Paw Prints Project.....

Grinch feeties!!!!! Is there anything cuter than Grinch feet??!!? OhMyGosh! Look at these feet!! I can smell the fritos from here!

I have always wanted to do a craft project with my dog's paw print! It's been on my to-do list for years now to create something fun with Max and Sammy Lammington's paws but I have never taken the time to do it.

There is nothing like a traumatic cancer diagnosis to get my butt in gear!

Sigh......

BUT, we did it! 

They turned out great!

I learned a few tips & tricks along the way so check out the details of this project below to help set you up for success with your fun paw print project so you can avoid the mistakes I made while creating your one-of-a-kind project!

I did not take pictures along the way bc let's be honest, it's ink and dog's paws. When I told them to hang on while I took a picture, they gave me the paw and moved (hehehehehe) so getting pictures during the process proved difficult for me. But hopefully my instructions below are enough to help you!

Items you will need:

-Canvas (or paper if you want to frame yours)
-Ink Pads or pet approved paint for their paws
-Paint and paint brush (for the detail work)
-A willing pet that will allow you to do this - HAHA! (It was actually quite easy)

I bought our ink pads on Amazon. These can be used on pets or babies. You can use another type of ink pad or you can use pet approved paint for their paws, but this is what I used and it was VERY easy to use and did not cause any mess on the dogs at all.

Description: PChero 4 Packs Baby Handprint and Footprint Ink Pads - Pet Paw Print Ink Kits - Non-Toxic and Clean-Touch Print Kits (Amazon $14.99 4-pack) Colors: Black, Purple, Pink, Red

To the left is what the ink pads look like. They come with small card stock with them so you can use the cardstock for your paw prints if you want.

We wanted to do ours on canvas so we just tossed out the cardstock. (the picture shows a royal blue ink pad but we ordered this twice and ours was red, pink, purple, and black both times). These ink pads are completely flat. VERY thin. One side has the ink on it and the other side is ink-free. That is the side your pet will place it's paw. No mess. No fuss.

The first time we did this, it didn't go so well. It is because we were doing this on canvas. Canvas is wrapped and usually stapled around a wooden frame, so it's not actually a hard flat surface (See picture below).

I laid the canvas on the ground, right side up, and placed the ink pad directly on top of the canvas. I then had my husband hold on to our dog, and I placed his foot onto the ink pad (inky side face down on the canvas) so he was stepping on the non-ink side. I pressed down as hard as I could without hurting his little feeties.

But, because the backside of the canvas did not have support, it was hard to push down hard enough to get a great ink print.

You can use each ink pad approximately 2-3times or 4 if you are really pushing it. We used both ink pads for both of our dogs and bc I didn't have great support on the underneath side of our canvas, it didn't turn out well (too light and uneven).

Plus, our dog's have horrible grinch feet right now and they desperately need to be groomed and I did not cut the hair on their feet. This smudged the ink and the actual pads didn't come through well. It was more blob'ish.

My fault.

I realized what I needed to do so I ordered new ink pads and this time, I supported the underside of my canvas so when the dogs stepped on it, there was firm footing (I actually just used the box that the ink pads came in).

I also cut the hair on the bottom side of their feet so their pads were more pronounced.

The second time I did this, I did not have my husband's help, so, to make it easy on me, I set up shop right in front of our fridge. I smeared a tablespoon of peanut butter on the front of my fridge door and let my dogs go to town. This gave me the chance to take their feet, press down firmly on the ink pad, and make great prints onto the canvas!

I moved each ink pad twice on each canvas and so each pad was used around 4 times.

Once I used all 4 pads for paw prints for both dogs, I tossed them away and went on to painting.

I wanted to make their paw prints look like flowers in a vase so I chose to color in their paw prints so I could add shading and other details with paint. 

This is our canvas painting once I was done with everything. It turned out great and was easier than I thought it was going to be since these ink pads are clean. They are mess-free and they were very easy to use!

If you have been wanting to create something using your pet's paw prints, don't wait for a cancer diagnosis to get you in gear. Do it now and enjoy the process with creating this one-of-a-kind masterpiece that you can cherish forever!

xoxoxo,
Brenda, Max, and Sammy Lammington