Problem: Piles and Piles of Pictures. You can't bring yourself to toss, but you're running out of room in your house! What can you do with all this art? Solution: Create a montage from the interesting parts of your favorite pictures. Put them all together in a large frame for a big impact. This 12"x36" piece (left) is a wonderful example of what happens when you put together little bits of many pictures. Suddenly your child's art becomes new again. Pictures that were cute on their own take on a new life when brought together in one frame. I mounted each little work of art on a piece of colored paper trimmed 1/8" larger on all sides. For example: If the picture is 3" square then I cut the colored paper 3.25" square. I strongly suggest using a paper cutter for this project. (Investing in a paper cutter will make your life so much easier!) I used spray adhesive to mount each picture on the colored paper and mounted each piece on to the white background. I'll be honest...working out the measurements took a little time. If you want the exact measurements that used for this piece I would be happy to email them to you. (deb@artsymommy) From start to finish this project took me about 2 hours. The end result was well worth the time.



This 8x10 collage (right) took almost no time, and it's just as charming. All you need is an 8x10 frame, nice-quality colored paper or mat board, and a two-inch square paper punch. Zoom in on interesting areas of your child's art. Look at the edges for child-like brushstrokes. Be sure to collect a variety of mediums, painting techniques, and colors. Try to include a little white space in each square for added interest. Your child's art will take on a new feel when you look at it through a smaller lens.


You could try cutting your child's art into strips and weaving them. This seems a little brutal at first as you hack your child's paintings into strips, but the end result is worth it. Weave the strips into as big a shape as possible (try for around 15" square). I drew a large heart onto a piece of contact paper and stuck it to the back of my paper weaving. Then I was able to cut out the heart without worrying about the weaving falling apart. Mount on to colored paper or mat board and frame.


The whole idea behind these projects is editing: zooming in on one area of the picture, trimming away the rest, and arranging the parts into a new whole. By creating a montage of your child's pictures, you will present a new view of your child's art that everyone will appreciate.