Rail of Fame | Kid’s Artwork Display

We return to our very first post on this look back at the beginnings of The Motherboards!

A fun project to organize the mess in your kid’s room. And to showcase his burgeoning artistic talent!

I wanted to create something for my son Liam’s room to hang his artwork, photos,and prints of anything he is “into” this month. I did not want it to be limited to a small pinboard and I wanted it to still look good when it only has a few items. I am also more of a minimalistic / straight lines type of person so was not keen on hanging ropes etc in “clothesline style” in his room.

So, I created the Rail of Fame; essentially a strip of wall trimming with wooden clothes pegs, allowing you and your kid to switch it up in a matter of seconds. It is really simple but it is pretty sleek. You can make it jump from the wall by using contracting paint, or in my case I actually used left-over wall paint from his room to make the rail a more understated part of his room. To add a bit of fun, I added little lady-bugs to the clothespegs which I found for close to nothing at the dollar store. They have them in all colours and shapes, from animals to flowers, so use it to customize to your kid’s taste.

How long does it take to make this project? Actual working time: 30-40 minutes

Completion time (including paint and glue to dry): 1 day

How much did it cost me? Around $10 (around $7 for the wall trim, $1 for the small wooden appliques, $1 for the clothespins)

What do you need?

Paint for the Rail and Clothespins (I used left-over wall paint from Benjamin Moore)

Wooden Clothespins (dollar store)

Wall trim (I bought at Home Depot)

Wooden appliques (dollar store)

Trim nails (Home Depot)

Wood glue (most regular white glues used for crafting are good for wood too, just check on the label)

Instructions

– Measure the area on the wall where you want to place the Rail. Then purchase your wall trim, as they come in different lengths. They also come in a variety of widths and bevel options. Make sure you buy something with enough “flat area” where you can glue your clothespins on in a way that they lay flat.

– Saw trim to desired length (or even better have it done at the store, they do it for free!) and lightly sand edges. Paint trim and let dry.

– Paint wooden clothespins. I needed 2 layers of paint as the pins soak up a lot of paint.

– Glue wooden appliques on clothespins and let dry. Then glue clothespins to the trim and let dry (measure first to equally space, I did mine about 6 inches apart but you can change it to your liking and your space).

– Nail trim on the wall using trim nails every 15 inches or so. I then went back with the paint i used to paint the trim with and retouched the nails so you don’t see them. If you are a bit of a reno pro, you could pre-drill the trim, and after nailing it to the wall, use wood filler to level the nail holes and repaint for a complete seamless finish.