These DIY art books for kids double as an art portfolio you can enjoy over and over again. These books are a wonderful way to store and display kids art. Written by Meri Cherry.
As an art teacher, I am constantly introducing young children to new process based art techniques, like salt painting, printmaking, and collage. Sometimes we have piles of art that looking for a home. Making art books with young children is like an active art portfolio you can enjoy over and over again. It’s a great coffee table book and a wonderful way to share your child’s art work all contained in one space.
There are lots of ways you can make an art book. It can be big, small, and anywhere in between.
Here’s how we made ours.
DIY Art Books for Kids
MATERIALS
Watercolor Paper for the Cover
Craft Paper or construction paper for the inside pages
String or yarn for binding
3 Easy Steps to Making Your Art Book
1. First make the cover. The cover will be for the front and back of the book. We used watercolor paper and had so much fun painting it. We started with big paper and actually cut it down to 11×17 after we painted it. You can see the whole painting process here plus lots of reasons to let kids paint.
2. For the inside pages we used craft paper that was used to cover our table for art class. You can also use regular construction paper or even computer paper, though I’d recommend something a bit more durable. Whatever paper you choose, cut it to the same size as your cover and place three or more pieces on top of the watercolor paper. Then, carefully fold it in half to make a book.
3. To bind your book take a piece of string or yarn and place it alongside the fold and then tie a simple bow or knot along the outside seam. You want to tie it tight enough so that it keeps the pages secure but doesn’t pull on your book. If you want to make your book more secure, you can staple the pages together too along the seam.
*Note* Your art book can be any size you want. I’m just sharing what we did, but get creative. It’s your art book!
What to Fill Your Art Book With
Anything goes when it comes to art books. And they definitely don’t have to be finished in one go. We worked on ours for over three weeks! That’s the fun part. You can make a family art book or individual ones. You can keep adding to it over time. And you can even add more pages as you go.
You can also make art books for special occasions. We made some in art class for Mother’s Day that were so special. We included quotes on each page from the artist about what they love about their mom. It was such a beautiful exchange between mother and daughter.
Regardless of the occasion or no occasion at all, art books can make a precious keepsake to hold onto for years and years to come. What would you put in your art book?
Thanks for reading along everyone and thank you Artful Parent for letting me share here today. Happy creating! Meri Cherry
MeriCherry, yes, that’s her real name, is an arts and crafts blogger at mericherry.com. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two young daughters.
Meri is an art teacher and designer of art spaces for kids. She is passionate about the process of art, thrift stores, and the Reggio approach to learning.
