How to make dog pawprint wall art

Whew – it’s been an exhausting week and I’m not even sure why! I guess it’s to be expected at times with three kids five and under! In today’s post I’ll give you an update on Sawyer’s tooth (from last blog) and show you something I made just before my beloved Golden Retriever Titus passed away. Titus was my dog, my “main man” and I wanted to remember him always…so, I’ll show you how to make dog pawprint wall art for your home like I did for mine!

Hold up ….

First, I MUST show you this amazing picture I got of the kids this past Sunday outside our church. We were walking toward the front doors and Harper sits on this bench asking if she can get a picture. Of course I’m on board, since I take a picture a day of these kids (you can read about that here). I set up Miles and Sawyer next to Harper and take a couple quick snaps and head inside.

Once I get a chance to look at the pictures, I’m so amazed at how CUTE it turned out. It’s so them and they are so adorable. Melt’s my mama heart!

Sawyer

Sawyer’s odd tooth has really been painful for the guy. So much so, he now carries around a blanket or his blue moose to munch on to help with the pain. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable he’s been!

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We made it to the dentist and he wasn’t too happy having them look in his mouth. But we were able to get an x-ray and also did an initial cleaning. The verdict on the tooth is, that may just be the shape of his tooth. They don’t think it’s a separate tooth and just part of his big front tooth. They also said a tooth coming through the roof of the mouth like that is pretty painful, so no wonder why he’s been hurting!

The hope is he will lose it as he gets older and a normal one grows in. We will monitor it closely and brush it well, but hopefully it’s all good. Now that it’s pushed through his pain is less, so I think we are on the other side of this thing for now.

Let’s wait and see what happens with this crazy tooth!

Titus

And now onto my Titus. I’ve spoke of him before on my dog memory post I did for Shadow, when we lost him in May. Titus was such a good dog. He became a part of my life when I was 20 and stayed 14 years. We grew up together and he sure loved with babies came along. I always said he was the perfect dog from day one, and he definitely was.

There’s just something about dogs that are healthy for us. The positive impact they have on mental health is sure worth the work!

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We said goodbye to Titus on Valentine’s Day in 2018. He had a suspected brain tumor and was starting to go downhill. It was a hard goodbye, but it was best for him.

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On his last day, I took him to McDonalds for a cheeseburger and to Bruster’s for ice cream. Then we found a fire hydrant for him to pee on one last time. Before heading home, we stopped by school so Harper could say goodbye, too! When we got home we walked in the woods by our house and just enjoyed time.

A pawprint idea …

Before the veterinarian came over to our home to help us say goodbye, I wanted to do something special to always remember him. As I was thinking, I thought something with his pawprint would be good. Then I remembered a piece of string art I had down with the word LOVE and the O was a pawprint.

Supplies for dog pawprint wall art …

So, I grabbed a piece of wood at Hobby Lobby in their wood shop. I had stain on hand and stickers I could use for the other letters. The paint for his paw print didn’t really matter, so I used what I had on hand.

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First, I stained the wood. I actually used my antique glaze to do the staining. It worked out pretty good, but you can use any stain you have on hand.

It was still a bit wet and sticky, but I didn’t have much time since the vet would be over in a couple hours to help Titus transition … so I placed the letters L, V and E.

Stickers are so useful!

Stickers are great as they stick down nicely, but they can easily be peeled up. I had a solution for that, but first wanted the pawprint on.

I used a foam brush and painted some paint on the bottom of Titus’s paw. Then I placed it firmly down on the piece of wood where we would expect the O for LOVE. In hindsight, I wish I would have clipped his under-paw fir a bit so I could have had a cleaner pawprint, but it still turned out awesome and really reminds me of Titus.

Mod Podge always saves the day!

I rinsed his paw off and let him rest while I got out my handy, dandy Mod Podge. I’m telling you, keep this stuff on hand. It is extremely useful for almost anything. I know I used it many times on Harper’s school projects and I’m constantly using it on my own projects!

Once the stain and pawprint dried, I grabbed another foam brush and liberally applied Mod Podge all over the piece of wood to keep the stickers on forever and to protect Titus’s paw print.

All done!

I set it out for a few hours to dry and it was ready to hang. I currently have this handing on the door to my master bedroom so I can think of Titus every day I go through that door. He was an amazing dog and I’d love to see him again one day on Rainbow bridge … along with his brothers Charlie and Shadow!

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And that’s how you make dog pawprint wall art. You can do this any time with your pet … you don’t have to wait till their last days to make it happen. Just make sure you use animal friendly paint!

Your turn!

Let me know in the comments below if you plan to try this dog pawprint wall art.

Be blessed!