Quick and Easy Crafts: Christmas Photo Frame for Your Pet

The holiday season is a great time to remember all of our friends, even our four legged ones. Our pets are part of our family and should have special frames to hold our special moments of them. This is a great craft project for beginners and kids.

To make this quick and easy craft, I used the following supplies:

Paints
Craft Smart: White
Delta Creative Ceramcoat: Rooster Red and Light Foliage Green
Folk Art: Hunter Green, Pure Black, and Linen
Apple Barrel: Spice Brown, Pewter Grey, Country Tan and Canary Yellow
DecoArt Star Light Topcoat (glitter)

1 3.5 x 3.5 unfinished frame
Scotch 3M Blue Painters Tape 1" wide
12" dark green embroidery thread
Needle
Small beads to spell 'Merry Christmas (your pet's name)'
1 flat ceramic/plaster unpainted ornament (resembling your pet)
1 mini nutcracker
1 small sponge brush
Assorted craft paintbrushes
Hot glue gun
Scissors

This craft has a lot of supplies, but it is super simple to put together.

Painting the Frame

The first step is to paint the entire frame Light Foliage Green. Remember to get the sides, too. This project requires two coats. To get a good even coat, use the sponge brush.

Once dry, the next step requires the painter's tape. Cut seven strips, roughly 9" long. Place the first strip flush with the edge of the frame. Repeat this step, one after the other, until the entire front of the frame is covered, except the last edge. Carefully remove every other strip, starting with the second strip. Remove numbers 2, 4 and 6. Press the remaining strips in place to remove any air bubbles or creases. Use the painter's tape to also cover the sides (the thickness of the frame). You want to protect the beautiful green you already painted.

Lastly, take your Rooster Red and, using the clean sponge brush, gently apply two coats of red to the exposed areas on the frame. One coat will not completely cover the green, so use at least two. Remember to keep the coats light and even. If you apply the paint too thick, then you will have thick lines that separate the colors once the tape is removed. We want nice and clean lines for this project. Set the frame aside to dry. Once dry, gently remove all the tape. Your lines should be nice and straight and evenly coated. Nice job!

Painting the Ornament

I have a yellow lab mix, so I painted my ornament to match her as best as I could. First, I mixed Country Tan with a dab of Canary Yellow to make a yellowish tan for her ears. For her face and paws, I mixed Linen with a small touch of the Canary Yellow. Her ears are a slight bit darker than her "Buff" colored body. If you pet is lighter or darker, then mix accordingly to get a better match. I then used Spice Brown for her big beautiful brown eyes, with a dab of Pure Black for her pupils. Her Santa hat is Rooster Red with a White trim.

Her house has Pewter Grey walls with a Spice Brown roof. The Christmas wreath is a festive Hunter Green with Rooster Red berries. White is used for all of the snow and the dog bone on the wreath.

I did not use the sponge brush for the detail work; instead I used various craft paintbrushes to get the intricate details just right.

When the ornament is dry, take the Star Light Topcoat (glitter) and paint all of the snow. This will give a nice glittery effect of melting snow. Set aside to dry.

Putting It All Together

The last item to prepare is the beaded message for across the top of the frame. I used the message "Merry Christmas Chelsea", but you can make it anything you like. This is your pet and your personal message. Use the needle and the embroidery thread to string your message.

Take your hot glue gun and apply an ample amount of glue to the back of the ornament. Place it in the bottom left corner and press into place. Next, take the mini nutcracker and lay him on the frame. Place hot glue at the contact points and press into place. Take one small piece of painter's tape, roughly 1" square and secure one end of the embroidery thread to the back of the frame, near the edge. Lastly, take another 1" square piece of thread and repeat on the other side. Make sure your message hangs nicely on the frame. If it is to your liking, you can hot glue the thread in place, or just leave the tape as is.

Your project is finished. This is a great decoration for the holiday season, or as a present for your favorite animal lover. There is no need to varnish it as it is for indoor use only. One last item to point out: I flipped my frame so my first stripe was the only one without tape. It is a bit narrower that the rest, and to me, it looks better as the first on the far left. Keep in mind how your frame will sit or hang prior to painting it.

Sources:

Personal Experience and Ideas
Michaels Craft Store