Store-bought wall art adds up fast, and it rarely feels as personal as something made at home. These DIY wall art ideas are simple enough for kids to genuinely contribute to — not just supervise from a distance — and they use materials most families already have or can grab cheaply.
1. Handprint or Footprint Canvas Art
A classic for a reason. A plain canvas, a few colors of washable paint, and small hands or feet create a piece that only gets more meaningful as kids grow. Arrange handprints into a simple shape — a tree, a flower, a sun — for a more finished look, or keep it abstract.
2. Framed Fabric Scraps
Leftover fabric — from old clothes, curtains, or a craft store remnant bin — stretched over a canvas or cardboard and stapled on the back makes an instant piece of abstract art. Kids can help choose the fabric and pattern arrangement.
3. A Painted Rock Garden Display
Smooth stones painted with simple designs, then arranged on a shallow tray or shadow box, make a low-mess project for younger kids and a surprisingly polished display piece for a shelf or entryway table.
4. String Art
A wood board, some nails hammered into a simple shape (a heart, initial, or star), and colorful string wrapped between them creates a striking piece that’s genuinely satisfying for older kids to build step by step. Adult supervision is recommended for the hammering.
5. A Rotating Kids’ Art Gallery Wall
Rather than a one-time project, dedicate a section of wall with inexpensive clip frames or a wire-and-clothespin display line to rotate through kids’ own drawings and paintings. It solves the “what do I do with all this art” problem while genuinely decorating the space.
6. Pressed Flower or Leaf Frames
Flowers or leaves collected on a walk, pressed flat between heavy books for a week or two, then arranged under glass in a simple frame make a quiet, nature-inspired piece — and the collecting walk is half the fun for younger kids.
7. A Painted Word or Quote Board
A plain wood board or canvas with a short family phrase, a child’s name, or a simple saying, hand-lettered or stenciled, works well in a playroom or hallway. Letting a child help paint the background gives them real ownership of the finished piece.
Tips for Making These Projects Go Smoothly
- Cover the workspace before starting — paint and glue always travel further than expected.
- Pick projects matched to your child’s age and attention span; a 3-year-old and a 9-year-old need different levels of structure.
- Let the finished piece be imperfect. A slightly uneven handprint tree is still a keepsake.
- Take a “before it gets hung up” photo — kids’ art projects have a way of evolving mid-creation.
The Bottom Line
None of these projects require special skills or an art degree — just a free afternoon and a willingness for the process to be a little messy. They also tend to age well, becoming keepsakes rather than clutter. For more ways to make a house feel more like home, check out our roundup of DIY organization projects for a family home, or browse the rest of our DIY Projects articles.