Custom Silhouette Doggy Bag

Have you met Sadie?  She's a our pet Boxer.  She's family.  For 6 1/2 years now she's been a part of our lives.  For better or worse...just like marriage and kids.  

She's energetic, playful, loving and the best darn dog we could ever want.  (This statement does not cover the first two years of her life ~ when she made us the most stressed-out, reluctant dog owners around ~ until she matured and we figured out how to train her to be a good, obedient doggy.)

This is a painting I'm (still) working on, of Sadie as a puppy and Alexander, who was 3 1/2 at the time.

Sadie is a strong Alpha female.  She even lifts her leg to pee.  {Hehehe...TMI...I know!}

So this flowery bag just wasn't saying "Sadie" when we looked at it.  Maybe it would be more suited to a fluffy little Pomeranian or a dainty Poodle...not so much a buff alpha female Boxer with gender identity issues.

But this woven bag had been hanging out in the pantry storing extra paper bags.  Who needs a handsome bag shut away in a pantry anyway?  So I gave it some "Sadie" personality.

First I found this Boxer silhouette image online and printed it out full screen.  I just Googled Boxer silhouette...you can do the same for most other breeds too.

I used an Exacto knife to cut out the silhouette...creating a stencil.  I sprayed the back with Elmers spray adhesive to help it stick to the woven bag, then duct taped around the outer edges to hold it securely in place.  The spray adhesive did not stick well to the woven bag, so I made sure to hold the stencil edges down with my fingers while I did the painting.

 

I used white acrylic craft paint (to stand out against the dark bag) and a flat bottomed brush.  I don't have a stencil brush - that would have been preferable.  I loaded the brush with paint then tapped off any excess paint.  I started painting with the brush on the paper and gently dragged the brush in toward the center of the image.  This helped keep the edges somewhat crisp and the paint inside the stencil, where I wanted it.

I did the same on the other side of the bag once the first side had dried completely.  The front legs blended together a bit (you can see this below).  I simply used a brown Sharpie marker to draw over some of the white paint and give them better definition.

 Now Sadie has her own bag that is more suited to her (and our) style.  And it looks great hanging about.

What do you think of it?  Sadie seems to love it.  Storing her extra doggy treats inside helps!

We just grab it to take along whenever we are going on a dog outing.  It's wonderful to have a cute bag that looks good hanging around, at home or wherever we happen to be visiting.  

Sadie's bag holds the following supplies:

her raincoat 

a collapsible cloth dog dish 

doggy cleanup bags

bottle of hand sanitizer (for after cleanups)

leashes

brush

extra doggy treats

a travel container of dog food and a water bottle.  

It has room left over to add her blanket for overnight stays.

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