Updated on August 23, 2024
For those of you with school-age children you know how quickly all the art masterpieces they bring home from school can add up and end up all over the house. Even for those of you with little ones not yet in school, the precious scribbles and works of art seem to multiply daily. Both of my kids love to draw and paint. I needed to corral all of these papers while still allowing my children to display (at least some of) their beautiful works of art. And I wanted this project done cheaply – like under 5 bucks cheap! Here is what I came up with:
Before I created our art display wall, I would use masking tape to hang up all the pictures on and around my coat closet. This in and of itself was not awful, but it started to become an eyesore, especially since you see this particular closet from all the main areas in my house.
Pretty, huh? Oh, wait. I don’t think so either! So, I went on the hunt for a way to display artwork. I have seen other pictures of using curtain wire and special clips to hang artwork, and I thought this would be a great solution. I found this really great Dignitet Curtain Wire from Ikea:
This was perfect. But it was going to be $12.99 for each wire (I needed 2) plus the price of the hooks ($2.99 for a 24 pack). I was looking at almost $29 before shipping – since I don’t have an Ikea near me. This just wasn’t an option for right now.
I had to get creative, and I will show you how I made a much cheaper version of this same idea!
Art Display Wall
Supplies Needed:
- Laser Level (or tape measure)
- Eye hooks (sometimes called screw eyes)
- Picture hanging wire
- Pliers
- Clothespins
Lucky for me, the only purchase I had to make was for the eye hooks. They were under $2 at my local hardware store and I had everything else on hand.
Step One:
Decide where you want your art display wall to go. I had a nice, low, blank wall in the hallway leading to the kid’s bedrooms and their bathroom. The perfect spot to display their art!
Step Two:
Use your laser level to mark where you want to install your eyelets. (If you don’t have a laser level you can just measure up from the ground with a tape measure the same distance on both sides.) Screw in the eye hooks on either end.
Step Three:
Loop your picture framing wire around the eye hook and twist it to secure it. Repeat this process at the other end of your wall. Trim any excess wire.
Step Four:
Hang your pictures using clothespins. I plan to decoupage these clothespins with some fun kid paper some time down the road.
I did two rows of the wire to accomodate more artwork and really fill the space. The great part about this system is you can make it as long or short as you want. You could do a really narrow, tall wall, and just add more strings along the entire height of the wall! If you wanted to dress it up a bit more for pictures or even just the artwork you could use the clips from Ikea. They are called Riktig Curtain Hooks.
Another inexpensive option for hooks would be to use badge clips. These have a snap you loop around the wire, with the clip on the bottom. You can find these at Walmart or your local office supply store.
As they create new works of art, I rotate out their newer projects and file away the old ones. In the coming months I will share my filing system for keeping (and sometimes tossing) all the works of art and school work!
Linking up here:
Not JUST a Housewife: Show Me What Ya Got
Delightful Order: Delightfully Inspiring Thursday Party
The Girl Creative: Just Something I Whipped Up
© copyright 2013 – All rights reserved
Leave a Reply