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Last winter, we said good-bye to the Casa de Kolchak kitty.
Peter was 15, old, ornery and truth be told, kind of a jerk, but he was our jerk and we’ve missed his kitty ways terribly. Still, we could not have hoped for a better end. Peter was spry and playful, right up until his last morning. He went peacefully, curled up into his cat ball in his favourite sunny spot. He went gentle. For that, I will always be grateful.
At the vet, they asked if I wanted them to make an imprint of Pete’s paw.
I was stunned by the $125 price tag, but I did want the paw print. We never got our cat Gizmo’s done and it’s something I regretted later. I paid our money and two weeks later, I picked up a small metal tin, with out last memory of Peter within.
I’ve never opened it.
I was so sure I wanted his paw print, but now that I have it, I can’t imagine wanting to display it and show it off. To me, that print represents on thing and one thing only: the day we lost him.
I decided that I wanted to take the dog’s paw prints while there would still be happy memories attached to them. In fact, I thought how sweet it would have been if I had taken Koly’s puppy prints! (Hindsight is 20/20.)
I was a little nervous to try it as a Doggystyle DIY Project though.
Let’s face it guys. The Puggle isn’t the most co-operative dog around. Can you imagine what a disaster that would be? The interwebz makes it sound SO EASY.All you had to do was mix plaster, let it partially set, then press your pet’s paw into it. Kolchak doesn’t like it when he steps in the puddle by the water dish, do you really think he was going to sit idly by as I plastered him? Woof no. I think I learned that lesson the first time. Doggystyle DIY projects are only as easy as the dog you have to work with. Kolchak is not easy to work with.
Luckily, an Etsy shop saved me from myself.
Enter Jessica from Memories in Clay, a shop that specializes in preserving the prints of tiny humans and furry friends. She promised that making the mould that she would use to create our paw castings would be nothing like inking the dog’s paw prints.
I was pleasantly surprised.
She sent me the package that included everything I needed to get great paw prints: this soft foamy stuff to make the mold, a piece of dowel to roll it out with, plus oil for their paws, tin foil to wrap the pieces in and awesome instructions.
The best part?
You could need and reroll the foam as many times as you needed to get a nice, clean paw print. When you’re satisfied with the print, you just bake it for a few minutes and VOILA! You’ve done it. True to form, Kolchak made me start all over about 25 times and Felix totally nailed it first try. Felix is amazeballs. I mailed off the finished moulds and waited for the mail man to bring back the finished ceramic prints.
I am so thrilled with what I got!
They’re made from ceramic that has been baked, glazed and then baked again, so they’re much strong than your average plaster casting. I love that you can see the texture of Kolchak’s paw pads in his and that can see wispy spot where Fe’s fur got in the way on his. I love how each print is so uniquesly perfect. My dogs paw prints look nothing alike and I think it’s adorable. I also love that these didn’t set me back $125 each. They come with a reasonable price tag, which means you can totally justify getting multiple pups printed. No problem.
Most of all, I’m happy about the memory attached to them,
When I look back, I’ll remember chasing Koly around the house and Felix kissing my nose. That’s means a lot to me.
I have special plans for these gorgeous prints. There’s a doggystyle DIY post coming soon where I do something really cool with them. I can’t wait to share it with you.
Have you ever made an imprint of your dog’s paw in plaster? Was it as difficult as I thought it would be?
Major thanks to Jessica from Memories in Clay, who absolutely delivered on her promise of an easy to use moulding material and a gorgeous finished product! We were sent our prints free of charge, in exchange for our honest review of the product. Jessica was a pleasure to work with, the prints look amazing and I am so happy Jessica reached out to us.
Ruckus the Eskie
Tuesday 10th of September 2013
Hmmm That's very good idea. I'm glad you were able to do this!
Jessica Rohrhoff
Saturday 31st of August 2013
Thanks so much for posting this. I'm glad you enjoyed both the process and the final product!
Jessica Rohrhoff
Saturday 31st of August 2013
Here is a direct link to the paw print for those interested https://www.etsy.com/listing/125669852/ceramic-dog-paw-print-ornament-or-tile?ref=shop_home_active
Jodi
Thursday 29th of August 2013
I did. I got the mix, cut off the top of a gallon milk jug, and Sampson assisted by putting his paw in it. I wrote his name and added some pebbles and now I have a....Sampson Stone.
KolchakPuggle
Thursday 29th of August 2013
I think the real question here is...Would you try it with Delilah?
Two French Bulldogs
Thursday 29th of August 2013
Such a good idea. We want to do this Benny & Lily
Hawkeye BrownDog
Thursday 29th of August 2013
Hi Y'all, So sorry about Peter. Neat idea about the paw prints. Thanks. Y'all come by now, Hawk aka BrownDog