Make a DIY Display for Your Kids’ Schoolwork and Art Projects

Okay guys, I’m really embarrassed to admit a couple of things in this post, but here it goes! First off, I’m finally going to admit I’m that mom—the mom who hates the thought of the walls in my home being plastered with my kids’ artwork. There, I said it. But it sounds awful, right? I mean, just seeing that in print now made me cringe. I’m going to blame it on a slight case of OCD and my need for plain, unadorned walls (hangs head in shame). Don’t get me wrong—I love the stuff that they make, but I just don’t want it to become my design “style” for the next ten years. Is anybody out there with me?

That being said, a plain white wall in our kitchen that had been blank for seven years suddenly became messily filled with papers, artwork and random prized possessions. My kids loved displaying their works of art and A+ tests, but the wall was becoming a complete disaster! Check out my “before” picture below—yikes!

So after a few months of walking by my “wall of shame,” I spent $37 in the Target Dollar Spot, a few hours of my time and magically transformed it into my kids’ artwork “Wall of Fame!” Keep reading below to see my steps of how I made this easy transformation and how I actually fell in love with our new artwork display wall!

First, I used my cutting machine to cut out the words “Klaparda Wall of Fame” in school-looking fonts. Using just my eyes and a pencil, I drew a curved line on the wall that I erased later to keep the arc centered. I also used blue painters tape to keep our name “Klaparda” level.

Then, I used one of my favorite items—3M Command Picture Hanging Strips—and applied them to the back of all of the items I wanted to use as display holders for the artwork. Have you guys used these strips yet? If not, go out and get yourself some; they are amazing because they won’t damage the walls! I’ve actually tested this—I just removed something that had been up on my son’s wall for over three years, and sure enough, no damage!

Target currently has a ton of really great back-to-school themed items, which is where I picked up everything for my artwork wall. My favorite finds are the pencil, apple and ruler clips to hang up the artwork. I simply applied the command picture hanging strips on the back, removed the sticky back, and stuck them to the wall.

I also found these cute little ruled name placecards, and I added my kids’ names on each one and put them near the top of the wall.

I also accented the wall with a “Hooray” pennant banner, 3-D words, chunky 3-D ceramic pencils and motivational sayings.

These 3-D pieces really make the artwork wall pop!

Here’s another look at the artwork clips. You can arrange them on your own wall so that you can hang different sizes of artwork, or line them up end to end for larger pieces.

So there you have it—my finished “Wall of Fame!” I hope I’ve inspired some of you to create an artwork display wall that doesn’t break the bank or ruin your walls!

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