How To Store Childen's Artwork

My Very Own Gallery

Advice Seeker: Dear April,

My house, which is not particularly large, has become filled with popsicle stick jewelry boxes, smeared fingerpaintings and lots of crayon drawings of stick figures. My kids' art is everywhere! I am wracked with guilt at the idea of throwing it out, but it's such clutter and I don't have room for, weil, normal adult decorations anymore.

What can I do with it?

Signed,

Picasso's Mom

April Masini's advice:

Dear Picasso's Mom,

If in doubt throw it out does NOT apply to your children's artwork. The last thing you want to do is let your children see that you're throwing out their work. What you want them to understand is how much you value them and their work. There is no better way to do that than to save their art. Here are some tips for saving art that comes home at the end of the school year:

* Frame it. Ever wandered through a museum of modern art musing to yourself how much better your five-year-old's art was than the masterpieces on the walls? Sure you did. Well, frame your child's art with a mat and a nice frame and display it.

* Father's Day is in June. What better way to mark Dad's big day than with his progeny's artwork? There is none. Gift wrap it and give it to Dad, Uncle, Brother and all those men you gift on Father's Day.

* Big plastic tupperware type containers that stack under your bed or in your attic or garage are a great investment. Label them with your child's name and the year if you have more than one child. Or just the year if you don't have too much to store. You'll be glad you saved them one day.