Whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or neighbor, children love to make pictures for you. Speaking from experience, I never like to throw out these masterpieces. Yet no one has the room to save all of them. I want to offer some creative ways to save these wonderful works of genius. The next time your little Picasso comes home with his/her latest creation, you no longer have to cringe! Here are some alternative solutions for your child's artwork:

• Digital pictures - Take a picture of the piece or your child with several pieces. These can be saved electronically. You can then put the pictures into scrapbooks or have the pictures made into gifts for the holidays (with the help of an on-line service).
  
  
• Gift wrap and cards - My family uses some of the larger creations as gift wrap. More abstract creations can be folded in half and made into cards. You can even cut out portions and glue onto a piece of construction paper to make a card. I love doing this for all of the friend birthday parties my children are invited to.
  
  
• The door wall - Now this idea made me smile. In the September 2010 edition of Family Fun magazine, they created an "art gallery" on a door wall! They simply taped/sticky tacked the pictures onto the window and created frames with a window marker. Take it a step further, and put pieces back to back so the viewers outside can enjoy the exhibit. You could do the same on a window. When a new batch comes in, simply recycle the old ones (or use as gift wrap, a card, etc.). You can do the same with closets (from the hallway to the bedrooms), but without the marker frame. Matting from an old picture or even a piece of construction paper (with the edges cut fancy of course) will do the trick for a frame.
  
  
• Inside cabinets - Another great Family Fun idea; tape them inside your cabinets. What a great way to take out your plates.
  
  
• A bulletin board - We have a 5 foot by 5 foot bulletin board in our basement divided into an area for each child. We simply took a drywall type product, had it cut, covered it with the fabric of our choice on stuck molding around the edge. Once the board gets full, we recycle the pieces that we do not want to keep or re-use. • Art? - Yes, I have even had some of my children's best art pieces framed. They are so proud to show off a piece of work that they were inspired to create (and that matches the décor).
  
  
• Donations - Many senior citizen facilities and organizations, as well as meals on wheels organizations will gladly accept your projects to brighten a senior's day! A local hospital or nursing home may also enjoy passing along the art.