Kids art projects from school, what to do with them? How to display them in the home as interior design verses clutter?

Your children bring home art projects from school and they are too adorable to simply toss out with the rubbish. What can you do with those masterpieces?

My favorite thing to do with the 'most loved' art pieces is to turn them into tiles. You can google a company in your area that will turn kids works into tiles. I had the luxury of building my home, so I could incorporate my youngest's works into the kitchen tiling. However, a small section, like a blackspash, could be remolded to just hold favorite art work that you had made into tiles. Can you think of a better scene to look at while doing the dishes, or cooking? ;-)

 Some of Adler's art works:

 I just love kid's creative imagination!

This one is behind where I hang glasses. My little artist. ;-)

So, just what do you do with the little artist's work in your home?

Kid's are proud of their work. What better way to encourage them than to praise their efforts by giving their work a value equal to the other decorations in your home?

Of course you can frame it:

Or hang it in the form of a hotplate:

Or use as trivits (hotplates) at the dinner table regularly. My favorites are the ones the kids made; you can see they are well used:

These tiles, seen below, are an example of very large tiles, hung as pictures. The kids did not do these, but this is a great example of what you can do to preserve their art:

Or simply hang it "as is" when they hand it to you. ;-)My oldest daughter did this one when she was very young. I have kept it all these years. It is currently placed in a mudroom cubby:

I like to use their works to cover the backs of bookshelves (But you can do any cabinet, shelf, or backsplash to a desk, etc), like wallpaper:

Everyday, capture their wonderful talents on display situations like this one. I asked Meagan to do the menu for our last Crawfish Boil. It is so cute, we still have it up!

On the back of our laundryroom door, I painted magnetic chalkboard paint. Not only is it a good place to house messages to the kids, but to hold drawings, or messages that they feel like leaving:

For everyday projects that come home and need to be rotated; I have put artwork on clips, clipboards and magnetic boards before. I have even used diaper pens on an adorable rope line. Instead of looking like clutter, there is so much more one can do (besides the refigerator door) that actually suits your home. I love the ideas that an interior decorator came up with in this clip for this very reason:

http://gmctradesecrets.aol.com/decor/how-to-display-kids-artwork/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl7%7Csec1_lnk1%7C68124

I hope you enjoy preserving their art and enjoying their creations as they grow into adults. ;-D

A shelf, dedicated to the kid's pottery art in my bedroom. This shelf has an ocean theme. ;-) Too adorable, and it makes me smile. If it makes you smile, isn't that the environment you want to create? Set up spots to "make your day", everyday as you pass by them. ;-D