Preserving Keepsake Kiddie Artwork

Hi, my suggestion would be to scan or photograph the works you really like (throw away all the other scribbles that look the same as the last) and reprint them on 4x6" photopaper to put in a small photoalbum or flip book- just make sure you get the higher quality photopaper b/c the cheap stuff will fade over time. You could also use an online printing site like www.snapfish.com to upload the pics from your digital camera, its pretty cheap and the product is beautiful. you can have them print a calendar, or a scrapbook type thing where you also put in pics of your child and/or family.

ENjoy the creative outlook/ condensing!

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My first thought was photographs like some of the other moms have suggested, and put them all in one of those frames that hold a lot of digital pics and have an ongoing ART SHOW. I especially like the idea someone said of photographing her with some of the art so you can see her age. Before the age of digital photography and everything else, I started a Memory Box. One of those large boxes that slid under a bed. Save something special from each year that totally represents...the personality of your child. You'll see a pattern forming...someone who doesn't like to follow the preschool teacher's instructions but loves color and lots of stuff...is probably a budding artist! When you look back years later you'll be able to see your child was 'themselves' from day one!~ At age 21 I created a Memory Book of all these things...my daughter's friends could not believe some of the work and photos. They even saw pics of themselves in my daughter's book. It definately was a celebration of her life. Even now during some holiday celebrations she'll dig through the photo albums and pull out the memory book and reminisce.

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The taking of digital photos is a great idea - and have your daughter pose with them even to document her age along with it.
I also hang my daughters' artwork all over their playroom (just with tape or on a line hanging up) and then switch it out with more seasonal artwork.
I have also framed some artwork and put it up in our dining room and livingroom in frames that match our other art. I have framed handprints of my girls and footprint of my son. I have a watercolor by my 2 yr old and a large drawing that my 4 yr did. I think it shows them how much we value their art and gives them a sense of belonging to all rooms in our home.

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It is so funny to see this question. A friend of mine actually created a company that does just this. It is such a great idea - I never realized the need of such a service until I had my own child. Check out her website for more details. She preserves all the work in a hard cover book and a web gallery to share. It is such a great idea. Hope this is helpful. Here is her website.

http://www.artimusart.com/

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Hi B.. I found artwork frames in the Home Improvements catalogue that you can store around 50 8.5x11 pages and I believe the frame maintains the integrity of the paper itself. You can switch which one is displayed and hang it on the wall. As for the larger pieces, I am not sure. Here's a link for the frame
http://www.improvementscatalog.com/product/art-dynamic-fr...

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Here's a slight variation on the photobook idea: My twin 2 years olds make a project every day (!) and my son comes home with preschool projects about twice a week, so we are buried. I use the two huge cupboard doors in my mud room that conceal my water system (floor to ceiling) to display the kids' things. The tape is right there on a ledge that is also big enough to support some of the 3D projects. When the display wall is full I take a picture and then quiety dump (I mean recycle) most of the projects. Anything really worth saving goes in a pizza box (new) with each child's name - and even those get sorted everyonce in a while. So - do you have a wall of fame? One photo per month is much more logical than one per day. Plus, it's nice to see all of the Valentines projects together and then all of the St Pat's crafts. Oh how they grow! Good luck!

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Thanks for putting this question out there- it's these tips and tricks that I love this site for!! I love some of the ideas here- one thing I can say is that not every piece is meaningful. I took an art class once taught by a really great artist. I'll never forget her advice that it's OK to throw out a work. Up until then I never thought artists did that (and certainly didn't myself!!) but apparently they do and that gave me permission to do the same. I think it applies to kid projects too- not everything needs to be saved. Clutter is a really legitimate problem to be avoided!! However, it's important to save some of it for sure.

We recently came across an ancient box in my mother's attic. Turns out it was full of kid projects from my siblings and I. Being that we're all in our 40's and pushing 50, it was beyond hilarious to see some of this stuff from the 60's and 70's- our interpretations of the world at that age were priceless!! The big blob pictures weren't so great, but the ones where some sort of interpretation, like a picture of my dad with really spikey hair, my brother being very tall and everyone else in the family being tiny, stuff like that was SOOOO funny, even informative, definitely facinating. So I recommend keeping stuff like that because it will be meaningful later on. I definitely plan to do so w. my kids.

thanks again!!
-S.

some good ideas here, ive been wondering myself as my own mountain builds.... another idea thats on my own to do list - they have picture frames that are deep like a shadow box and the front glass is like a door, you can layer a few in there and change them up often and easily, and some 3d stuff will work too.

