emagination crafts

memorable
Scrapbook your
children’s works
of art in fun and
effective ways.
Artwork, artwork, everywhere! If you
have kids, it’s a good guess that you
have the same problem I do:
masterpieces from your budding artist
scattered everywhere. The fridge is
swathed in colorful renditions of
family portraits and dinosaurs; shelves
bow under the weight of clay creations; and markers,
crayons, and glue sticks can be found under beds and
between the couch cushions. So what to do with all this
creative clutter? Scrapbook it, of course!
Getting Organized
The first step in dealing with the art you already have is
figuring out a way to organize it. As much as I hate parting
with any of my children’s masterpieces, some of it just has
to go! My daughter will scribble on 30 sheets of paper in a
single sitting several times every day. The majority of those
go straight to the trash. I save a few examples for the
grandparents as well as anything that is really special to her.
Any artwork I decide to keep is labeled with the date and
child’s name and put in storage.
So how do I store it all? I keep a separate box for each of
my kids. Any sort of box will do—just remember to get the
art in there right after it’s done to prevent piles. This stuff
multiplies exponentially if left lying around. I bought an
artist’s portfolio to hold all of the oversize artwork that I
keep. But the ultimate place to store your child’s art is in a
scrapbook. You may want to keep separate albums for the
artwork, or you could incorporate the art directly into a
chronological album.
Article by Nikki Krueger
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Remember to record the stories behind works of art,
even when simply storing the pieces. Sometimes all you
need is a label of “self-portrait,” or “frog,” but often there
may be special meaning behind the drawing. The perfect
place to get that journaling is straight from your child. Try
to write down the stories they tell you about their drawings
whenever possible. If it looks like a duck, in your child’s
mind it could be a tree.
Making It Work
I like using actual artwork on my layouts whenever
I can. My son makes lots of tiny creations, and it’s fun to
incorporate many of them on the same layout. It can be a
challenge when dealing with all the different paper types
and colors that he likes to use. Start with a neutral
background and work with the most prominent colors in
the art itself. This can result in some color combinations
you may not have considered using in the past, but that’s
not always a bad thing.
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Jennifer Wohlenberg says her daughter Brenna often
expresses herself through her drawings, so when Brenna
experienced pangs of jealousy over her sister’s solo visit to see
Grandma and Grandpa, Jennifer asked her to draw a picture
about her feelings. When the drawing was complete, she
asked Brenna to tell her all about it. Jennifer recorded the
conversation verbatim and used it to caption the picture. She
pulled the vivid colors used on the layout from the picture,
adding ink with a stippling brush around the edges and the
title to give it a more artistic look.
Sources: Patterned paper by Karen Foster Design (yellow) and Scrapbook
Wizard (purple). Computer fonts are Leftovers (picture caption)
downloaded off the Internet and Flower Pot (journaling) by
Twopeasinabucket.com. Alphabet stickers by Sonnets for Creative
Imaginations. Nailheads by Scrapworks. Design by Jennifer Wohlenberg.
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A flip
book is
a great
way to
add scaled-down drawings
to your layout.
Scrapbooking large projects can pose quite a
challenge. My son often will come home with
oversize drawings from school. One way to handle
them is to do a special album in a larger format
where you can use the actual art. Another fun way
to show off the art is to scan it and print it out in a
smaller size or have reduced color copies made.
You can fit lots of large projects on a page this way.
A flip book is a great way to add these scaled-down
drawings to your layout. You may also want to
photograph some projects, especially those projects
that are too large to store but are very special to
your child. Take a picture of your child wearing the
pirate hat he made, or the papier-mâché volcano
that takes up half the dining room. And don’t
forget to photograph temporary art such as chalk
drawings, Magna Doodle creations, and giant block
towers. Take a series of pictures of artwork in
progress, such as different stages in the creation of
a Lego building.
You also may want to keep samples of the
different stages of your child’s artistic development.
My daughter seems to be permanently stuck in the
glue stage. Although I can’t possibly save every
scrap of glued paper she makes, I have kept samples
of a few of her projects as a reminder of that time
and saved them in a page pocket.
