Make art, not clutter

It’s a modern-day conundrum: The kids are constantly coming home from school with new artistic gems, but stainless-steel fridges mean there’s no obvious, magnet-friendly spot to hang them. And that stack of Pollock-style finger paintings can only get so big before it takes over your home office.

A slew of savvy crafters have come up with some novel solutions to conserve your kids’ most precious creations without converting your home-decorating style to Early American Romper Room. There are funky, fun options for preserving those keepsakes for posterity, whether for yourself, Grandma and Grandpa or even the little artists themselves.

Picture this
Like every other parent, Aurora-based mom Rebecca Graf believed her now–nine-year-old son was “the next Picasso.” When he drew a picture of  a three-legged pig, she, of course, thought it was the cutest thing ever. But instead of sticking it in a frame, she grabbed a needle and thread and turned it into a stuffed doll. Friends and family swooned. A professional marketer, Graf couldn’t help but come up with a prototype for a pillow and a T-shirt as well. Six years later, Graf’s company, art2believe (art2believe.com), takes other kids’ drawings (snail-mailed or e-mailed with an order form) and turns them into pillows, dolls and shirts priced $40 to $100.

“I made one for a friend’s little boy and he was so proud of himself,” Graf says of the child’s reaction when he was able to hold a 3-D version of his own drawing. “I think it is a great way to capture memories.”

Graf says that the custom orders take roughly six to eight weeks to fill. Unlike the bronze baby shoe of yore, art2believe’s products are designed so that kids are able to  play with them.

Family jewels
If you really want the outside world to see what your offspring have wrought, try Totally Out of Hand (203-445-1953, totallyoutofhand.com). Connecticut silversmith Lee Skalkos makes microversions of your kids’ master works in the form of sterling and copper earrings, pins, cuff links, key chains and other jewelry for $95 to $165. (Gold jewelry is priced as a custom order.) The baubles can be engraved on the back with your kids’ names and ages so that you’ll always remember who drew what when. Turnaround times vary, but it may be wiser to order now for Mother’s Day than to try to rush a Christmas gift.

Skalkos says any drawing that has meaning to you works as a piece of jewelry, but those drawn with thin markers, pencils or pens work better than crayon creations. Drawings can be mailed, faxed or     e-mailed to Skalkos.

A stitch in time
Soft, fabric reminders of childhood are the business of Stitch’T (212-860-7029, stitcht.com). The New York–based firm makes quilts—for cribs as well as twin, queen and king-size beds—and wall hangings out of T-shirts, sweatshirts and other cloth mementos for $70 to $500. So instead of storing all those 1K fun run tees your kids have acquired in the attic, you can have Stitch’T turn them into a quilt. The finished product features squares from the shirts topstitched to cozy gray sweatshirt material.

To get ready to curl up by the fire with your memories, download the order form and determine how many shirts you’ll need for a particular quilt size. Wash your shirts, then mark which image you want used on clothes that have graphics on both the front and back. Orders take eight to ten weeks to sew and return to you.

Fast and fabulous
If you don’t have the budget (or the time before this gift-giving season) to order one of the above-mentioned killer creations, don’t fret. Websites including Shutterfly (shutterfly.com), Snapfish (snapfish.com) and Café Press (cafepress.com) use mass-market technology to turn your kids’ works of art into everything from tote bags and throw pillows to pet bowls. You’ll need to scan the images to create a digital file and—depending on which site and product you choose—you may have to do a little manipulation to get it to look right. You won’t get the handmade quality of these smaller companies. But with prices ranging from $4 to $25 and turnaround times that are only a matter of days, it’s just right for already time-crunched, budget-conscious parents during the holidays.