If you’re a parent, or even grandparent or aunt or uncle, accumulating kids’ art is a part of life. Of course you want your kid to feel like you appreciate their art, but you can’t frame and display every piece they make. Or can you? This DIY interchangeable kids art display makes it easy to swap out art every time they make a new piece.
Juna is still very much in the scribbling stage, so all of her art is abstract. Luckily I’ve always liked abstract art. But of course no matter what we love it all and want to display it. I looked at quite a few DIY kids art display options, and even some non DIY versions. This seemed like the easiest way to make an interchangeable art display, though. Mine’s slightly different, but I got the idea from By Stephanie Lynn. All you need are picture frames, sheet metal, and magnets.
I even found the perfect black 11×14 frames in my basement. Most paper that kids will be using is probably 8 1/2 by 11 inches, but some may be a bit bigger, so frames with an opening of at least 9 by 12 inches will give you more flexibility. And obviously you can use whatever style and color of frame fits your decor. Although we only had room for three frames on this wall, I think a whole kids art display gallery wall with frames of different sizes could be really fun. Thrift stores and garage sales would be great places to source the frames.
And it just occurred to me that there’s no reason this has to be a kids art display. Get bored of your art quickly? You could use magnetic frames like these to display anything you want to be able to switch out easily.
Materials
- Picture frames
- Sheet metal – Make sure a magnet sticks to it! I used this. Try to find the nicest, least dented sheet.
- Tin snips
- Paper – For larger frames, you’ll need pieces that are at least 11 by 17 inches like these.
- Scissors
- Marker
- Pencil
- Measuring tape
- Small magnets
Instructions
I didn’t take step-by-step photos for this project because it’s so easy. Basically just take the glass out of a frame, and replace it with sheet metal and paper. Here’s a little more detail, though.
- Remove the cardboard backing and glass from the picture frame.
- Trace around the cardboard backing or glass with a marker on the sheet metal. The sheet metal I used was 16 by 35 inches, and the backings for my 11×14 frame were 10 by 13 inches, so I was able to get three from each metal sheet.
- Cut just inside the lines you traced on the metal with tin snips. Be careful! The cut metal edges can be sharp. Wearing thick gloves would be smart. I didn’t, and I gave myself a little cut. (Don’t worry, once you assemble your frame the edges will be covered.)
- Now cut a piece of paper to go on top of the metal. Cardstock or slightly textured art paper would be nice. All I had on hand that was the right size was plain white paper, so I doubled it up to be sure it would be thick enough that the metal wouldn’t show through.
- Put the white paper on top of the metal, and reassemble your frame, leaving the glass out.
- Hang your frames, and add your art with magnets.
