Storing, Displaying Children's Artwork

Art in a Bottle

Materials:

two 2-liter soda bottles
colorful string
scissors
art paper
watercolors
pens
pencils
colorful matting
colored paper clips or wooden clothespins
newspaper
acrylic paints
plate rack
photocopied piece of art that measures 11" x 17"
six small empty cereal or gelatin boxes
pencil
brightly colored packing tape
glue

Steps:

1. Wash and remove labels from the bottles.

2. Cut off the base of each bottle with scissors.

3. Cut a two-inch slit in the bottom of one of the bottles.

4. Ease the open end of the bottle with the slit into the open end of the other bottle so that the two bottles fit snugly together. They should form a torpedo shape.

5. Tie both ends with a single shoelace so that your child is able to carry it over his or her shoulder.

6. They can make their own stickers by cutting out shapes from adhesive-backed paper and placing them on the bottle.

* Note: A great way to transport children's artwork is to place the items in empty gift-wrap, paper towels or mailing tubes.

Select a painting from your child's collection, then slip it between the front and back of the matting. Select colored clips to keep the matte "frame" snug around the artwork. Display on a plate rack.

Book Covers

Color copies of children's artwork can be great for covering often-used books such as a cookbook or atlas. They can also be used as place mats or stationery. If you want your child's artwork to fit into a particular frame or matting, go to a copy store and have the clerk reduce the size of the artwork to make it fit.

Materials:

photocopied artwork
empty cereal boxes
pencil
scissors
packing tape
white glue
photograph of the child
grapefruit net bag
wall or ceiling hook

Steps:

1. Lay the piece of artwork out flat, so that the art side is facing down.

2. Line up several boxes on the back side of the artwork to see how many it will take to cover the paper.

3. Draw around a box as many times as it takes to mark the rectangle pieces that cover the art or photo.

4. Cut out the pieces.

5. Cover each box side with packing tape, leaving the front of it alone.

6. Glue the pieces of the photocopied art to the front of the boxes.

7. Blow up your child's photo and use it for the opposite side of the puzzle.

8. Store puzzles in a grapefruit net bag and hang on a hook.

Other Ideas

• Add character to fish bowls and aquariums by taping a piece of your children's artwork to the backside of them.

• Create an art fair at the next neighborhood block party. Have all the children from your neighborhood display their artwork by hanging it from clothespins clipped to string.