Paw Print Christmas Tree Skirt

In our house the Christmas season starts the day after Halloween and for us the season is an awesome time to focus on spoiling our pets.  Christmas is a time to celebrate to all that good and joyful in creation and that most certainly includes the pets!   I put up a pet themed Christmas tree every year. My pets love their Christmas tree because I hide treats in it throughout the holiday season.   We moved from MN to KY this summer so I sold or donated many of my Christmas decorations before we moved (at 50 cents a pound to move things I figured it was time to cleanse and refresh some of my Christmas supplies).  My pet themed Christmas tree come with us though and I decided it was time for a new skirt!  I made this new skirt in one evening for less than $30.

I started with a plain burlap pre-made tree skirt at Hobby Lobby for 50% off (net $20).  Usually I sew my own tree skirts but when I took in to consideration the cost of the burlap, the lining and my time to sew the project it just made sense to buy the skirt already finished.  At $20 this was a great deal and time saver.   This skirt is well made and has a tan silk lining on its backside.   I ironed the tree skirt before I started working on it.

To get the paw prints on the skirt I used a paw print stamp, Archival Ink and glossy black craft paint.  Simply stamping the paws prints on the fabric will not make a dark enough image for burlap.  I stamped the paw prints first and then painted over them with the glossy black paint.  Your are either going to have to do this in a workspace large enough to lay out your entire skirt or work on sections at a time and let the paint dry so you don’t smudge paint all over the skirt.

I had some large jingle bells that I had purchased on clearance after Christmas last year so I sewed them randomly around the skirt.  I used large bells in red, green, gold and white.  You could use any size or color of bell or even sew on some holly, felt cut outs, pom poms or whatever Christmas craft items you have on hand.   Because I have cats (who love all things that jingle) I sewed these bells on really tight.

I completed the whole project in one evening (while watching the newest Good Witch movie on Hallmark :)).  I just love the skirt and as it turns out apparently Taco loved it too…as soon as it was around the tree she was rolling around on it and playing with the jingle bells.  I never tire of taking pics of my pets…but it is especially fun during the holiday season.

 

I wasn’t kidding when I said my pets love their Christmas tree.  Below is a picture of Sparky with his head shoved in tree looking for holiday treats within minutes of me finishing the tree!