Our 3 year old boy came home from nursery today with the most beautiful piece of artwork that he’d done. Good old fashioned stamp printing. We all know it comes home by the bag load and there’s only so much you can keep but this one really caught my eye. The colours are absolutely beautiful and it reminded me of something that I haven’t done for a very long time… display the kids art!
When the other two were in nursery, I put some of their artwork into box frames and put them on the wall. Not only did they look fabulous but it made the kids so proud of themselves to see we obviously loved it enough to want to go to the effort of framing it. I just loved seeing the joy on their faces when they saw something they’d done on proud display for everyone to see.
Now they’re older, they still occasionally stop and look and say in wonder ‘did I really do that?’ You can buy frames so cheaply from art shops / Ikea / eBay. Box frames are fabulous for adding a bit of chic as well as protecting the ‘lumpier’ pieces!
I can’t believe that I haven’t kept this up. I totally forgot about it and we have so much space on our walls just crying out for some top notch kids art. A whole stack has ended up (unframed) on their bedrooms walls. I bought them all little canvases and let them at it plus we made an enormous giraffe using some old sheet music I found to pop out from behind the radiator in their room.
Art is such a wonderful thing and most of us have access to so much of it that we can be doing so much with. My very dear friend has a big art corner where her kids art is on display in such a way it makes it look fit for a premier art exhibition. How about filling a wall up the side of the stairs with lots of their pictures? It would be a lovely record of how they’re developing over time and invariably it will add a brilliant splash of colour.
So, instead of reaching for the recycling bin, maybe check and see if it’s something that could be framed instead…. display the kids art!
They look great in the box frames! My kids love their art so I have a serious amount of it here, so needless to say, lots go in the recycling bin! But, they do have cork boards with masses pinned up and I framed my son’s first painting. I need to do more of this, as as you say, they’d feel so proud.
Ah now that’s something I didn’t do – frame their first paintings. Drat! Such a lovely idea!