What are some cute dog ornament ideas? Get great inspiration for your Christmas decorations.

Okay, so I decided to try making some dog ornaments the other day. Had this idea buzzing around, you know? My dog, Max, he's getting old, and I wanted something homemade to hang up, something him.

Getting Started - The Messy Part

First thing, I needed stuff. Didn't want anything fancy. Remembered seeing those salt dough things people make with kids. Seemed easy enough. So, I just grabbed flour, salt, and water from the kitchen. No real recipe, just dumped some flour and salt in a bowl – maybe like two parts flour to one part salt? Then added water bit by bit until it felt like dough. Kneaded it for a few minutes on the counter. Made a bit of a mess, flour everywhere, but whatever.

Rolled it out. Wasn't super smooth, kinda lumpy, but figured it'd add character, right? Found a bone-shaped cookie cutter I forgot I even had. Perfect. Cut out a few bone shapes. Then I thought, gotta make it Max. So I tried pressing his paw into one. He was NOT having it. Wiggled like crazy. Got a sort of paw-ish smudge on one, decided that was good enough. On another, I tried scratching "MAX" into it with a toothpick. Looked okay.

Important bit: poked a hole near the top of each one with a straw before they dried. You need that for the ribbon later.

Waiting and Painting

Then came the waiting. I just put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and stuck them in the oven on super low heat. Took ages to get hard. Could probably just leave them out for a few days too, I guess. Checked them like every hour. Finally, they seemed solid.

Once they cooled down completely, I dug out some old craft paints. Had some brown, white, black. Tried painting one to look like Max's colors – he's brown and white. It looked... abstract? Let's go with that. The bone shapes I just painted plain white. Let them dry again. Another waiting game.

Trying Something Else - Felt Fun

While the dough things were drying, I got impatient. Rummaged in my craft box and found some felt scraps. Brown, black, a bit of white. Thought I'd try a felt ornament too.

• Cut out two identical dog-ish shapes from the brown felt. Freehanded it, so they were a bit wonky.
• Tried sewing them together around the edge with some basic stitches. My sewing is rough, folks. Really rough. Left a little gap.
• Stuffed a tiny bit of cotton ball fluff in the gap to make it puffy. Then stitched it closed.
• Glued on tiny black felt dots for eyes and a nose. Cut out a little white patch for his chest, glued that on too.
• Last step, sewed a small loop of ribbon to the top for hanging.

The Final Verdict

So, end of the day, I had a few salt dough bones (one with a paw smudge, one with a shaky "MAX") and one slightly lopsided, puffy felt dog that kinda-sorta looks like Max if you squint.

Honestly? They're not gonna win any awards. The paint on the salt dough is a bit streaky, and the felt dog looks like he's had a rough night. But you know what? It was fun messing around. Used stuff I mostly already had. And now I've got these goofy, handmade things that remind me of my dog. Stuck some twine through the holes in the dough ones, got ribbons on the felt one. They're ready to hang. Good enough for me.