What to do with all this KID ART? (Wall Gallery)

We have so much artwork from our two kids - either that they did at home with us, or from school/daycare. I struggle with what to do with all of it - I don't want to just throw it all out, but I certainly can't sustain saving all of it either. There's. Just. So. Much.

So, I"m offering a few ideas here somewhere along that trash-can-to-cedar-chest range. See my first post here about making a Spring Wreath from a bunch of different papers.

This is the Wall Gallery - decorate a bedroom or playroom while giving some of those nice pictures, paintings, and glued collages someplace to shine.

Wall Gallery:

This is a temporary middle-of=the-road situation. We use it as a constantly-evolving reminder of how far the kids have come in terms of motor skills and interests. I usually let them hang for a few months (or let's face it, maybe a year if I just don't get around to taking it down.) So here are those paintings that were nice to look at in the moment, but didn't quite make the cut for the permanently save and cherish binder. It's also a great place for the oddly-shaped artwork or somewhat 3-D creations that won't fit neatly in a picture frame or a binder. Enjoy them for a while on your wall!

--> Materials needed:

string or twine

scissors

nails or even pushpins

small clothespins

STEP ONE:

Measure and cut a length of twine or string slightly longer than the length of the area on the wall you'd like to create as your gallery.

STEP TWO:

Hammer in nails at the end points of this area on the wall. You can certainly use pushpins for convenience, but keep in mind that this will limit the weight of the art that you can hang, since pushpins are more likely to fall out. Tie the twine to the nails, and hammer in a bit more, so that it is snugly taut and secure.

STEP THREE:

Use small clothespins (like these 1-inch craft clothespins on Amazon or these at Michael's) to hang artwork along the twine, and that's it! Rotate artwork as you'd like. We have two rows of twine on one wall so that it's multi-leveled, so if it's a larger wall space that you are filling, go for it.

Then you and your kids can enjoy the colors and designs on the wall! You get to SHOW how much you really love their work, effort, and creativity.

SPECIAL NOTE: If your kids are old enough, think about passing the "art curator" job along to them - they get to choose which of their pieces they want to showcase in the gallery. (One less thing you have to do, and they get to take responsibility and ownership of their wall decorations = win/win.)