I used plastic storage containers and had one for each child. At first I kept everything but really after a while I ended up going through everything and saving only the best things or things that were different.

Hi B.,
Take digital pictures of all her wonderful treasures, put it on a CD and make a slide show out of it. You have it for years and can share with family on the internet. Lots of options but you don't end up with all that stuff. Keep a few
actual treasured pieces but the rest can be "recycled".
It is sooo hard to part with any of it but as you are aware of you have many more years to add to the collection. A CD of each year is easy to store and look at at any time!
Makes great gifts to family too!!! Good Luck

My children take a picture with their special pictures and crafts. After wards, it goes in a photo album.

As their grow, the special crafts slows down.

I would suggest a digital camera and a scanner! Shoot snapshots or scan the flat stuff, and save just a few originals that are really special.

Hi B.,
-I have seen something on Rachel Ray that you can save what ever you can fit/past/fold in you scrap book and for the rest of adorable stuff that will break you heart to throw out, take a picture of and include it in you scrap book. Good luck.

C.

Want don't you take a picture of the artwork that you are getting rid of but still would like to see it and make a flip book like the ones on snapfish each year. Christmas Tree shop sells 12x12 frames for kids artwork and display them on one wall or around the house. Good luck.

Online photo services like snapfish had a good idea which is to take photos of all the artwork and create a photobook. They're hard cover books and very professional. I did one with photos not artwork and am happy with the quality, speed, price. Worth looking into for preservation of art as well.

HI, I photograph all of my sons art work and when his school year is over I will place them in an online photo book.

Hi
I have 3 girls ages 1,3, and 6
I know what you mean with all the art and projects
I kept a box of all of the first year things every picture
then now I save my favorites and take a digital camera picture and make a flipbook on snapfish or shutterfly
on the web
lots of fun to do

It sounds like you have been given some great ideas. One other idea is to bring the really special ones (I know how do you choose) to Staples and have them laminated they will last forever. I really love the idea of taking photos of them and making a keepsake scrapbook.

Rather than keeping it all, you may want to take digital pictures of it, and only keep the few pieces that you just love.

Hi B.,
What about a flip book. Check out snapfish. If you can scan some of the artwork in to your computer they can make a book out of it.
http://www2.snapfish.com/choosestyleflipbook/prd=flipbook

Good Luck,
J.

Hi B.. Someone I worked with taught me a way to diplay some of thte pictures. She hung them on the insides of her kitchen cabinets. This wasy the kids knew you saw thtem all the time, and you could have them help you pick the ones to go up that way you know what ones are special to your child. It's like an art show. My daughter used to love this. As for the rest of it good luck!!! :)

I don't scrapbook but for some reason I had a scrapbook so I used it to put my daughters artwork in. I did not do anything fancy I just slid the papers in the "pockets" and this way the are protected by the plastic and they are all in one place. The scrapbook I have is a perfect fit for the artwork she has. It all seems to fit no matter what the size.
She looks at it all the time and there's no way she can do damage to it if she's just flipping through.

A mom at my girls' school took an adjustable, plastic spined biner and filled it with slip in page protectors. She then placed the artwork in the sleeves.

I am keeping things that are really different or things that have handprint/footprints on them.

I don't have the issue yet but have found moms who photograph the art and keep the keepsake album or hang a wall mural. Then you don't have a space or pick and choose issue, but you get to keep them all (in pictures).

Go to your local Pizza place & ask for a clean unused pizza box - whatever fits keep inside! YOur child can even decorate the top & you can write the dates/timespan that the artwrok inside was created!

Hi B.
For the paper items you can scan them into your computer and then save them in a file so you will always be able to view them. For the larger items, take a digital photo of them (with your daughter holding it perhaps) and store them on your computer or on a memory card. Physcially keep a few of the most precious ones. Get an artist's portfolio or large pizza box to store them under your bed. Frame some pictures and display them as art, hang some on a corkboard in your daughter's bedroom, laminate some for placemats.
Good luck!

