DIY Craft - Paw Print Wall Art

A fresh and modern studio space has been in the works at my apartment, and I am happy to say that everything is starting to fall into place, slowly but beautifully. I have been taking my time and trying not to rush the process too much because I want to ensure that the end result looks fantastic and feels cheerful and cozy. Even though I would love nothing more than to do a little Bewitched nose wiggle and have the entire room polished up and magazine ready! Who wouldn’t though, right?

I’ve turned to lots of other blogs and magazine features for inspiration and have fallen in love with so many of them. Of course I want to be “in” with the current trends, but for me, it’s also important that the items in my new workspace have meaning, memories, and represent who I am and who my little family is as well. The space can’t all be one big clone of a room found on Pinterest! So my dog, Coco Bean, and I had a little painting party and designed some of our own custom prints for the walls. I’m thrilled to share our project with you today. Let’s get started!

Materials

• Paper of your choice (I recommend a thicker weight)

• Paintbrush

• Non-toxic washable paint (I used Martha Stewart’s Craft Paint)

• Fine tip ink pen

• Frame

• And, of course, your dog!

Handy Prepping Tips

Paint and dogs… Who else can see a mess coming from a mile away? To prevent a Doggie-Picasso painted apartment, it would be wise to spread out an old sheet to protect your floors and furniture, or opt to do this project in the grassy outdoors.

Have a bowl filled with a hint of dish soap and warm water at the ready to wash off those little paws. The Martha Stewart paint washed off of Coco’s paw in seconds, making for an easy clean up.

Having a towel handy to dry off the clean paws was helpful. If you’re outside, air-drying is always an option too.

Directions

STEP 1 Choose the paint colour you want your paw print to be. I had a hard time deciding, so Coco and I practiced with a few different colours before we landed on black. That is what is great about this DIY—the options are endless!

STEP 2 Take the paintbrush and carefully paint your dog’s paw pad. If your dog has ticklish paws, you may need an extra set of hands!

STEP 3 Gently press you dogs paw onto the designated paper. Press and hold for a couple of seconds and try to lift the paw straight up to ensure zero smudging. Let the paw print dry for about 10 minutes.

STEP 4 While the print is drying, wash your dog’s paw in the soapy water, then towel dry.

STEP 5 Once the paw-print is dry, you can use a fine tip ink pen to write your dog’s name and age underneath.

STEP 6 Frame and hang!

For families with young puppies, this would be a great project to revisit throughout the year. It would be an extraspecial keepsake to have your puppy’s first year of growing documented into a work of art with their age written under each paw print.

Not every paw print will turn out perfectly, but I think that is what makes it special and unique. You can see that in Coco’s paw print her hair also made some ink marks, making it look like the paw print of a wild animal, which is kind of awesome. She’s pretty wild sometimes, so it’s a perfect reflection!

The end result is a wonderful touch in any room in your house and something you can cherish forever.

If you haven’t yet, check out prettyfluffy.com, a super-wonderful site all about life, style, and fluffy dogs. They’ve got all sorts of inspiring posts and loads of other cool projects like this one and the 5 Minute Valentine. We’re sure you’ll want to bookmark it.