Do your kids bring home piles and piles of artwork? I feel like since day 1 of Pre-K our house has been flooded with artwork every week. You’ve probably figured out by now that I’m not one to keep piles and piles of papers, even when it’s my child’s school work, however I came up with, what I think is, a pretty cool idea for how to hold onto their artwork, and display it in your home.
For the last 3 years I’ve been collecting Malea’s art projects, cute notes and other random things she made at school or at home. A couple weeks ago I sat down and for about an hour I scanned it all into my computer. Then I went on Shutterfly.com and made a photo book featuring all her artwork.
Here’s the deal, you save all their artwork, but do you ever really look at it? Really? I honestly hadn’t looked at that huge pile of Malea’s artwork in a couple years, other than to move it from one location to another. But now that I’ve made the photo book I look at it all the time and now our friends and family can enjoy it too.
I saved a handful of my favorite pieces, to add to the gallery wall in our living room, but once I had the rest of it scanned into my computer I tossed it. I know you are probably thinking that’s a terrible thing to do but like I said, if it just sits in a pile, no one is ever going to look at it anyways. And now that I have all her art saved on an external hard drive I can upload it back to my computer and print large prints of it any time I want.
The photo book was genius though because it’s the perfect size for a coffee table book (I ordered a 10″x10″) and my daughter feels so proud seeing it displayed in the center of our living room.
It has also been fun to watch our friends and family look through it and comment on all her cute pictures and notes. I know she loves hearing all their comments and seeing their reactions to her drawings.
If you have multiple children, like I’m assuming most of you do, you could combine the artwork and make a 1st grade art book to see how similar, yet different, all of them were in 1st grade. Or you could do what I did and combine multiple years of school for each kid, Kindergarten – 2nd grade art book for each child. Or you could do it totally differently, it’s up to you!
No matter how you end up making your art photo book I know your kids will love it and they will feel so proud having their artwork turned into a book! This would also make a great gift for their grandparents for Christmas. 😉 Sign up for Shutterfly’s emails and you’ll get coupons, sales and even free photo books from time to time!
This is not a sponsored post, I just really love Shutterfly and how fun and easy it is to make photo books on their site. 🙂 However I have included a few affiliate links to the Shutterfly products I used for this post, if you buy through the link I get a small commission but you don’t pay a cent more than you normally would. Thank you for supporting Ask Anna!
Love this! I never thought to scan it. I’m really sentimental, I would keep everything if I could but I know it’s just not practical. Thanks for giving me a way to cherish without clutter! And perfect timing too since my oldest started preschool this year.
hi Anna! thanks for the great idea, however for those who cannot afford to have books printed, may I suggest that if you do have a scanner and a computer, why not scan and open files under each child’s name? you can still get creative with it, I think I will do that as I have two grandchildren who love to give me notes and cards and yes I feel bad to throw it away.. I will also make files for their mommy who has a box full already hehe
looking forward to great ideas from you!
That’s a great idea 🙂
Quick question, and it may be a stupid one…how did you scan any odd-sized or large artwork? Some of my son’s artwork is bigger than an 8-1/2×1, so I’m not sure how I could scan those items? I appreciate it! Such a cute and smart idea!
-Mandy
That’s a great question! For the awkward shaped pieces of art, I used my camera to take pictures of them, then uploaded them to the computer. Just make sure you have good lighting so the colors stay true to the original piece. 🙂
Anna,
I am on the quest to digitize my son’s art pieces and cute little writings as well. What worked best for you? Did you digitize using a home printer/scanner or take photos of all the pieces?
Thanks!
Sinden
I used my scanner for all the normal shaped pieces but the larger ones I had to take pictures of. I like the scanner because it’s very true to the original colors. 🙂
Absolutely Genius! I can’t wait to do this and get rid of our “kids keepsake” bins! Thx for sharing!
What an amazing idea! Thanks so much. I was specifically trying to determine how to organize all the sweet drawings I’ve saved. Perfect!
What type of scanner do you have by chance? I have been looking at getting a new one especially for this project. Thanks
Hi Meghan! I have the Canon MG5722 Wireless All-In-One Printer with Scanner and Copier, and I love it! It has great coloring and the pictures look just like they do in real life. 🙂 Here’s a link if you are interested – http://amzn.to/2cD7a88, it’s even on sale so it’s cheaper than when I bought it!
Hi! I have really enjoyed your ideas on how to save your kids art, specifically making photobooks. I have several boxes and accordion files, filled with my daughters papers from school. I recognize that these items are no good to anyone, in boxes, and that they need to be in some sort of book. I was thinking about scrapbooking, but the whole thing has felt very overwhelming. I like your recommendation about the photobook! It seems like the way to go! I also, liked reading peoples’ questions and your answers.