Your Child's Artwork, Turned Into Something That Lasts
A child's drawing is not fine art by any conventional standard. The proportions are off. The colors go outside the lines. The perspective is completely invented. And none of that matters at all, because that is not the point. A child's drawing is a record of how they saw the world at a specific moment in time — and that moment passes faster than most parents expect.
At Yellow Lab Imaging, we scan children's artwork and print it on materials that can hang on a wall for decades. It is one of the most emotionally meaningful things we do, and one of the most popular gift ideas we see around Mother's Day, Father's Day, and the holidays.
Why It Works as a Gift
Think about who receives these. A grandmother who has her grandchild's crayon drawing of the family hanging on her wall in a proper frame, printed on canvas, looks at that differently than she would look at a sheet of paper tacked to the refrigerator. It is the same drawing. But the way it is presented says: this mattered enough to be treated as something real.
That is the emotional core of the whole project. It is not about whether the artwork is technically accomplished. It is about honoring the fact that a child made something, and that someone loved them enough to preserve it properly.
These prints make extraordinary gifts for parents and grandparents — especially for occasions like Mother's Day, Father's Day, grandparents' birthdays, or Christmas. They are personal in a way that cannot be replicated by anything you could buy in a store.
What We Do With the Artwork
The process starts with scanning. The original drawing or painting is carefully scanned at high resolution to create a clean digital file that captures the colors, the texture of the paper, and the character of the marks the child made. Crayon, marker, watercolor, colored pencil, tempera paint — all of it scans well.
From there, we can print the artwork on canvas or metal — the two materials that work best for wall display.
Canvas gallery wraps are the most popular choice for children's artwork. The warm texture of the canvas surface suits the hand-drawn quality of a child's work, and the wrapped edges mean no frame is needed — it goes straight on the wall. We build each frame by hand to fit the specific image, and every canvas goes through a two-coat UV protective finish before it is stretched.
Metal prints give the artwork a completely different energy — bright, vivid, and modern. The colors of a child's drawing pop intensely on a metal surface. It is a striking choice, particularly for artwork with bold, saturated colors. Metal prints are also extremely durable and do not require glass or framing.
We Often Reduce the Size
Children's drawings are usually made on standard 8.5x11 or larger paper. Most of the time, printing at the original size would produce something too large for comfortable wall display, especially for grandparents who may have limited wall space. We can scale the artwork down significantly — a drawing that filled a sheet of paper can become a clean 8x10 or even smaller canvas or metal print that fits beautifully in a specific spot.
The reduction in size does not reduce the impact. If anything, it often makes the artwork look more intentional and deliberate — more like a real piece of art and less like a school project. Canvas gallery wraps start at 11x14, so if you want something smaller, metal prints are the better fit — we offer a wide range of smaller metal print sizes that work beautifully for children's artwork.
How to Get Started
The easiest way to start is to bring or mail the original artwork to us for scanning. Contact us before sending anything in the mail — we will give you packaging guidance to make sure it arrives safely. If you are local to East Tennessee, we can arrange a drop-off time — you leave the artwork with us, we complete the scanning and prep work, and you come back to pick it up along with your finished prints.
Once we have a scan, we will show you a proof before printing so you can confirm the size and layout look right. Nothing goes on the printer without your approval.
To get started, contact us here or call 913.217.7202. We work with families across the country and ship nationwide.
Related Yellow Lab Imaging Services
Ready to turn your images into something lasting? Browse our photo prints online, order 3x3 photo prints, explore square prints online, or learn more about our photo scanning services.