Kids Artwork...Is It Frame Worthy?
Cleaning out and organizing. If your anything like me, you're just now cleaning out and organizing all your kids artwork from this past school year. What do I save, and what do I do with it? This is a challenging question and I see why many moms might find this a chore. I on the other hand see it as a treasure hunt. My ultimate goal is to find any and all artwork that is frame worthy. Kids can be amazing artists, and create many wonderful pieces but we simply just can't keep them all. Unfortunately my first rule is to toss almost everything, YES I said, everything! Children are mini hoarders and as a parent (a parent whose job it is to frame things) I enabling that behavior by holding on to every doodle and drawing. The few masterpieces that I actually do save are those that I see as an artistic milestone, for example. their first stick figure, first watercolor, or anything that I feel they used their brilliant and unlimited creative imagination to express meaning.
What Do You Do With Them All? Once the picking and choosing is done you have a couple of options. The first thing you want to do is to separate all the artwork that is frame worthy from what is simply not frame worthy. I typically only frame the artwork that is so amazingly abstract, one may confuse it for a Rothko or Pollack. The ones that I don't choose to display, I store in bins for each of my girls. That way we can preserve all their childhood treasures and let them decide what they want to keep down the road.
How should I display them? There are a couple of creative ways to display your kids artwork on the walls. I have a wall in my girls playroom that I have deemed their personal gallery wall. If you don't have a large wall space then think about giving them a corner in their bedroom, or a spot in the kitchen. It's always a great confidence booster for kids to see their artwork proudly displayed.
Framing options. Obviously my kids want me to frame EVERYTHING...if only they were paying customers! Of course I always encourage investing in quality custom framing to cherish and preserve your children's memories, but there are other options as well. I've seen some very cute and creative kid's gallery walls both with and without frames. This style of gallery wall gives you the option to pick and choose the artwork you'd like to display and can be easily interchangeable.
Recap: Don't save everything. Pick and choose wisely. Find an appropriate wall space. Envision how you would like to see that space and decide on a design style. READY, SET, GO!!
