Kids art display box: 10 min hack to store & show your kids art

I love my kids art and paintings. I love to keep the good ones and show them. This kids art display box allows me to save the paintings, show them, easily change the piece on display and, in general, give them the right attention.

The idea of the kids art display box itself is not mine. I already had two boxes like this made of wood I bought for my elder daughters many years ago. So, I wanted to add two more boxes but could not find it anywhere.

Since I was looking for these boxes for a long time, it was so fun to find out how easy and cheap it was to make them myself.

The box keeps the paintings (A4 gets in easily) and the first painting stands nicely in the frame thanks to the backer board.

The project itself takes about 10min.

It costs $11.5 ($8.99 + $2.49)

IKEA items used:

• Hejsan Box set of 3 (using only the big box)
• Fiskbo Frame 8.5×11′

HEJSAN | Photo: IKEA.com

FISKBO | Photo: IKEA.com

Other materials and tools:

• Good scissors
• Utility knife
• Hot glue gun
• Drill and screws for hanging

Here’s how to make a kids art display box:

First, take the big box from the Hejsan pack of 3 boxes. Set the other 2 boxes aside for other projects. Then, cut about 1/3 from the top of the yellow cover. (I used knife for that).

Next, you’ll need to cut the slot. On the long side of the box (without the yellow covering), mark where you want to cut. I used the existing square grids on the box as a guide, leaving 2 squares on the long side and a little more then one square from the sides.

From the discarded rectangle, cut 4 little squares (1.5×1″) and glue them with hot glue on two places at the top of the back of the box. I measured about 2″ from each side. I used two layers of cardboard on each spot. This is needed to reinforce the spot where you will hang the box. (If you choose to mount the box differently you can skip this step.) On these spots, drill a large hole and right above it, a small hole, to form an inverted keyhole. The larger hole will allow the screw head to pass through and the smaller hole to lock the screw into position.

Next step is to glue the yellow cover to the sides of the box with hot glue.

Take off the Fiskbo black backer board and leave only the frame and the clear plastic. (Make sure to remove the protective sticker from both sides of the clear plastic.)

Finally, glue the Fiskbo frame to the yellow cover on three sides, leaving the top portion open to slot in a painting.

And your kids art display box is done.

The final step is to drill two screws to the wall to fit the holes you already created.

Notes on mounting

The hanging can be done with many other ways. I found it comfortable to drill two screws to the wall in a way I can take off the box and put it back. This is definitely not a must. It can be screwed straight to the wall or glued to it.

~ by Merav Ziv-Ari

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