You also can cut out shapes from
your child’s countless scribbles or
finger paintings to use as accents on
your layout. Try using a square punch
or make tags from the art or simply
use an entire sheet as background paper.
●
On this layout, Polly Maly created a shadow box
to display a small book of her son Cole’s artwork, which
was scanned, sized to fit, and printed on white card stock.
She created the shadow box by cutting the window for
the booklet from a piece of patterned card stock and 1⁄4"
foam-core board. She attached the eyelet letters used for
the title, and adhered the card stock to the foam-core
board, which was then attached to a solid sheet of card
stock. Polly attached the booklet to the background,
centering it in the window, and mounted three photos
of Cole in the upper left corner, attaching them with
adhesive foam.
●
Nicole Gartland’s daughter Natalie paints, draws,
and scribbles often, and her mother treasures every creation.
In designing this layout, Nicole hoped to emphasize the process
of creating art as opposed to the finished product, so photos
taken while her daughter worked became the layout’s focal
point. She also scanned Natalie’s original artwork and had the
images printed as photos by an online photo-finishing service.
She cut card stock frames for each tiny masterpiece, adding
embossing powder around the edges of each frame and to the
quote and hand-cut title.
Sources: Computer fonts are Mufferaw (journaling) and Problem
Secretary (quote) downloaded off the Internet. Embossing powder by
Ranger Industries. Radiant Pearls by Angelwings Enterprises. Design by
Nicole Gartland.
Sources: Patterned and solid card stock by SEI. Computer font is
Times Roman by Adobe. Punch by Emagination Crafts (square).
Eyelet letters by Making Memories. Eyelets by Doodlebug Design.
Design by Polly Maly.
●
Polly used a picture drawn
by her daughter as the focal point on this
Valentine’s Day card. First she reduced the
image and printed it on transparency film,
making sure it fit in the window of the die-cut
frame. She attached a piece of patterned paper
just slightly larger than the frame window to
the front panel of the card. After securing the
transparency to the frame on the back, she used
adhesive foam tape to attach the piece to the
front panel of the card. Rhinestones were
attached to the frame with clear-drying glue
for extra interest.
Sources: Two-tone card stock by Paper Adventures.
Patterned paper and die-cut frame by Paperfever.
Transparency film by 3M. Rhinestone crystals by
Westrim Crafts. Design by Polly Maly.
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Lettering templates,
letter stickers, and
premade products often
work well with kids’ artwork
and are great timesavers to
use on those quick pages.
●
●
Multiple Methods
Often I come across a drawing I just adore. Maybe
it’s the penguin that my son was so proud of or my
daughter’s first drawing of a person. These are
special pieces that I don’t want hanging on the
fridge where they’ll get water sloshed on them,
fall off, get stepped on, and eventually find a home
underneath with the dust bunnies. I want to get
these in an album quickly. You don’t have to spend
a lot of time on a page to make it look nice. The
81⁄2×11" format is perfect for many drawings. The
majority of my children’s drawings start out on
81⁄2×11" papers. Many times I will just trim a bit off
of each side and mount on black card stock for a
framed look. Lettering templates, letter stickers,
and premade products often work well with kids’
artwork and are great timesavers to use on those
quick pages.
When you’re willing to spend a bit more effort to
capture your child’s works of art, a computer can be
an invaluable tool. One of my favorite drawings by
my son is his first dinosaur. Unfortunately, he drew
it in pencil on dark brown construction paper so it
is just barely legible. I was able to manipulate the
drawing using my computer, taking away the dark
background. I was then able to print the picture on
whatever color paper I wanted.
Remembering to journal about the significance
of children’s art is particularly important as those early
creations begin to pile up. Jodi Sanford designed this page
featuring her son’s first self-portrait. Her journaling reveals
what an important landmark this was for Dawson, who,
until that point, had produced many colorful scribbles but
had not yet given a name to any of his drawings.
Sources: Patterned paper by Scrapbook Wizard. Computer font is Kids
downloaded off the Internet. White gel pen by Pentel. Lettering template
by EK Success. Fibers by On the Surface. Brads by American Pin. Design
by Jodi Sanford.
