The Green Parent | Waste-Free Wednesday: Reusing Your Child's Artwork

Waste-Free Wednesday: Reusing Your Child's Artwork

Waste-Free Wednesday

For this week’s edition of Waste-Free Wednesday, I’m tackling my daughters’ art box. No sooner could my girls put pen to paper then my walls suddenly were papered in their sketches, drawings, painting, and doodles. Once I ran out of wallspace, I needed to figure out a way to get the most mileage from their most prized pieces. Sure, grandma will always love a stack of artwork as a gift, but why not make it even more creative and useful with these tricks:

Framed art: Pick up second-hand frames from the thrift store to display artwork.
Ornaments: Make holiday ornaments and decorations by trimming artwork and laminating if necessary.
Coasters: Pick up clear glass or plastic coasters from a second-hand store and tape portions of your child’s artwork to the backside.
Mobiles: Make paper cubes out of your child’s artwork and hang pieces at different lengths from a hangar.
Bottled-Up Art: Roll of the artwork and gently insert into a clean, clear bottle. Unroll the piece for display in the bottle.
Cards: Use the backside of art-work as is for personalized stationary to send letters and notes to family and friends. Or get creative and make cards from artwork to send out on special occasions.
Wrapping Paper: Use your child’s art to wrap presents.
Pencil Holders:
Glue drawings around a clean, recycled metal can to make a keepsake pencil holder.
Mouse Pad: Laminate your child’s paintings to create a personalized mouse pad.
Line-Art: Hang artwork on a clothesline or across your fence on a sunny day.
Books: Staple several pieces of your child’s artwork together into a book.
Kiddie Gallery: Cover a large cardboard box inside and out with your child’s artwork and cut holes on both sides so kids can crawl through and observe the art.