Cute idea for displaying child's art/pictures

Hey everyone, here is a really cute idea for displaying your kids pictures or artwork!  I am sorry I could not get the pictures from the site but here is the link to shutter fly so you can see the step by step pictures not just the directions.  You should check it out, super cute!



http://blog.shutterfly.com/4382/create-a-clothespin-photo-art-center/


Create a clothespin photo art center

by Amanda F Posted on July 30, 2010



Have you ever handed your child a camera and let them take pictures of whatever they wanted? Chances are the pictures were of the carpet, a close up of the cat’s tail, their thumb, and occasionally a cute shot of your child and their friends. No one wants to hurt their child’s feelings by not including their photographic efforts in the family photo albums, so why not create a space where their snapshots can shine?

This cute clothespin art center has multiple uses! You can use coloring pages to decorate its header, like I did, or creatively cut and trim some of those snapshots to decorate it instead. Hang the photos from the adorable crayon clothespins, and your child’s face will light up with excitement.

To make this clothespin art center, you will need:

6 wooden clothespins

24″ x 4″ wood slat

Coloring pages

Crayons

White glue

Water

Scissors

Remove the wrappers from 6 different colored crayons. I used a craft knife to cut along the seam and remove them. They will be very cylindrical, so you’ll need to flatten them. I ironed mine, but you could also press them in a heavy book overnight.

Place clothespin on top of the crayon wrapper, use a pencil to draw a faint line. Cut the crayon wrapper so that it’s just slightly smaller than the surface of the clothespin.

Mix some white glue and water together to make a decoupage mixture, then decoupage the wrapper to the clothespin.

Glue the clothespins to the wooden plank, you want about 2/3 of the clothespin on the plank, spacing them apart evenly.

Have the kids color some printables or coloring book pages. Make sure they color the background too! Cut them out, decoupage them onto the plank, only painting the back of the colored decals at this point. Don’t decoupage over the tops just yet.

Use a crayon to shade in the background, use a secondary color as well, if you wish. I used blue with touches of yellow at the top since my pictures were related to water and nature. Choose another color (I used red) to outline the border of the plank. Decoupage over the top of everything, smooth any bubbles that may pop up on your “decals”.


Cut a piece of denim to create a border for the plank. Place the plank on top of it to get an idea for the size you need to cut, mark with a pencil, and then cut. Cut two strips of denim, about an inch wide, lay them across the front of the plank. Once you have them where you want them, loosely tie a knot at the top.

Place the ends of the strips under the plank. Once everything is positioned, trim anything that needs trimming, then cover the back of the plank with white glue. Press down onto the denim and let dry. Adjust the knot at the top, tie into a bow and trim ends.

Hang!

Crafts by Amanda