12 dog craft ideas for Valentine’s Day

Love is in the air, pet people! And what better way to celebrate than to get your pooch, partner and family involved in the festive fun? Here we’re exploring a whole host of Valentine’s Day dog crafts that are sure to make the special someone in your life swoon (which can, by the way, be yourself!)…

Valentine's Day crafts for your special someone

If you’ve got a fur baby at home, check out these Valentine’s Day crafts centered around the special pooch in your life that you can have fun making for your partner, yourself, or your furry family.

Polaroid card

Bored of sending off for a photo card in the hopes it’s going to look super personalized, only for it to arrive looking a little… been there, done that? Worry no more - we’ve got a simple solution. Print a photo of the precious pup in your life (with a Polaroid camera, if you’ve got one to hand) and stick it onto card that’s been folded in half. Decorate with doodles of your own using red, pink and black marker pens, adding any messages that work for you. It’s a super simple Valentine's Day craft idea, but it’s personal and can be heartfelt (if that’s your vibe).

Paw print crafts 

Nothing says I love you like a gift that was put together by both you and your furry friend. If you’re looking for paw print painting ideas, consider coating your pup’s paws with pooch-safe paint, and print their adorable feet onto plain card. Allow to dry, frame, add a message and voila, a super simple (if a little messy) dog craft for Valentine’s Day.

Pooch portrait card

If you’re not able to print a picture of your fur baby but you’d still like to make a (dog-themed) personalized card, we’ve got a super simple idea that looks like you’ve spent hours, but really it’s just a few minutes.

Materials:

• Two sheets of colored card (different colors)
• 1 sheet of red card
• Googly eyes
• Marker pens

Method:

1. Cut out a heart shape from both sheets of the colored card. Cut one completely in half and leave the other intact. Cut out a much smaller heart from the red card (for the nose) and a tongue shape (for - you guessed it - the tongue).
2. Turn the intact heart upside down and embellish with your pup’s features, adding whiskers, googly eyes, the red heart (for the nose), and the tongue (which will stick out at an angle).
3. Take the heart that you’ve cut in half, positioning each half at the top of your dog’s head for the ears. Add doodles, hearts and messages to your liking, and even add a (real) paw print on the back for your pup’s stamp of approval.

Heat transfer dog bandana

This Valentine's craft does require a little pre-planning - personalize a heat transfer online and get yourself a plain dog bandana (pink would be fab for Valentine’s Day!). Transfer your Valentine’s message onto the bandana, and have your pooch rock it as a surprise for the special someone in your life!

Paw print photo frame

If a messy craft for Valentine's Day isn’t your thing, avoid painting your pup’s paws and instead opt for a paw print craft. It’s much less messy, but it’s still just as personal. Get yourself a frame and the mold (like this one) and print a photo of your pooch for the cutest Valentine’s Day craft-come-gift.

Dog-themed corner bookmarks

Is the special someone in your life as mad about books as they are pets? No worries - make a personalized corner bookmark to suit both their passions.

Materials:

• 5cm x 5 cm square of colored felt
• Needle & thread
• Additional felt for a decoration

Method:

1. Cut your felt square diagonally so that you’re left with two triangles. 
2. Cut out any shapes you’d like to decorate your bookmark with, using the additional felt for decoration - think hearts and paw prints! Before sewing these on, line up your two felt triangles so that the top and right-hand side are together to make sure your decorations land on the right side!
3. Using colored thread, sew the two triangles together (along the top and right side), leaving the diagonal line open - this will be the opening that fits around the page.

Canine collage

Sometimes you can’t beat a good old-fashioned photo collage - it’s a classic, super thoughtful Valentine’s Day gift that’s pretty easy to pull off. Simply print a selection of photos of you, your pooch and your special someone and stick them onto a piece of sturdy card. If you like, decorate with pink heart cut-outs or paw prints, then frame and voila - an easy peasy (yet super satisfying) Valentine’s keepsake.

Dog crafts for preschoolers

Arts and crafts are a great way to keep kids entertained over the holidays, so here, explore our easy dog crafts for kids that are also ideal as a gift for the special someone in your life (which naturally, can be yourself!).

Toilet paper roll dogs

Let’s start simple with the humble cardboard tube - a leftover piece of ‘rubbish’ that’s often simply recycled (which is totally encouraged, by the way). But next time, before they head for the recycling can, give this easy craft a go. 

