Kid art is just the best.
I know it tends to pile up over time faster than dirty laundry, but choosing a few hundred of your favorite pieces to display will turn into precious art.
Kid Art Pros
- Kids will use color combinations and compositions that are bright, fearless and unique.
- Each kid-made picture holds memories of a time, place, age and idea.
- Kids have pride in their work and delight in that work being recognized by adults.
- It is cheap.
Kid Art Cons
- You don’t want your wall to look like the front of your fridge.
- It is hard to decide between the 3.2 million pieces of 11 x 13 construction paper masterpieces.
- The artistic value of a kid-produced piece might be difficult to appreciate before it is framed.
- The floating frames I use are often $20-30 each.
This is the arrangement I just added to our homeschool room. I picked out 6 pieces of art from my boys’ school and home projects.
The floating frames were from Target. They come in various sizes and both black and a walnut color. The frames I used were the largest available and priced at $29.99. They easily fit the 11 x 13 art project paper without trimming.
After I framed the kid art, I laid it out on the floor to see which arrangement looked the best and then measured the size of the entire installation.
Using a long level and a pencil, I drew 2 parallel lines on my wall – one for the top row and one for the second row.
I went back through with a ruler and added X’s where each wall anchor needed to be positioned. The top and bottom row positions were double checked with the level in a vertical position to assure that they were aligned perfectly on top of each other.
I am absolutely in love with the kid art installation.
The colors are so bright and cheerful. The boys are excited about it and show anyone who will look. My favorite part is that each picture is attached to memories that make me smile.
Looking for fun art projects to display? Here are a few of our favorites:
I have three things to say, a) your kids are artistic geniuses b) you make it look so easy 😉 and c) those frames really make the art pop, nice job!
Wow! Your art installation looks fabulous. I love it.
I would agree with comment 1… I think you have some great artists to work with. That being said, I’ve found that even my toddler/preschooler boys’ artwork looks amazing when it is properly framed. I love the frames you picked!
My kids art needs to be burned. Not framed. Yours looks great though.
It looks really great. What a fabulous idea. I have never thought about putting my daughter’s art into fancy frames. genius.
Holly, that looks awesome.
Thanks girl!
Thanks Tracie. I am always surprised at how good it looks when framed. WAY better than most the “art” you buy at the store that doesn’t have any memories attached.
ha! The other thing I am not shy about is “creative cropping” so that might be a plan for you.
Thanks Jackie! I appreciate it. It is so much fun.
Thanks so much!
Thanks so much Vanessa. I really appreciate it. I think they are too, but I might be a little biased.
The art is great! Love it! Can you share where you got the desks? I really love the simplicity of them.
Hi Rachel,
The desks are from CB2. They have quite a few really cool simple pieces and I have found the prices to be good as well.
I love kid art, but at the moment my house is a disaster area due to the massive piles of art in every room! I’m trying to come up with a better system, (and a way to score some free paper?!)
Could you email me? I’d like to ask you about doing a giveaway/review.
Thanks!
You’re a damn genius. I thought I was smart for stealing a tip I heard on Oprah about scanning kid’s artwork to put in a photo book, but you take that to a whole other level.
Yay! Thanks so much. That means a lot coming from you…and mentioning Oprah and all.
done!
I LOVE the floating frames. looks awesome! Hope to meet you in Dallas next week! 🙂
VERY cool – love this idea!
Okay, I LOVE your video. I love your honesty, and I LOVE the fact that you shot that and didn’t edit it. I would like to thank you for making that point, because I often read blogs and think, ”
What the heck is wrong with me? I never do those kinds of things with my kid”.
Great idea, Holly! My 6.5 yo daughter is an amazing artist, and I am constantly pilfering through umpteen papers to determine which drawings/paintings/creations are keepers and which ones I can guiltily discard. I will tuck your idea into my brain for future use, once I get a little more time, energy, and money. Thx! 🙂
How old your boys are? They are brilliant artists. The way you have framed their works was perfectly done. Great display! You must be a proud Mom.
I love that idea. I actually just posted about displaying artwork too. I have four kids who come home from school with all kinds of things to display, not to mention everything that they color or draw while at home. I will definitely be hanging on to this idea.
My post can be found at http://savingwithpurpose.blogspot.com/2011/09/inexpensive-way-to-display-childrens.html
The art looks fabulous! I love how the floating frames really let your kids’ art take center stage! I can tell they are a creative bunch!
that looks awesome!
I can’t wait for kid art from my son! I love the floating frames…they don’t distract from the art itself. Your kids make great stuff!
PS I have a $50 cash giveaway going on at my blog right now! Come by when you get a chance. 🙂