My daughter has a painting obsession and has brought home so many pieces since she started preschool less than two months ago. It’s almost like the art is multiplying when I’m not looking.
With the paintings collecting in a messy pile on the dining room table, I knew I needed to find them a home before they got lost or torn. But many of the pieces are oversize and won’t fit into a normal folder.
I flashed back to this storage idea from high school art class: the foam core portfolio. It’s cheap. It’s easy. It’s quick. It hits the trifecta. Let’s get to it!
First you need a couple of sheets of foam core. If you are not familiar, foam core or foam board is a thin sheet of styrofoam with a layer of paper on both sides. It’s very rigid and does not bend. I bought these 20″ x 30″ pieces at the dollar store, but larger pieces and different thicknesses are available at craft and art supply stores (likely for more moolah).
I laid them side by side, long sides together.
Then I joined the two with a strip of duct tape. I used a couple of tabs just to hold it together while I laid the long strip, but you can skip that part if you want. Feel free to use packing tape instead or jazz it up with pretty colored tape. I went for the basic gray because it’s what I had, and I am cheap.
Fold the portfolio in half (like a book)…
And run another strip of tape along the spine. You’re done! I told you it was quick.
Now you can keep all of those masterpieces contained in one spot. I tucked my portfolio behind a piece of furniture to keep it out of sight and away from little hands. I can’t wait to see what the collection looks like at the end of the school year!
p.s. It should be noted that this is not an acid-free storage solution. If that’s important to you, seek out acid-free foam core or just get yourself a real portfolio.
Hi there, I’ve been all over online tonight, looking for ideas on where to buy a portfolio, and yours is the absolute best! My son makes all sorts of art in all sorts of shapes and giant paper, and this is such a great idea I can’t wait to get it done! Thank you for sharing this, you are saving us from piles all over the house 🙂
Happy to help! It really is nice to have a home for all that artwork. Good luck!
Another great idea to keep the memories is to take a digital photo of all of them at the end of the year and upload to a book making site like snapfish and make a book each year. By the time your little one is in high school you will have a great collection and a smaller storage problem!
That is a good idea and something I will have to consider as time goes on. I plan on only keeping the best pieces, but I don’t really know what those will be until I have all of them!
Love the instructions for how to make a portfolio… I was looking online to buy one for my teenage daughter.
Anyway, something I did with random artwork when mine were little was to make envelopes out of them. In that way, I was getting rid of the artwork that seemed to multiply overnight and everyone who received a letter from me was getting the opportunity to see something the girls had created without over stuffing an envelope! Another thing I did was to cut sheets down to size to make backgrounds for scrap booking. Those are fun to look back on as well.
Great ideas for reusing the artwork!