I saved my favorites in between the pages of my photo albums. He is almost 16 now and he laughs at me when he sees the edges of his artwork sticking out. I plan on doing the same thing when my 2 little ones start school.

Take photos of each thing and then make a scrap book of all of the photos...you can hang onto a few key pieces, and maybe if they are small enough, even include the originals in the scrapbook.
I wish I'd have done this with my kids' stuff.

My first child is now eight. I filtered out a bit of her artwork every weekend, but I really kept so much of it for four years(!) and just went through it all again a few weeks ago. It was a lot easier to toss stuff now than it was then. Also, a lot of that stuff fades or falls apart because the inks, glues, etc. have to be safe for little kids. It was really easy to pitch a lot of it after letting it sit.

I have two more children now--both in preK--and it is much easier to toss stuff now since I know what will be coming up!

My son only just turned two, but I have already started thinking about it thanks to my friends with older kids. My one friend bought a large shadowbox (a deep pictire frame to hold actual objects) for each age and went through the pile with her daughter. They separated the pile of projects into categories by age and picked five or six from each age group. They then worked together to arrange everything in the box and added some personal items from the same age range to make it extra special and they all hang in the living room. Her daughter loves when they have company so she can show off "her creations" to everyone. Plus, the shadowbox is enlcosed so no need to worry about dust or dirt. Just watch to see if it's in direct sunlight at al during the day as it could tend to fade. Good luck!
L.~*

Dear B.,

I photograph their work and print it out...that way, they can display it in their rooms.

K.

Take digital pic if them & create a book of her art work. If any if them canbe framed or matted to be put on display in her room.

Hi,
I am trained in museum collections care (specialize in textiles but work with all materials). Here's my take on this. First, digital formats can easily become obsolete so I would preserve the original art in addition to using digital fomats. Since you can't save everything, select the ones that truly speak to you or remind you of a specific event. DO NOT put them in a pizza box!!! The cardboard and oils in the box will ruin the artwork. Instead, invest in a good archival quality box or use a plastic bin (plastic is less desirable but more practical for home use). You can get acid free file folders at many craft stores and office supply stores or you can google Light Impressions or Gaylord for archival supplies. You can file the items by year in the archival file folders and store them in the plastic bin or acid free box. Make sure you store the box in a safe place like a hall closet or under your bed. DO NOT store it in the attic or basement because of the risk of water leaks and extreme changes in temperature and humidity.

Most frame shops will matt and frame art work using archival, acid free materials. The reason why you want acid free is because regular paper and cardboard will cause the artwork to turn yellow. If you frame items, make sure you display them someplace where they will not be exposed to direct sunlight. Sunlight will fade the colors.

If you have an old wooden trunk, you can store the art work inside but make sure that you put a layer of tin foil or acid free paper between the artwork and the wood. The acid in wood will turn the artwork yellow in the same way that non-archival cardboard will. Make sure that you check your box of treasures at least once a year to make sure no insects have invaded. You might want to avoid saving those macaroni pictures because they are much harder to preserve and will attract insects. Keep in mind that acid free folders and boxes must be replaced every 10-15 years or so becuase they lose their archival properties over time. Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions.

Hi B.,
If you can take digital pictures of her artwork you can upload it to snapfish.com or mypublisher.com and have a 'professional' book made for her. You won’t have to keep the mountains of artwork, but can save it for her in a really sweet way. I use my publisher and love it. They send many coupons etc and even do occasional buy one get one free ~ great gifts for grandparents!

I saw once on an organization show that a mom kept her kids things in pizza boxes. She would buy them from the pizzaria and only had one per child per year so that she didnt accumulate tons of things. Hope this helps.

I agree with the digital photo idea everyone has talked about. I also have the frames from the improvements catalogue and they're pretty good although you do have to cut a lot of the items to fit in. I also ordered the "My Keepsake Portfolio" from the Toys To Grow On website - http://www.toystogrowon.com. Lastly, have your child pick items to give as gifts to grandparents, aunts & uncles, etc.