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How To Make a Paw Print Christmas Ornament

Christmas is a time filled with family and special memories.

A great way to include your pet in this special season is a paw print Christmas ornament. I made my own very simple, very personal paw print ornament using a kit from Sculpey.

Paw print ornament

Sculpey is an easy to use clay that you can shape, cut, stamp and then bake to have a long-lasting, personal keepsake.

I knew I wanted a record of my dog Baxter’s paw print, so I picked up a Sculpey kit at my local craft store. There is a keepsake kit specifically for pets as well as one for babies. I actually bought the baby keepsake kit, even though I used it for Bax! Either one should work.

Scupley is offering 20% off anything in their store with code: MUTT20

The company is also offering a paw print kit giveaway to two lucky winners. Just leave a comment at the end of this post to enter! Update:The giveaway has ended!

Christmas paw print ornament

Use code: MUTT20 for 20% off
Click here

More about the Sculpey Paw Print Kit

The kit included everything I needed to make my ornament: instructions, a ring mold, a stylus to write my dog’s name, a ribbon to hang the finished ornament, even a little rolling pin to flatten the clay.

Sculpey kit contents

How to make your paw print Christmas ornament

I unpacked everything and kneaded the clay a few times as instructed.

Kneeding Sculpey clay

Then I flattened it into the mold with my fingers and rolled it a few times with the rolling pin to get it nice and smooth.

I carefully extracted the clay from the mold. It stuck a little bit and I was worried about stretching it out of a perfect circle or putting marks on the smooth surface, but it held its shape very well.

Making a paw print Christmas ornament

I found I had plenty of clay to fill the mold. Some of it overflowed the edge, so I cut it off and threw it away. (Though I wish I had thought to make an impression of my daughter’s thumbprint or even another paw print for our cat, Ralph.)

I slipped the disc onto a plate for the next stage: paw printing. I found my victim beloved Baxter and interrupted his nap by smushing his paw into the clay.

Making a paw print Christmas ornament

Don’t be shy in the smushing. You want a nice deep print, so push your dog’s paw into the clay assertively. Just in case there was any residue from the clay, I wiped his paw clean with a wet wipe.

Baxter and his sidekick inspected my work (one was more interested than the other).

Making a paw print Christmas ornament

Then I poked two holes through the top of the disc for the ribbon and inscribed Baxter’s name using the provided stylus.

Making a paw print Christmas ornament

I slipped the ornament into the oven and baked it at 275 degrees for 30 minutes to harden it.

The clay paw print ornament turned out well!

Making a paw print Christmas ornament

The ornament came out nice and solid. I threaded the ribbon through the holes and the ornament was complete.

Although if you wished to personalize further, you could easily paint the ornament with craft paint.

I love that Baxter has his own special ornament for the tree, and I love even more that we will have this keepsake for years to come.

Order a paw print ornament kit

paw print Christmas ornament
You can order a paw print kit from Sculpey here. Use code MUTT20 for 20% off anything in the store. Click here.

Giveaway – win a paw print Christmas ornament kit for your pet!

Sculpey is giving away one paw print kit to two lucky readers in the U.S.!

UPDATE: The giveaway has ended. Congrats to Melody and Janice P.!

Have you ever taken your dog’s paw print?

Let us know in the comments!

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.thatmutt.com/web/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Julia-and-Baxter.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Julia Thomson writes for That Mutt about dog behavior and training, working dogs and life on her farm in Ontario, Canada. She has a sweet, laid-back boxer mix named Baxter. She is also a blogger at Home on 129 Acres where she writes about her adventures of country living and DIY renovating.[/author_info] [/author]  

David SOntag

Monday 16th of December 2019

What a fabulous idea that will always remind you of your faithful friend

Patricia G Mcsharry

Sunday 15th of December 2019

I have not done paw's. But I wish I had as I lost our little doy dog this year. I'm going to make one for girl dog

Pam Painter

Sunday 15th of December 2019

Looking forward to trying this out with my puppies!

Melissa

Sunday 15th of December 2019

My ten year old Lab/Pit passed away a few years ago, and I was given a paw print made out of clay that I had made into a Christmas ornament. During Christmas, it hangs on the tree, and the rest of the year, it's in the car, so he is always with me. I have a new Lab/Pit puppy who is 3 months old, and this would be a lovely keepsake to mark his first Christmas.

Aimee A Fitzgerald

Sunday 15th of December 2019

Love the paw print ornament idea!