Bringing order to chaos: Hanging your child's artwork

When our son was born, we couldn't imagine a time when he'd be drawing or painting. Now, his toddler artistic career is in full swing. We wanted to display his pieces, but found that we were quickly overwhelmed with the sheer number of them. We needed a solution that highlighted the work, but kept everything looking organized and esthetically appealing. (We're like that.) Plus, he really enjoys seeing his work and talking about when he made something.

So, I offer to you not one, but two genius solutions:

1. Display them on a large piece of fabric. 

Yes. It sounds a little wacky. But you'll be shocked at the ease of it all. We hung a large piece of yellow fleece that we had in the house. Solid colors are best so the art is the focus. Then, we used safety pins to attach each picture. We tried a few options, but this works well as the holes are very small (so you can easily preserve the pieces) plus you can change them out instantly when a new picture comes home from school. Also, I love this method because regardless of the shape and size of each picture, they can be displayed together nicely. If you have a little one, make sure to hang the entire display high enough so that little fingers can't reach the safety pins.

2.  Hang artwork on clipboards. 

No longer are clipboards just for petitioners. Embrace them for your child's artwork. Hang the clipboards in a grid (ex: 3 clipboards across and 3 clipboards down). Then, clip a piece of artwork on each clipboard. You can update these easily anytime by just adding a new picture on top of the previous one. Or, take down the other pictures. To give it added excitement and symmetry, use colored clipboards and keep them all the same color. Acrylic or plastic work nicely for a more vibrant approach or the old school hardboard clipboards are great for a more organic style. I found them for under a dollar each! 

We hung our son's artwork in his bedroom so he can look at it while he's falling asleep. You can also try another area of the house that is a high traffic area. And, don't let space hinder you. One clip board or a small piece of fabric with pictures works, too!