New kinds of projects...

It's amazing how kids transform your entire world! They not only force you to alter your sleep schedule, eating habits, and routines...they change your entire way of life. Our house has transformed from a cozy cottage to a full-blown kid zone.

Little D started with a play area. Then he took over the sun room. His toys eventually spread onto the second floor and into our living space. Now, he has infiltrated the dining room with his play kitchen...which I love...but more on that later. Now, he has moved beyond floor space. He has recently moved onto the walls. Yes, Denver--who can barely hold a paint brush--has his own art gallery.

Funds are tight so I went to the basement in search of old frames. I wish I had some bigger ones lying around, but our house is so quaint that the smaller frames really look just right...and I kind of think it is cute when his artwork hangs over the edges of the frames.

I started by laying out the pictures on a roll of brown paper so that I could figure out my layout. I wanted a nice mix of portraits and landscapes. Never without my iPad, I snapped a picture that I could edit in DoodleBuddy to plan my color patterns. I number the frames so I wouldn't get confused.  I love the brown paper idea because then I trace and cut out a pattern for each frame and hang those on the wall with painters' tape to get a real sense of the layout and help me to hang everything in just the right place.

I was so close to sticking to the same white that frames all of the pictures in our house, but I thought I would take a chance and go with some color. This goes against my obsessive nature because the color of D's artwork would surely clash with the frames...but I had to take a chance. 

Once the frames were painted and dried, I came to the most difficult part of the project. I wanted to attach a string from one end to the other from which Denver's art would hang. But, I also wanted the frame to lay flat against the wall, so I could use eye hooks. Instead, I shamelessly hot glued twine from one edge to the other. I am not proud of the method, but it worked!

I wasn't sure how I would hang the frames since I removed their backings so that the wall would show through each one. I decided to try to 3M Photo Strips. I didn't really trust them at first, but then I thought, if these things could hold up frames with real art and glass, then surely they could hold up empty, cheap frames with construction paper.

I'm actually really happy with how it turned out. The colors work and because there is not glass, I can just change out the projects every time Denver brings home another paint splattered paper plate and scrap-papered contact paper shapes.

The best part of this project is that once. The painting was done, I got the whole thing done while the little guy...and the big guy...took their naps. Usually I'm not allowed to put holes in the wall, but with the 3M Photo Strips, I silently created an entire art gallery wall in under 2 hours.
Do you have a creative way of hanging your children's art work? Please share!

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