Another project I wanted to highlight from the Kids’ Room – Final Reveal! was the solution I came up with to display our childrens’ artwork.
I’ve mentioned before that my kids are ages 3 & 4, so I needed to find something that would be safe and not easily breakable.
- I had considered a picture frame & mat, but worried that they would be trying to take the artwork down above their beds and break the glass frame – that wouldn’t work.
- I also considered a cork board and use push pins to quickly change out artwork when they wanted. The sharp push pins wouldn’t work well either.
Then I finally came up with this idea for a:
Cork Board Art Display!
Supplies Needed:
18″x24″ Cork Board – (I found them for $6/ea. at Target)
(2) short screws
approx. 30″ of twine
(2) paper clips (I used small colored ones)
Directions:
- Place cork board in landscape orientation.
- Screw in (1) screw on each side of the wood frame, 4″ from the top of the frame.
- Wrap twine a few times around one screw, and pull taut to wrap other end around the opposite screw.
- Trim any excess twine.
- Hang cork board on wall.
- Hang artwork (ie. 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of art) from the twine using paperclips
The process sounds easy enough, right? Well, I guess I couldn’t leave well enough alone.
The cork board was the perfect size I was looking for, and at a good price.
However, the natural wood frame was not color I was wanting for the room.
I decided I wanted to prime and paint it a dark red, which would match other accessories in the room. I also already had the left-over paint from a previous project.
Score! Free paint!
I sanded and tacked the wood frame, and used painter’s tape to tape around the edges.
I used:
- 1 coat of primer.
- 3 coats of dark red paint, waiting for paint to dry between each coat.
- 2 coats of spray polyurethane in clear high gloss for a shiny, protective finish.
The color was exactly the shade I wanted, and the paint finish looked great!
Then in the process of, carefully, taking off the blue painter’s tape - the thin layer of cork around the edges started to peel and come apart!
Oh no! I had ruined the entire project!!!
I was horrified, not knowing how to salvage the project. I was so upset, and forgot to take a pic of this phase (sorry). For a moment, I thought these cork boards were going to the Goodwill pile.
Then I had another idea!
I remembered I had these strips of cardstock paper left-over from a previous project. I thought to myself , “What if I glued the strips around the edges to create a matting effect?”
Only one way to find out! And since I had planned on scrapping the entire project anyway, it would be no loss if it didn’t turn out.
Here is the finished Cork Board Art Display:
Well, what do you think?
I actually LOVE how it turned out! I think the matting nicely frames the kids’ artwork making it look more “museum quality”. If you look closely, however, you can see where the card stock strips overlap. I’m okay with that. It’s good for me to throw perfection to the wind sometimes, and just accept “good enough”. And honestly, as a way to display my kids’ custom artwork – I actually think it turned out perfectly!
…And one more look with the Cork Board Art Display hung in place above their beds:
Have you ever had a good craft idea, had it turn out disastrous, and then transform it to perfection? I’d love to hear your story!
