Kids' Art Display Wall
Do you have a special place to display your child's artwork and special crafts? It can be as simple as the fridge as that is what they probably see the most anyway!
Taking the time to show interest in your child's art, asking your child about their project, commending them on a job well done and displaying some of your child's creations can go a long way in your child's life. It will help with building their confidence, self worth, and pride and give them a sense of accomplishment. Watch your child beam as you exhibit one of their projects or artwork. Make sure to show it off to others that visit your home in front of your child!
A fun and easy project is to paint your child's hands and have them make hand prints. Have your child pick out the colors and create a personalized masterpiece. These sweet handprints are the perfect decor in your child's room, playroom, living room, or anywhere else in the home. These are such a fun keepsake too - make sure to date the back to show how your child's hands have grown over the year. Future gift idea: You can turn these into a meaningful gift as well by adding, "Hands down, you're the best Daddy in all the land" or some other catchy cheesy saying.
Can you believe we made this art wall (minus the create sign) for under $50?!?! We love it and use it to display some of our kids' art, crafts, and projects. We switch it out every few months and then select a few of the pieces to go in their memory box. You can also take pictures of their art as an electronic form of keepsakes.
SUPPLIES:
letters to spell child's/children's name(s)
frames to display art
spray paint (as desired)
stapler/staples
drill / drill bit
measuring tape
pencil
artwork!
TUTORIAL:
We started with letter blocks from Hobby Lobby to spell their name as inspiration to create our wall art. I bought each letter for $3 as I bought them when they were 50% off. I had a local artist make the wooden "create" sign. You could even do a similar look with the Silhouette Cameo Machine (one of my very favorite things!) on vinyl or another material.
Going off of the black and white letters, I then found 10 plain black frames from the dollar store, for $10 total. You could also spray paint these white or any color to give it a fun new look. For an even more creative idea, you could paint each frame a rainbow color which would be super fun! Ex. You could have 6 frames instead of 5 and paint each one a different color of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
Next we took the glass out of the frames and bent the frame metal closures out of the way so they weren't visible. I then measured 2 inches down and made a dot on each side of each frame to mark where I would be hanging the jewelry cord. I then cut 18 inches of clear jewelry cord for each frame (this included extra so I could tie each side). I then used a household stapler to attach the jewelry cord on each side of the frame by the measured dot to keep them all the same height. I then tied a few knots around the staple carefully (as not to pull out the staple).
Note: A regular stapler will do the trick on the cheaper $1 store frames. If you use a staple gun, it will break the frame...ask me how I know... Breaking said frames also caused me to drive all over town to find the last remaining matching frame as apparently larger 11x14 frames during graduation season are hard to come by in this town. ha.
Finally, I secured the staple and jewelry cord with hot glue (just plastered the stapled area all over with hot glue) as I realized these frames were made on the cheaper side (hello $1 store), and I didn't want the staple coming out. See the green arrows below. From trial and error, this gave it extra reinforcement.
We then drilled a tiny hole into the top center of each frame (white arrow) as this is how we nailed the frames to the wall. After the frames were hung, I used a black sharpie and colored over the nail to camouflage it.
Next I spray painted tiny clothespins white. I then attached my kids artwork with the clothespins to the jewelry cord.
I measured 5 equal distances on the top and bottom of the wall and used a level to hang the frames on the wall. We also figured out spacing for the names and made pencil marks on the wall where those would hang. I'll be honest, my husband and I did a rough measuring with this project but mostly eyeballed it. We were both surprised at how well and pretty even it turned out!
Finally I hung the "create" sign which tied it all together!
This is now one of my very favorite things about our home. I love how it all came together and how much fun it is to put up the kids new artwork and see their faces beam.
My mom had passed down her childhood table and chairs so I gave it a makeover (painted it grey and distressed it as it needed a little love), and now its new home is right next to the art wall. The kids love coloring, crafting, painting, and playing at the table, and I love that it has been in the family for over 70 years!
Thanks for reading! Check out the Playroom Makeover for even more creative ideas for organizing kids' toys and the playroom to make it a fun, creative, and functional space!
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