I’ve heard it said that the art of young children is very similar to the abstract works of famous artists, and I tend to agree! Whether or not you think your two-year-old’s scribbles are worthy of being hung in an art gallery, which parent hasn’t beamed with joy at the beautiful mess created by your child? Here are some ways you can keep some of these precious pieces, for posterity’s sake if nothing else.

1. File them away

You can purchase a portfolio with clear sleeves from any number of bookstores, and choose from a range of sizes (B3, A4, A3 are the common ones). This is one of the simplest ways to store art, and you can use sticker labels to note the date that each piece was made.

2. Storage boxes

Organize artwork worth keeping in containers easily found at Ikea. For a budget-friendly option, you can do-it-yourself by wrapping or decorating old shoe boxes with your child, and transforming them into beautiful, cute storage boxes.

3. Scan them in your computer

To avoid amassing stacks of paper, scan the art into your computer. If you’re considering what scanner to buy, consider getting a hand-held one which is portable, easy to use and doesn’t take up a lot of space.  Organize your scanned documents to your heart’s content on your computer, but be sure to back these files up, either on an external hard disk or on online platforms like Dropbox.

4. Photo Books

Publishing choice pieces into beautiful coffee-table photobooks is a piece of cake with many vendors able to do the work for you. Of course, if you’re a whiz at design, you can always develop your own book from scratch!

Here are some sites that converts art into books for you: Plum Print and Artimus Art




5. Put them up

Perhaps the most common ways of ‘storing’ our children’s art are to display them on the wall. Although you might have a problem with that as your only long-term solution if your kid is churning our masterpiece after masterpiece on a daily basis!

6. Photo Frames

You can get virtually any size at good old Ikea, and choose from the au natural look, bold colours, soft neutrals or modern metal.

7. Peg it

Peg up selected pieces on a piece of wire or twine suspended on the walls with nails or tied onto window frames. This makes it easy to rotate what’s being hung up at any one time as new masterpieces are created.

8. Smartphone Apps

Download an app to your smartphone, making it easy to snap a shot of each art piece, tag it with the important details, and store it on your phone. Later on, you can upload the pictures to your comp.

Try this app! Artkive.

9. Re-purpose it

Let your kid’s art be the inspiration for… more art-making! Scanned images can be used to create a personalized calendar, a great addition to your wall or gift to family members.

You can also create a huge collage piece for your home using pieces of your children’s artwork as the raw materials. Or laminate selected pieces and use them as unique place mats at your dinner table.

Chances are, you’ll want to use a combination of these ideas above to store your children’s art, instead of choosing just one method. A little effort goes a long way in capturing the beauty that your child created when they were young. Go for it!

10. Convert it into a bag

Want to carry your child’s artwork? No, you can do so! Snaptotes.com lets you create completely original, totally cute bags with photos or art. From totes, handbags, beach bags, and messenger bags. Designs are fuss-free and the bags are black in order to make your child’s art the center of attraction.

By Dorothea Chow.

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