Kid's Artwork Ideas

For those of us with little kids in school, what to do with all the masterpieces that they bring home can quickly become a challenge. This month, my Once Upon a Family newsletter had some awesome ideas on re-purposing that artwork, so I thought I would share them with those of you that don't receive my newsletter. To see the full newsletter and the other awesome back to school tips in it, go here.

Things to do with your child's artwork:

1. Postage Stamps: Can you believe you can turn your child's artwork into real postage stamps? Check out PhotoStamps or PictureItPostage to see how easy it is!

2. Greeting Cards, Calendars, Postcards, T-shirts, etc: You can turn the masterpiece into an actual greeting card! You can do almost anything now digitally! Cafepress.com offers a wide variety of products that can show off the artwork, and family and friends can purchase what they like for themselves! If you have a Mac, use iPhoto to create cards, calendars, postcards and more. Online photo albums will also have these features.

3. Online Photo Album: Create a special website to display all the kid's artwork for everyone to enjoy. Before you think you can't possibly do that, there are easy ways to have an online photo album without knowing all the technical stuff.

4. Turn the artwork into a business: If your child is producing a ton of amazing art, you may want to consider creating a business by turning the art into products others can enjoy. Again, with CafePress.com you can set up your own store. The possibilities are endless--journals, mugs, t-shirts, cards, magnets, stickers, bags, and so much more!

5. Stationery: Who wouldn't love to get a fun piece of mail? In fact, you and your child can create different stationary sets for family and friends so they too can share the artwork with others. Your child can also use their artwork for thank you's, invitations, journal entries, or a simple hello.

6. A Year of Art: Choose 12 pieces of art and turn it into a calendar for your family to enjoy or for other relatives who want a piece of your child in their home. You can do this several ways: buy a calendar and paste the artwork over the picture page, scan the photos into the computer and order a calendar with the artwork online, or make it completely by scratch!

7. Snap Shot in Time: Take a picture of your child with the art piece and place it in a scrapbook, memory box, or online album. Can you think of a better way to capture the age of your child and their masterpiece? This suggestion works especially well with larger than life projects that take up way too much space or would require crazy storage solutions.

8. Artwork Portfolio: Contact me about purchasing our Artwork Portfolio on special this month for $30. Regularly priced at $45.