I wanted to share an update about putting the kid’s artwork in a book. I shared about it in my previous posts HERE, HERE , and HERE and have been really happy to see that others have been trying it out. I received notes about using the same process to save postcards and love notes between partners (awe!) or documenting a grandma’s handmade quilts for her (tears!). I love how creative you all have gotten with photo-documenting and printing these magazines.

Sharing an update on the kid’s art books as i find it’s good to remember that this is a great solution to cherish the kid’s creative work while also ensuring you can recycle the majority of it and keep your small space clutter-free.

How To Make a Kid Art Book from my Smart Phone:

• Kid makes art.

• I gush over it and tell them that I am going to take a picture of it for the art book. I either take the picture right then or a put it in a safe place to photograph when I have time.

• I washi-tape the art onto the white wall during daylight and take a photo. Then before I forget I save the photo to a folder on my phone. I call the folder ART 1, ART 2, ART 3… you get the idea.

• Sometimes I save a bunch of art in my Something Small and then do one big photo taking session.

• I find some really good times to make an art book is when you get a pile of work brought home from school or daycare. Sort through and pick your favourites. Then you can recycle the rest without guilt!

• I don’t separate the art by kid and I don’t perfectly choose 25 from one kid, and 25 from another, I try to make sure there is a mix of art and the kids usually know which is which. Often school or camp art has their name right on it and their style is quite different. BUT if you want, you could have separate photo folders for each kid and make their own books. Your call!

• Once I have 50 photos in the ART Folder I edit all the photos at once in Lightroom with the same preset so it’s quick (I still make some adjustments so they look similar, but mostly I’m just brightening the photos). Then I save all the edited photos and delete the unedited ones in the folder (tedious but necessary).

• I then order an art book on my iphone with Recently ( I like 50 pages, single photo page). It’s my photo printing book of choice, because of the paper and print quality and that they do the layout for me. (You can use my code 600sqft for a discount when you sign up). I choose the Folder of edited photos and let Recently do the rest. Sometimes I order an extra copy for the Grandparents! You are welcome use any other photo book printing company you prefer.

• I have been signed up for the quarterly magazines for years and always manage to use all 4 and sometimes a few more a year for family photos and holiday magazines.

Some art is really special and I can tell it means a lot to the kids, those go on the wall in their bedroom. And after a few weeks or months it goes through the same cycle as the other art.

Also I should note that I do not take photos of ALL the art. I find their art goes in waves or themes and I try to capture a certain type of art that is happening. For example Mae is really into cute things with big eyes at the moment. So I capture a piece or two that show how she draws them at this moment in time. As her style evolves I capture another one. Or Theo is really into graffiti and has been making dozens (hundreds?) of stickers of his tag name. I choose a few and include them in the book, I don’t document every one. Sometimes I take pictures of special lego creations, sculptures or craft projects. I’ve also taken multiple photos of pages of comic books the kids have made, a great way to save the memory without saving all the objects/paper.

So how are the kids with it? Well they seem to be doing great with it. Often asking me to take a picture of their latest work. They also like to look through their art book together and point out who made which art piece.

I have added the Kid Art Book Lightroom preset HERE for download. And Recently has kindly offered a discount with the code 600sqft , it should work for new and existing customers. They have recently updated their app with feedback from customers so i hope you find it even more user friendly. I don’t work for Recently but have partnered with them in the past. I have just long admired their app and I’m so happy I stumbled upon it years ago and have used them to save our best memories. Love what this small family-run Brooklyn based company is doing.

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