What to Do With All Your Child's Artwork
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Every parent knows the feeling.
You open the school bag and out comes another drawing. A crayon portrait. A painted handprint. A page covered in purple spirals that your child announces, with complete confidence, is a horse.
You smile. You say it's wonderful. And then you quietly wonder: what do I actually do with all of this?
You are not alone. Children create thousands of drawings between the ages of two and ten. Most parents want to honour that creativity — but the sheer volume makes it overwhelming. Artwork ends up in piles, in folders, in boxes under the bed, or quietly let go when no one is looking.
There is a better way. Here are the most meaningful options for managing, preserving and celebrating your child's artwork.
1. Display it — rotate a dedicated artwork wall
The simplest and most immediate option is to display artwork in your home. A dedicated wall, a pinboard, or a simple string-and-peg line gives children's artwork the attention it deserves — and tells your child that their creativity matters.
The key is rotation. Swap pieces in and out regularly so the display stays fresh and your child sees new work celebrated. Photograph each piece before you rotate it out — more on that below.
Best for: Current artwork, high-volume pieces, work your child is particularly proud of right now.
2. Photograph everything — build a digital archive
Before you make any decision about a piece of artwork, photograph it. A clear photo taken in natural light, flat on a white surface, takes thirty seconds and preserves the artwork permanently regardless of what happens to the original.
Store photos in a dedicated folder — by year or by child — and you'll have a complete record of your child's creative development over time. This archive becomes genuinely precious as children grow.
Tips for photographing artwork:
- Use natural light, not flash
- Lay the artwork flat on a plain white or light surface
- Shoot directly above, not at an angle
- Clean the lens before you shoot
- Use your phone's portrait or document mode if available
How to photograph your child's artwork for the best result →
3. Sort and keep selectively
Not every piece needs to be kept forever — and that is completely fine. The goal is not to keep everything. The goal is to keep the pieces that will matter most in ten or twenty years.
A simple sorting approach:
- Keep: Pieces with strong emotional significance — first drawings, self-portraits, artwork that captures a particular stage of development, anything with your child's name or handwriting
- Display: Current favourites and pieces your child is most proud of right now
- Photograph and release: High-volume pieces, practice work, duplicates
- Frame: The pieces that deserve a permanent home
Involve your child in the sorting process when they are old enough. It teaches them that quality matters more than quantity — and that some things are worth preserving carefully.
4. Create a memory box
A dedicated memory box — one per child — gives artwork a physical home without requiring you to make permanent decisions immediately. Choose a sturdy, acid-free box and store flat pieces carefully.
Label each piece on the back with your child's name, age and date. Future you will be grateful.
A memory box works best as a temporary holding place, not a permanent solution. Artwork stored in boxes tends to fade, yellow and eventually be forgotten. The pieces that matter most deserve better than a box.
5. Frame the pieces that deserve it
Some artwork stops you. A drawing that captures exactly how your child sees the world at this moment. A piece that makes you laugh, or makes you catch your breath. A self-portrait that looks nothing like your child and exactly like your child at the same time.
These pieces deserve a permanent home — not a box, not a folder, not a pile on the kitchen bench.
A professionally framed print of your child's original artwork can hang in your home for years. It becomes part of the family. It is the kind of thing that gets pointed out to visitors, that children grow up seeing on the wall, that becomes more meaningful with time rather than less.
At Little Otis, we take your child's original drawing — exactly as they drew it, every wobbly line intact — and transform it into a beautifully finished, professionally framed piece, ready to hang. We never redraw, reinterpret or improve anything. We preserve it faithfully.
6. Give artwork as a gift
Children's artwork makes a genuinely meaningful gift — particularly for grandparents, who often treasure a grandchild's drawing more than any purchased present.
A framed print of your child's artwork, given as a birthday or Christmas gift, is personal in a way that nothing else can be. It is made by the child, for someone who loves them. That combination is rare.
Children's artwork frames — order yours →
7. Use artwork in other creative ways
Beyond framing and display, children's artwork can be used in a range of creative ways:
- Greeting cards — scan or photograph artwork and print it onto cards for birthdays and Christmas
- Wrapping paper — a drawing photocopied or printed at scale makes beautiful, personal wrapping paper
- A book — several services allow you to compile photographs of artwork into a printed book, year by year
- Fabric prints — some services print children's artwork onto cushions, tote bags or tea towels
The honest answer
The honest answer to what do I do with all my child's artwork is this: photograph everything, keep the pieces that matter, display what your child is proud of right now, and frame the ones that deserve to last.
Children grow up faster than the drawings accumulate. The artwork that feels ordinary today — a quick crayon sketch, a painted handprint, a page of purple spirals — becomes something else entirely in ten years. It becomes evidence of a moment you cannot get back.
Preserve the ones that matter. You will not regret it.
Little Otis turns original artwork into beautifully framed pieces — from children's drawings to your own creative work. Australian-owned family business. Simple upload. Delivered for your home gallery.