MAKING A CLAY KEEPSAKE

By thinking ahead I was able to get Molly's paw prints in clay before she died.

 I had decided to print them in clay and store them

knowing the time would come that she would be gone.

What's strange is I printed them on a Monday and on Thursday she died.

So here's a step by step process on how I did it.

I started with this clay. It's great to work with.

It will not dry out and only gets hard when it is baked.

You can get it at Walmart or Hobby Lobby (don't forget your coupon).

This is what it looks like.

You pull off an amount you think it will take,

 massage it in your hands to become warm and pliable,

then roll it out with a rolling pin.

Then get your paw prints, print their name, and dates accordingly.

I wrote mine with a toothpick.

Don't forget your hole at the top in case you want to hang yours.

I just used a straw. Worked perfectly.

Then you bake it in the oven.

 I always bake mine about twice the amount the box says.

But that's just me.

This is how it looks after it's baked.

Notice some of Molly's hair in the clay. 

I always paint and seal mine.

Here's the front.

Then on the back I print their full name

and the complete date of birth and

the date they died.

And a little message.:)

I decided to put my clay prints in a shadow box like I did for Tilly.

I got this at Hobby Lobby. (50% off)

After Molly died I ask the vet to cut me some of her hair

so I could enclose it in the shadow box.

It doesn't show up very well, 

but I know it's there.

The finished product.

And sweet Molly.

Love the Lord, all his saints!

The Lord preserves the faithful...

Psalm 31:23

Please feel free to leave a comment. I love to read them.

A TRIBUTE TO SWEET MOLLY

Sweet Molly. That's how we always referred to her.

I don't know if she was so sweet because she knew we saved her life

or if she was just plain sweet and gentle.

But what ever the reason we really loved her.

She died October 2nd after a short illness.

I say short because we only found out she was sick this summer.

She had Cushing disease. We don't know how long she had been sick before

she started showing symptoms. She was 11 1/2 yrs. old.

We thought we'd have her longer but that wasn't meant to be.

We got Molly when she was 4 weeks old. She was malnourished and probably 

wouldn't have lived much longer. So we brought her home, took her to the vet, wormed her,

got her shots, fed her and loved her.

She loved to eat and pretty soon she started growing.

For the 1st year her back legs were really weak and she had a shaking problem.

Eventually she outgrew both of those problems.

When she had her full coat she reminded us of a bear.

Lumbering along.

She loved to help me outside.

Whenever I was working in the garden she'd stand wherever I was trying to plant.

I'd just give her a hug and she'd be satisfied and move along.

She was a great guard dog.

Scaring everyone with her bark, but then greeting them with her wagging tail.

As you can see she was a beautiful dog.

But as her illness progressed she looked pretty bad.

Two of the outward signs of Cushings is the changing of their coat

and a big pot belly. The disease makes all the fat go to the abdominal area.

You can see this in her picture. She looks so sad.She was on special medication for the disease

and we thought she'd have a little more time, but she let us know her time had come.

We were with her when she died.

We really miss her but feel blessed to have had her as long as we did.

Enjoy the following photos of Molly's life.

She loved her toys.

This would make a great Christmas Card.

Sleeping with her older sister, Honey (who died 8 yrs. ago).

Honey taught her the ropes on being a guard dog.

This was her cousin dog, Mango.

They were good playmates.

Mango died last year.

Here Molly is posing on the couch before getting a hair cut.

Isn't she a beauty!

This is the after.

Looks like a different dog doesn't she.

We would get her cut each summer to stay cooler.

Molly's gravestone.

R.I.P. my sweet dog.

We love you.

Ephesians 5:20

giving thanks always for everything

to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.