black or white will be easier to match in with your home decor - unless your going for a bold colour to really show off the artwork.

The artwork can be changed regularly to keep the rotation of pictures going and it's normally a quick and easy option.

Mini canvas's are also a good backing for artwork, these are also readily available at discount stores and pretty cheap to boot. Double sided tape is perfect for sticking the artwork onto the canvas.