This easy-to-accomplish layout is a great example of how
●
to scrap kids’ art quickly and still make the page meaningful.
Nikki quickly mounted the drawing on a sheet of black card
stock, and fashioning a journaling and title block that hangs
from a branch cut from card stock added only minutes to the
total time. Apples cut from card stock and given smiling faces
add extra punch.
Children’s art doesn’t have to be reserved
for scrapbook layouts. It’s also a great way to
make custom greeting cards for all occasions.
Nikki scanned and printed her son’s drawing
and used the reduced version to decorate a
handmade Halloween card. She mounted a
computer-printed sentiment on green card
stock and adhered it to the strip of ribbon she
attached to the left side of the card. More pieces
of green card stock serve as simple accents.
Sources: Card stock by Bazzill Basics Paper (white and
black) and Paper Adventures (green). Computer font is
Midnight Junkyard downloaded off the Internet. Punches
by McGill (small circle) and EK Success (small rectangle).
Design by Nikki Krueger.
Sources: Card stock by Bazzill Basics Paper. Computer font is Flower
Girl downloaded off the Internet. Fibers by Making Memories.
Design by Nikki Krueger.
●
Not all artwork
kids produce is scrappable.
But you may still wish
to record their threedimensional projects for posterity. Alison Beachem took
photos of her son Tucker building elaborate Lego creations and
included those snapshots as well as some close-up shots of his finished
projects in this colorful spread. She printed the letters in her title
in a variety of fonts and bright colors, and she used real Legos to
accent the pages.
Sources: Computer fonts by Twopeasinabucket.com. Metal mesh by Scrapyard 329.
Eyelets and square metal-rim tags by Making Memories. Design by Alison Beachem.
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Artwork used on a layout doesn’t always have to
be the focal point. Nikki used a collection of smiling
faces her son had drawn over time to make the
background paper for this simple layout. She scanned
each of the drawings into her computer, using Word
Perfect to arrange and resize the images and print them
on a sheet of card stock. Circles cut from bold-color card
stock, a wavy text block, and a strip of bright green
patterned paper coordinate with the circular frame she
cut to highlight one of Ritter’s drawings.
By scanning and resizing
children’s drawings, you
can make your own
background paper.
Sources: Card stock by Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper by
Two Busy Moms. Computer fonts are 21 Kilobyte Salute (title)
downloaded off the Internet and Tuxedo (journaling) by
Twopeasinabucket.com. Design by Nikki Krueger.
Another fun thing you can do with your computer
is to scan in many different drawings and make
your own patterned paper. My son is always
drawing funny little happy faces that I just love and
have a hard time parting with. By scanning and
resizing them, I can print them all on the same
page, rather than having piles of little scraps of
paper lying around. You also can use this method to
adapt large pieces of art to fit smaller formats, such
as mini albums or cards.
There are so many fun ways to incorporate your
child’s art into your scrapbooks. Whether you go for
the quick-and-easy approach or design elaborate
pages around the art, your children will love the
results. And you’ll be preserving an important part
of their childhoods. ■
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Nikki documented this stage in her daughter
Reagan’s creative development with photos taken
while Reagan worked on a project as well as
samples of the artwork. Nikki made a pocket for the
pieces from vellum and card stock and labeled it
with the same stickers and computer-printed type
used for the title and page accents. The pocket also
houses additional photos not used on the layout.
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This colorful layout contains an art collection
Nikki’s son Ritter amassed a few years ago during his
“scraps of paper” phase. Nikki displayed each creation
properly by framing it with blocks of card stock, and
added stitched captions and accents. She also included
an original signature by the young artist, mounting it
sideways to fill an awkward space.
Sources: Patterned papers and stickers by Doodlebug Design.
Computer font is Angelina downloaded off the Internet. Fibers
by Fiber by the Yard. Design by Nikki Krueger.
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Sources: Card stock by Bazzill Basics Paper. Computer font is 21
Teenage Angst downloaded off the Internet. Design by Nikki Krueger.
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