The Easter Puppy is Coming!

Anyone else feel like winter has dragged this year?! Generally speaking, it's been pretty mild in Chicago, but after a few unexpected snow dumps, I am sprinting for sunny days! Fear not, my vitamin-d deprived friends! Here's an extra dose of springy fresh fun:

Let's first discuss supplies. For this project, I used the 11.8" standing egg from Michael's. They also carry a hanging egg, but there are ridges in the wood and I didn't think it would look quite as cute with a pup design. Michael's also carries my favorite satin finish acrylic craft paint - Martha Stewart really knows what she's doing, doesn't she?! I find that her Ballet Slipper pink is just the right shade for an Easter design. I also grabbed this 7/8" gingham ribbon, a paintbrush set, and hot glue gun to secure the bow. Fortunately for us, Michael's always seems to be running coupons, currently you can take 30% off one item with coupon code 30MARCH0120W and Easter supplies are 40% off. All of my finds are linked here.  

Start by painting your the body of your egg with your main color. This layer should be thick enough to cover any wood, but thin enough to not be able to see any brush strokes or blobs. I laid the egg down to paint one side, then stood it up to paint the other. 

While this dried (takes 20-30 minutes), I printed and cut a photo of Norm to use as my stencil. This one is 8.5"x4.5". When selecting a photo, the key is to make sure you can see their whole body and their major features (ears, paws, tail) are pronounced. This especially key with fluffy dogs - don't want to wind up with a shapeless blob! Printing on a regular 8.5x11" sheet of paper is perfect for this 11.8" egg. Most printers will have a zoom option in print settings to make an image larger or smaller. Alternatively, you could paste it into a document and resize it to yout liking. 

Next, I filled in the silhouette with a hearty layer of white paint. 

I then added a little extra pizzaz with a smattering of irregular dots in a slightly darker shade of pink because that's my jam. I've seen everything from stripes, to chevron, to gingham, to florals, to chinoiserie patterns! When in doubt, solid looks lovely also ;) I recommend keeping it simple so that your baby is the star of the show. 

To complete the look, fashion a bow out of ribbon, line it up, and secure with hot glue to your design! Some people are great at making bows. I am not necessarily one of those people. Here are a few tutorials if you think you can top mine ;) 

...and there we have it! Elevate your decor this year with an appearance by the world's cutest Easter Bun! Don't hesitate to reach out of you have questions and send me photos so that I can cheer you on!! 

Because you've made it this far, please enjoy a complimentary 5x7" Spring Printed Copy of your Custom Pet Painting with code SPRINGBUNNY - click here to add one to your order!

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