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!
Lori~*
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.
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.
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!
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.
Hi Benny,
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,
Jeanne
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.
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
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!!
-sheila
Hi Benny,
-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.
Carol
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!
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.
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 Benny,
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 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.
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.
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.
Try www.ShareMyKidsArt.com - I love this website! It's free and lets you store and organize your children's art. The thing I like it about the most is it has these little buttons so that you can email or upload to your facebook wall pieces of art; this is really nice for us because we live in California and my parents live in Hawaii and my wife's parents live in NY. If one of our children create something we want to share with the grandparents, we simple press a button.
The only thing is you need to scan or photograph the art, which seems like a hassle but it's actually fairly easy. Good luck!