all ya kids art work

... and some cool ideas for that big ass pile of it that's building up in your house.

So Willow started pre-k February and hasn't brought much art work home at all. I did get a sweet mother's day card (over a week late) and J got his father's day card. And you know, those are the things that are or can be special. It wasn't until last week she brought home a pile of art work and I have to say, it made me smile so big. I'm a creative person so I love seeing what her lil mind does. And seeing her Picasso'esque art work, it sweetness at its best.

So, I said I love Real Simple the magazine and I found this cool article on what to do with kids artwork. There's a section in the mag called 'Little Helpers' which highlights smart products that one could use to simplify their life. Basically it's some neat ass gadgets for everything life. One of of these 'little helpers' highlights a service for the art. It binds the favorite pieces into a hardcover book. How rad is that! What a great [and literal] scrapbook to have. There are pocket dividers too, they hold mementos like hand written notes that you may leave in your lil's lunch. I left my first note for Willow this am as a matter of fact. That should go in my book "Willow's first love note from Mommy"

To Buy: Check out 4-Ever Bound at 4everbound.com. Shows a price of $50. The other article I found was titled "Declutter your kids' art- 3 ways". I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here so here's what they had to say verbatim.

• Pluck some from the pile to turn into abstract art. Focus on just one part of the picture, say, a giant flower, the sun, or any interesting shape- and cut out that piece to hang in a smaller frame.

• Create a rotating gallery wall in a playroom or your kid's bedroom. Use washi tape to hang pictures in a grid, about two to three inches apart- it's easily removable, so your kids can change up the composition and swap new pieces.

• File away favorites and keep the rest in a medium-size bin to use as gift wrap or repurpose as tags. (Cut into a tag shape, hole-punch, and insert twine to attach to the gift.)

Piggy-backing off that last one because it's a super cool idea... my mother had photo-copied pictures of family members, using their photos as tags for Christmas presents. So a picture of my mug means that gift is mine. Such a cute idea. I get my creativity from my mom, no doubt about that. And from Pinterest.

Anyways, just wanted to share. And inquiring minds want to know too... you guys do anything fun with your babe's art? If you do end up doing something like this, message me in whatever platform you want and share... I want to see what you do! And I'll do the same.

Now... I have to figure out how to handle (organize and print) the million photos I have of her.. I'm 2.5 years behind. big sigh

#art #kids #artwork #picasso #family #fun #organized #toddlerlife #preschool #keeping #it #real #simple #fyea