Materials:

• 1 toilet paper cardboard tube
• Paint or something to color with
• Googly eyes (optional)
• Additional card

Method:

1. The cardboard tube will be your pup’s body, so paint or color in with any markings that make your pooch unique.
2. Cut out the shape of your pup’s head, sticking on googly eyes (or heart eyes, as it’s Valentine’s), and glue onto one end of your pup’s body.
3. Cut out any remaining shapes (like the legs and tail) and glue onto the cardboard body. And voila - a simple dog crafting exercise that kids will love!

Paper plate pooch portrait cards

This paper plate dog craft is easy peasy and super effective. Feel free to personalize so that it looks (a little) like your furry friend, and don’t forget to incorporate the Valentine’s theme by adding extra hearts or choosing pink or red colored card.

Materials:

• 1 paper plate
• Colored card
• Googly eyes

Method:

1. If you’d like your pup’s face to be a little more realistic, paint the back of the plate and allow it to dry before moving on.
2. To make your pup’s snout, cut out a heart shape and glue on the back of your paper plate.
3. Turn your plate so that the heart is upside down (it should be looking a little like a dog’s snout by now!), and glue on the googly eyes.
4. Cut out additional hearts from your colored card, placing around your pup’s face to represent darker patches that your pooch might have. Cut out the ear shapes and glue those on as well.
5. Flip your plate over once all the glue has dried, and write a Valentine’s message, or print your pup’s paw (but just beware - this can get pretty messy!)

Paper plate doggy hat

If you’re crafting away with your pooch and children, this is a great one as you can make a hat for the both of them - the ideal surprise for your partner on Valentine’s Day! 

Materials:

• 1 paper plate per hat
• Paints or something to color with

Method:

1. Paint, color or decorate your paper plate on both sides - think hearts, paw prints, cute messages, you name it.
2. On the side you’d eat from, very gently draw a heart shape that fills almost all of the plate, leaving around an inch from the edge.
3. Carefully puncture your plate at the base of the heart, cutting around it and leaving the base attached. Fold the heart upwards so that once the cut-out is placed on your pup’s head, the heart is standing proud.

Paper bag dog puppet

Who doesn’t love a dog craft that makes for an ideal toy to play with at the end? Safe to say it might drive your pooch mad (keep curious snouts away from those googly eyes), and will certainly keep children entertained.

Materials:

• Paper lunch bag (brown or white)
• Colored card
• Googly eyes

Method:

1. Make sure your paper bag is folded flat - the smooth side will be the back of your dog puppet. The other side, i.e. the side with the flippy tab will be the front of the dog’s head. Underneath the tab (the folded-over section) will be your pup’s mouth (you can color this with pink coloring pencils, or cut out a heart shape with pink colored card. That way, when you put your hand inside the bag, you can make your pup talk!
2. The outside of the tab will be your pup’s face, so get creative here! Decorate your pup’s face with various pieces of colored card, adding ears and googly eyes (and, as it’s a Valentine’s Day craft, how about a heart rather than markings?). 
3. Repeat the above on your pup’s body, getting creative with any markings, legs and even clothing you feel like using.
4. Finally, write your Valentine’s Day message on the section of card (or colored pencil) that represents your dog’s mouth.

Slinky dog craft

Slinky might just be one of the most well-known pups of popular culture, so why not recreate him with this super easy paper dog craft? As far as pet crafts go, this slinky number will make for the perfect desk-side decoration for that special someone in your life.

Materials:

• Colored card (go brown if you’re feeling traditional, or pink and red if you’d prefer a Valentine’s theme)
• Googly eyes

Method:

1. Start by cutting out the pieces you need to make up Slinky’s head, bottom and tail. Think face, snout, long ears, a round bottom and a tail. Slinky’s body will be around 6cm tall, so consider that when choosing how large to make his head.
2. Glue Slinky’s facial features on, including his ears and googly eyes. For a Valentine’s theme, try cutting out a few extra hearts to stick around his ears or face. 
3. Now glue Slinky’s tail (which would be super cute with a cut-out heart on the end) to his bottom.
4. For Slinky’s body, cut yourself a long strip of card that’s around 6cm x 6cm. Fold it over on itself so that you’re left with a concertina. 
5. Finally, glue Slinky’s head onto one end of the concertina card, and his bottom (and tail facing down) onto the other end.

As the day of love fast approaches, keep curious canines and kitties safe with these Valentine's Day safety tips.

What about a gift for the fur mama in your life?

Who says Valentine’s has to be all about romantic love? Not us! Show the special dog mama in your life some appreciation this Valentine’s Day with these dog mom gift ideas.