Decorate your home with it, make it a stuffed animal, create priceless gifts for relatives… there are so many creative ways to display and gift your child’s art!
Here are our top 10 ideas:
- Make a one-of-kind mug. Take a simple white mug and let the kids draw on it with Sharpies. Not only does it create a unique gift idea, but it will become a household item you’ll cherish while drinking your morning coffee!
- You can have a stuffed animal made of your kid’s creation. Companies such as Budsies or Child’s Own Studio will take your child’s drawing and make it into a loveable, soft stuffed animal for them to love in real life.
- Print your kid’s drawings on a blanket or quilt. Several companies offer this service, but you can also do it yourself. Just use a white duvet cover or sheet (anything semi-see-through) and place your children’s drawings underneath where it is visible, then trace the drawing with a fabric marker. Repeat with multiple drawings to create a pattern or however you see fit! For an example of this, click here!
- Make it into a keychain. It’s a simple and fun gift for a spouse or relative. Check out Etsy for multiple options.
- Go digital. Scan artwork onto your computer to create slideshows or keepsake books via Kodak or Wal-Mart, or try an app to create your keepsake. Keepy, Canvsly, Artkive and Art My Kid Made are good places to start.
- Create an ever-changing gallery. We suggest putting up a bar structure on the wall that you can attach clips to, whether they are clothespins or something fancier, so the artwork can be switched out whenever something new comes along.
- A frame wall is a twist on the gallery idea. Put up empty frames arranged on the wall with a string between the two sides. Place clips or clothespins on the string and your kids can switch their art out easily – together they can create an aesthetic art wall!
- Have their artwork printed on fabric. Their fruit drawing can become your newest hand towel; their sunset drawing can become your next pillowcase! All you have to do is place their drawing underneath a pillowcase or other equally light fabric and trace the drawing with a fabric marker or Sharpie.
- Put their drawing on a t-shirt! Take their drawing and carefully use an exacto knife to cut along all the lines in the drawing. Place the paper over the t-shirt. Tape down or iron on to keep it from moving. Paint over your stencil with fabric paint. Remove the stencil and you’ll have a unique item to add to your wardrobe!
- Preserve pictures in a book. You can use the many services out there to create a printed book, or slide them into clear sleeves in a binder or photo album.
For more ideas on how to keep your kid’s artwork forever, check out:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/morganshanahan/genius-ways-to-immortalize-your-kids-artwork
