Artwork Overload - Real Mum story on MoM

10 Comments

I love that my daughter loves to create. She is constantly drawing, painting, building and “beautifying” her toys, the cupboards and anything that will stand still long enough. I caught her painting our dogs toenails while he was asleep not too long ago.

She has been given control of which artwork goes on the fridge, which artwork goes in to the eight framed “masterpiece theatre” that is my kitchen wall and which pieces are used as wrapping paper, gifts and letters and to whom. It gives her a great thrill to curate colours and even though it can be at times very trying to wait for her final decision and it usually ends up with a kitchen full of glitter, it gives her a sense of pride in her work.

But boy, it is a LOT of artwork to try and keep around.

I started looking in to ways of controlling the mess, seeing what other mothers have done with the mountain of artwork that comes home and gets done at home, and I found ArtKive. Now, I’m not one to recommend an app that I don’t, but this seems to be a really simple premise – you take a photo of the artwork, you can track the date it was created and then you can put them in to a yearly book which they will professionally print and bind for you, or you can make it in to other presents and things. There are other companies who do similar things, but this is dedicated to chronicling children’s artwork, so it really is fit for purpose.

Now, she has just gotten in to taking videos and working with me to turn them in to movies. I’ll need ot start looking at ways of pulling this all together too… I feel an enormous external hard drive purchase in my near future!!

Posted by redsage, 31st May 2013

10 Comments

- - Frankiielot said
  - 08 Jan 2022
    11:10 pm
My cousin’s kid brought home a folder with plastic sleeves in it containing all of the artwork he did for the year at daycare. Seems simple and clean enough to me!
I personally enjoy physical things as I think you actually look at it more.
Things on a phone just sit there and get forgotten about…
I have masses of photos on my phone I never look at but I look at the paintings and creations my toddler has made and put around the house everyday.

- - Kell said
  - 28 Jun 2015
    10:09 am
thanks for sharing this great idea

- - mom94125 said
  - 19 Jun 2015
    12:18 pm
that sounds like a great app. is it a free one?

- - mom118423 said
  - 12 Jun 2015
    10:43 pm
Sounds like a plan

- - mom113055 said
  - 24 Apr 2015
    3:19 pm
i like reading these stories it s fun

- - mom57522 said
  - 03 Jan 2015
    5:40 pm
I have a scrap book for the special,pieces.

- - mom93821 said
  - 23 Dec 2014
    7:06 am
I would also suggest a big wooden chest to keep some of her artwork. Kids love to physically go through their work too!

- - meimei said
  - 24 May 2014
    5:38 pm
Great job!!!! Kids will enjoy artwork activity and can improve their creativity.

- - jodie80 said
  - 31 Mar 2014
    10:55 pm
i keep all my kids art works and reuse them at christmas time as wrapping paper

- - jayella said
  - 31 May 2013
    12:15 pm
Thank you for that great idea, which I will look into. How lucky your daughter is, not only to be so talented and enjoying her life, but also to have such an encouraging mother. Good job!