As the school year draws to a close you’ve acquired a sizable collection of art. Teachers are cleaning out the classrooms and taking down your child’s masterpieces. Now it’s your turn to be the curator and turn your home into a gallery. If you’re looking for more than a refrigerator magnet to showcase their seminal works of art, you’ve come to the right place! Here are 5 unique ways to display kids’ art.
Art on a Wire
A great way to hang art without drilling too many holes in the walls is to hang them along a wire. Ikea offers a curtain rod set with hardware ready to mount on your ceiling or wall. There are also specialized hooks with clips perfect for stringing your drawings across the wire. It’s a good setup for your kid’s room especially if your child has a favorite drawing area. They can look at their past artwork for inspiration and change out the display whenever they create something new.
Cubism
Photo cubes let you display multiple images. They’re easy to find online or at the craft store. Rather than filling them with photographs, put drawings on display. You can even stack several photo cubes to make a tower of art!
Art DECOupage
There’s this coffee shop where I used to do all my studying in college. It may seem I digress, but each table was decorated with art. Some were oil paintings, others mixed media and collage. The art was on permanent display beneath my textbooks and coffee cups. You can replicate this concept on your coffee table or in a playroom. Use an old table you’re willing to decorate or find one at the thrift store. Decoupage is an easy way to decorate the tabletop with a collage of your kid’s work. There are plenty of step-by-step guides online. All you’ll really need is an adhesive such as lacquer or Mod Podge and a collection of drawings to assemble on the tabletop.
Ornamentation
When it’s time to decorate the Christmas tree ornaments hold special memories from years past. Make new memories by turning artwork into ornaments. A simple way is to use papier–mâché ornaments available at Michael’s Crafts. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Your kids can select the paintings and drawings to repurpose then paste their images directly on the ornaments.
Refrigerator Reimaged
Let’s admit it, the refrigerator is still great for displaying kids’ art but why not give it an upgrade? Search for lightweight picture frames at the thrift store. Take out the glass and backing, then glue on magnets for a frame that sticks to the fridge. You can also make your own frames with blank magnet sheets. The white surface is customizable to any shape and design. Either way you’ll have a kitchen gallery that’s perfect for a rotating art display.
With a few easy steps and simple supplies your home gallery is ready to exhibit the next generation of young masters. So let’s get curating!
About Selena:
Selena Reder is a mother, writer and part-time video producer living in Cincinnati, Ohio with her son Dorian and husband Tim. Dorian loves chasing Selena and Tim’s tailless cat, making messes for dad to clean up, squealing loud enough for the neighbors to hear and staring at strangers until it’s uncomfortable. Tim loves Dungeons and Dragons, Margaret Atwood and writing meticulous grocery lists.
Selena loves washing cloth diapers, binging on British TV (Top Gear, Only Fools and Horses, Doc Martin, etc) painting and knitting super fancy baby sweaters. She also loves working part-time with her video editor husband (special shout out to her parents and in-laws for being great babysitters!).
If Selena were stranded on a desert island with only one thing to do for the rest of her life, she would nurse her son in their favorite chair. It’s the best thing in the world right now.