DISCLAIMER: My Dog has the proper amount of toes, we just weren’t able to convince him to imprint all of them! I’m going to do a new one this Christmas as his paws will be closer to full grown 🙂

Do you want the ultimate keepsake of your pets but don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars for a specialty company to do it?  Why not consider doing a salt dough ornament! While traditionally used for Christmas Tree ornaments, I hang this in my living room all year round!

What you need is:

1 Cup Salt

1 Cup Flour

1 1/2 Cups Water

Rolling pin

Cookie cutter (or drinking glass to make a circle)

Paint (I used acrylic)

Marker

Directions:

Mix all of your ingredients together (I found it best to slowly add the water after you’ve already combined the salt and flour)until fully combined. Your dough should be a bit sticky but easy enough to knead (like bread). If you find you have the wrong consistency, add water or flour until you are satisfied.

Next you need to knead your dough for a few minutes, then roll out flat onto a cookie sheet or plate. Corral your dog over to you and with the help of a partner, get their imprint on the dough. It took us a few tries to convince Bomber to let us hold his paw there for a few seconds, but eventually we got most of his toes.

Then I took my drinking glass and used it cookie-cutter style to cut a circle around the paw print in the dough, then placed it on a cookie sheet to bake. Then I baked it at 200 F for 1 hour to harden the dough.

*NOTE: I ended up having A LOT of dough left over, so think of other ornaments and keepsakes you may want to make, because I threw a bunch out*

After your ornament has cooled, go ahead an decorate! I decided to only paint the actual paw print, but you can decorate it any way you choose 🙂 I also chose to write in marker Bomber’s name and the year, just so my wonderful memory couldn’t play tricks on me when his first Christmas was.

The difference between Bomber at Christmas 2015, and July 2016. 

“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”

Have you made a special keepsake for your furry family members? Let me know in the comments!

Amanda xo

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