You work so hard and spend so much time on your coloring, making sure that everything’s perfect. So why on Earth would you want to hide it away somewhere, rather than put it out there for the world to see? Turning your coloring pages into art instead will allow you to put your creativity on display.
To turn your coloring pages into art:
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- Frame them
- Create a backing
- Try canvas art
- Use them as wallpaper
- Make a bulletin board
- Repurpose them as gift wrap
- Use for greeting cards
- Trick out your origami
- Shelf or drawer liners
- Christmas Decorations
- Try decoupage
- Make a frame
- Create a scratchpad
- Use them for paper mache
- Turn them into coasters
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As you can see, there are a ton of both wall art and functional art options when it comes to upcycling your coloring pages. Below, we cover a variety of ways to make both wall art and practical art from your finished coloring pages, depending on what you’re in the mood for. Follow these ideas exactly, or use them as inspiration to do your own thing!
Wall Art
By far the simplest way to transform coloring pages into art is by displaying them as wall art. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with just sticking them to the fridge with magnets or taping them to your wall, chances are good that you’re looking to step it up a notch.
Frame Them
With their beautiful designs and the stunning color combinations you put into them, coloring pages were made to be displayed. The easiest way to turn them into beautiful wall art is by simply building or buying a frame to put them in.
There are even coloring frames that you can buy with the coloring page included, a sure sign that coloring art is meant to be displayed. You can either leave the frame a neutral color to highlight the art or paint the frame to offset the page.
Coloring pages can fade over time when exposed to prolonged periods of bright light, so make sure to choose a frame with UV protectant glass, and consider alternating out pages every so often.
Create a Backing
Another way of displaying your coloring pages is by affixing them to a hard backing, such as:
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- Foam
- Wood
- Thick cardstock
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You can just use a basic spray fixative to do this, but remember that it will be permanent, so you might want to try it out on a page you don’t love to begin with.
Try Canvas Art
You can fix the page to a canvas in much the same way as you can to the surfaces listed above, using a spray fixative or something like Modge Podge. Or, you can scan the page and use an online service to have them professionally turn the page into a canvas print. If you’re going to go this route, make sure to do a few at once to get a better rate.
Functional Art
If you’re looking to create art with a little more purpose than wall art, or you’ve simply run out of wall space, you might consider creating functional art pieces that are both useful and beautiful. The first few suggestions are a combination of both: functional art that goes on the wall!
Use Pages for Wallpaper
This idea is a little unconventional, but have you ever thought about using your coloring pages as wallpaper? All this involves is gluing the pages directly to a wall using wallpaper glue or even Modge Podge.
Now, you’re probably thinking that this is a crazy idea, but keep in mind that you don’t need to do the entire wall – you can use the pages whole or cut up to create a colorful accent wall or wall trim.
Easy Bulletin Board
You might be starting to notice by now that a lot of these ideas simply involve gluing your finished coloring pages to stuff to turn them into other stuff. Well, that’s just what this idea is, too.
Cover a piece of cardboard with coloring pages using whatever glue you fancy:
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- Modge Podge
- Spray adhesive
- Elmer’s Glue
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This quick and easy project will give you a beautiful place to stick notes, mementos, and reminders.
Beautiful Gift Wrap
Finished coloring pages make stunning gift wraps, especially for smaller items. Of course, you can attach multiple pages to wrap large items, but single pages are perfect for small gifts. Your loved ones will appreciate the personal touch, and you can be sure that no one else will have the same wrapping paper!
Make Greeting Cards
Turning your coloring pages into greeting cards is a wonderful way to upcycle them, and share the joy they bring to you with others. If it’s a single-sided coloring page, simply fold it in half and write a nice message on the blank inside.
Otherwise, decide which side you want to use, and glue the other side to a piece of card paper or construction paper folded in half. Create a beautiful greeting inside the card using colors that match the coloring page.
Style Out Your Origami
Origamis is beautiful as it is, but if you want to style it out, just cut your coloring page into a perfect square and start folding your favorite shapes. The key thing to keep in mind with origami is precision – so make sure you measure a perfect square.
Most coloring pages will be thicker than traditional origami, so keep that in mind when deciding what shapes to fold. Thicker paper can make some of the more intricate shapes a bit more challenging.
Shelf or Drawer Liners
Who says art needs to be on display all the time? Coloring pages make the perfect shelf or drawer liners, adding a surprise pop of color to otherwise bland surfaces. There are a few ways to go about it:
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- Lay the paper down as is
- Protect the paper with a spray fixative beforehand
- Affix the paper using glue
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You can even line the back of a bookcase so the color peeks through from behind the books.
Christmas Decorations
One of the great joys of the holiday season is making DIY holiday crafts, and replacing regular paper with coloring pages for your papercrafts can add an extra element of fun, not to mention unique decorations that only you’ll have.
Decoupage
Rather than listing out everything you can decoupage with coloring pages in separate sections, here are a few ideas to get you started:
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- Old furniture
- Mirror or picture frames
- Tabletops
- Pottery
- Smartphone covers
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Decoupage using coloring pages works the same as normal decoupage, but results in a lot more color!
Make a Frame
We already talked about farming your coloring pages, but what about turning the page itself into a colorful picture frame? There are a ton of DIY paper picture frame tutorials out there – just substitute the paper they recommend with coloring pages. This is a fun family rainy day activity. Your kids will love making unique, functional picture frames.
Inexpensive Scratch Pad
If you’re not super attached to your coloring pages and are looking to turn them into art as a way of upcycling, rather than because you want to preserve them forever, consider turning them into cute, fun scratch pads.
All you need to do is:
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- Cut single-sided coloring pages into quarters
- Staple them together on one corner or along the side
- Voila: cute scrap paper to take notes on
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Try Paper Mache
If you or your kids love making paper mache projects, you might think about cutting old coloring pages into strips and using them on the final layer of paper mache. This will result in gorgeous, bold color patterns without having to painstakingly paint them on yourself.
Make Cute Coasters
Making coasters from coloring pages is easy. Just:
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- Cut the pages into whatever size and shape you want your coasters to be
- Laminate the pieces using self-stick laminate sheets like these
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It’s that simple!
Check out more on coloring HERE!
Final Thoughts
Get the most out of your coloring pages by turning them into art, rather than sticking them in a box or a drawer somewhere, never again to see the light of day. Coloring page art can be as practical as it is beautiful, allowing you to benefit twice from a coloring page: once while coloring it, and again when reusing it for something else.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I finish coloring pages to protect them?
Spraying a clear varnish or finishing spray on top of a finished coloring page can keep it safe from dust, dirt, and fading. Be sure to get the right spray for the art medium you’re using.
Do coloring pages fade over time?
Coloring pages will fade over time if they’re exposed to bright direct sunlight, so keep this in mind when displaying them. A UV protectant finishing spray can slow down the fading process, though some sprays yellow over time.
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