We have a budding artiste in the family. He loves to draw, paint, sculpt, and carve. My refrigerator door is covered in one-of-a-kind masterpieces that will be worth something some day (and are already priceless to me).
Unfortunately, my kid genius can't part with his work. If I suggest that we toss out even the half-finished, ripped, or crunched up pieces, he looks at me with hound-dog eyes and asks me, "But don't you like my art?" And being the sucker I am, I immediately make more space on my refrigerator.
But then I saw in a magazine somewhere this really neat idea that fits our budget, requires no real skill, and can be done less than 30 minutes. Check, check, and check. Our new pat-yourself-on-the-back project? An art line.
Basically, it's a clothes line strung across two walls using S-hooks. The artwork is attached with binder clips. So easy and it looks very youthful yet clean. Also, it's high enough that a certain monkey can't mess with anything and kick off World War III. (You can only hear "No one appreciates my art!" so many times before your brain starts melting. I'm just sayin.)
We let Javi choose his favorite pieces to hang and the rest are stored in a rubbermaid tub under his bed. When he wants, he can swap the pieces out on his own, or remove the ones there to hang new favorites.
Simple, easy, and inexpensive works for me.
What works for you?
Aw, that's an awesome idea! I bet Javi loves it. I've also heard of people scanning the art or taking pictures of it and then making photo books out of it.
Yeah, that's too time consuming. We hardly ever print photos and I only get photobooks when they're free (which means I turn them into vacation or holiday recaps, or gifts). He told me he loves it bc it's like having his own gallery. :)
Very cute and clever!!! Thanks for sharing! I love your blog design! =)
I've been meaning to do the same thing in our dining room-recently turned playroom. For now, however, I have three lovely pieces from the seven-year-old taped to the wall. But when I find the string and the S-hooks, or something comparable enough, I'll get to the art line. I am often worried that I don't encourage the creative enough in my kids...I LOVE that your kid is a budding artist!
FYI...Pottery Barn Kids SELLS your contraption for $40!!!! I am not kidding!!!!Meg
Meg, you have to be kidding me! It's just clothes line (from the camping section) and binder clips. That's so crazy!