If your kids’ artwork has taken over every flat surface in your home, then this kids’ art display is just the weekend project for you to get that mess under control and honor your kids’ creativity at the same time!
I love my kids’ artwork, but I have really struggled with finding a kids’ art display that I truly liked. I wanted it to work with my home decor but also be functional and safe for my kids. For instance, push pins were totally not going to work for us.
This upcycled bulletin board project proved to be a very stylish, easy, and cheap kids’ art display solution, and I’m so excited to share it with you!
Thrift Store Bulletin Board Find
I found two of these 3-foot-by-2-foot, plain bulletin boards at my local HabiStore a couple months ago for a couple bucks each, which if you’ve ever done any shopping for bulletin boards of a decent size, you know that’s a steal. They were a little bit older and had some wear and tear, but for the price, I couldn’t pass them up. I also wasn’t sure what I was going to use them for, but that’s never really stopped me before either, ha!
Kids’ Art Display in the Making
After I finished my DIY Picture Board, it was clear that this wall was going to be the focal point of the room, so I wanted to continue to use that wall to highlight the kids’ art, in addition to our family photos that were to be displayed on the picture board. AND it just so happened that the bulletin boards were the perfect size to fit on either side of the picture board. These bulletin boards were pretty much destined to become a kids’ art display!
Color in Design
In order to make my kids’ artwork the center of attention on these bulletin boards, I actually used leftover paint from the walls in this room and painted the bulletin boards and frames the same color as the walls. This made them recede into the wall so that the kids’ art display and some of the embellishments that I wanted to add became the focal point of these boards.
(If you want more tips on using color in your space and on choosing the perfect color for your space, check out my post on color theory.)
I used isopropyl alcohol to clean the bulletin boards, and then using spackle, I filled some holes that they had in the corners from where they were previously hung. The only thing left to do after that was a quick coat of interior house paint. The paint went on super evenly and easily, so I really only had to do one coat.
Kids’ Art Display Hangers
The next thing that I focused on for this kids’ art display was the manner in which the art would be hung. I decided on clothespins because they are easy for the kids to use, safe, and the art can be changed out easily.
In order to hang the clothespins, I used twine because I really like the natural look of it, and it’s also strong and durable, which is always important when you’re making things that kids will interact with. I decided on having three evenly-spaced tiers of clothespins to allow for more art to be displayed without overcrowding.
I affixed the twine to the bulletin boards by stapling it to the backs of the bulletin boards on each side.
Mounting the Kids’ Art Displays
Previously, these bulletin boards had been hung using either nails or screws drilled through the frames. But I didn’t like that so, like I said above, I filled these holes with spackle and painted right over them. So I was left with figuring out how to mount these boards to the wall. I chose to use two picture frame hangers on each bulletin board, one on each side. Frankly, these things were tough to install because the nails that they come with are incredibly small. But the upside is that they make for a nice flush mount on the wall. Just be sure to have some tweezers or something to hold the nails while you pound them in so that you don’t smack your fingers!
Embellishing the Kids’ Art Displays
These kids’ art displays were a little too plain for my taste, and I really wasn’t a fan of the way that the twine was crossing over the frame in the front. So I decided to look at the room as a whole and go back to the fundamentals of design when considering some embellishment.
I want the room to be harmonious on the whole, so I grabbed the fabric that I am going to be making the curtains for the windows on the other side of the room with and looked at what I could pull from that to use as embellishment on these kids’ art displays. Looking at the fabric, I drew inspiration from the floral element. I decided to bring some rhythm into the room by repeating that theme as well as the colors from the fabric in the embellishments for the kids’ art displays.
So I set to work on using my Cricut and making some paper flowers that I found on Jennifer Maker’s blog as well as some roses that I found on Cricut Design Space. I also cut out a few different leaves in different sizes to add some greenery to my flowers.
Paper Flowers Used:
- Paper Poppies
- Rose Gold Paper Flower
- Rose (#MC8B7E1 in Cricut Design Space)
Leaf Designs Used:
- Leaf (#MB534CA9 (Life Outdoors) in Cricut Design Space)
- Leaf (#M3976E (Create A Critter) in Cricut Design Space)
- Leaf (#M7EF6030 (When I Was a Kid) in Cricut Design Space)
- Leaf (#M46B41 (Mother’s Day Bouquet) in Cricut Design Space)
Paper Flower Techniques Used
For the rolled paper flowers, I used my reverse-action tweezers to hold the paper while I rolled them, since I didn’t have a quilling tool. I used hot glue to put together all of my flowers.
Assembly of the Kids’ Art Display
Once I had all of the flowers made, I laid both bulletin boards out on the floor side by side and arranged the flowers, making sure that the boards had even visual weight and were balanced. Then I affixed all of the flowers to the boards using hot glue.
Go Forth and Display!
Show off your kids’ artwork with pride and style with an awesome upcycle of your very own! And have some fun creating it in the process!
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Want to remember this kids’ art display? Be sure to pin this tutorial to your favorite Pinterest board!
