Losing a furry, feathered or scaled member of your family is no small event. They’ve traveled by your side during some of your biggest moments over the past several years, sometimes even for decades. They made your home what it is today. The grieving process for losing a pet is different for everyone, but finding a way to memorialize their love and spirit can help the journey.
Our list of 34 projects below present personalized ways to construct a design to honor your animal in your home, backyard or office. Turn their paw prints into lifelong ornaments to hang on the tree each Christmas or design a memorial garden around your pet’s ashes. Whether you’re comforting a friend or remembering a sweet creature of your own, these crafts and activities provide life-affirming ways to celebrate their spirit.
1. Painted Pet Portrait
Source: First Home Love Life
No need to be a professional artist to display a hand-painted image of your late dog, cat or other creature. Design an abstract background on a wrapped canvas and Mod Podge a printed photo of your pet, blending it with the painted look.
2. Piecing It Together
Source: Shutterfly
Gather for an afternoon of games by creating a puzzle with the image of your late pet. Reminisce about your favorite memories of your sweetie as you construct their image with family and friends.
3. Butterflies And Reflection
Source: Bugaboo City
Reserve a place in your backyard in memory of the animal that brought you peace for so many years. Add these DIY foil butterflies across a wall or fence to balance a place of solitude and reflection.
4. Felted Friend
Source: Stamped in His Image
Gift a stuffed felted version of your pet to a little one in your life in their memory. Combine simple shapes of felt after printing out a pattern to measure the body, facial features and paws.
5. Dog Bed Memorial
Source: Our Nerd Home
On their own bed or a DIY dog bed project like this, display your pet’s favorite toys and photos to honor their favorite spot to rest. This provides a unique, hands-on project for creating an in-home pet memorial.
6. Remembered In Timeless Style
Source: A Beautiful Mess
Create your own pet pop art by transforming your favorite image of them into an Andy Warhol-styled work of art. Print a black-and-white image onto brightly colored card stock, cut out their silhouette and paste onto a contrasting background. Choose a white frame to complete the look.
7. Desktop Remembrance
Source: Shutterfly
Add a memorial to your office or desk with an elegant photo plaque. Choose one or several photos to create a collage of pet memories. Even add their name or important dates below the sweet photo.
8. Victorian Button Art
Source: My So Called Crafty Life
Create the timeless look of a Victorian silhouette by sculpting your pet’s profile from a collection of buttons and charms. Glue the buttons onto a floral background and place in a vintage frame. This is an excellent DIY pet memorial to complete with children healing from the passing of a pet.
9. Burlap Memory Board
Source: The Anastasia Co
Display photos of your pet front and center on a mantlepiece, in the kitchen or in their favorite room to play in with this DIY burlap photo memory board. Wrap the board in twine and attach each image with mini clothespins.
10. Monthly Reminder
Source: Shutterfly
Every month of the year, reveal a new image of your beloved animal friend. Match the images up to the seasons, celebrating them jumping in the leaves for fall or laying by the ocean in the summer.
11. Preseved Photos
Source: Think Crafts
Save your favorite images in resin by creating these simple frames to either display in your home, transform into magnets or present as gifts to a loved one that just lost their pet. Place the photos in silicone molds, fill with resin and polish with enamel paint when dry.
12. Memorial Heart Vase
Source: The Sweet Scape
Reserve a place for live flowers in the months after your pet has passed as a loving tribute. To create the vase, cut out a piece of gold leaf and press to the front of a short cylindrical glass container.
13. Published Pets
Source: Shutterfly
Every time you long to remember your precious pet, reach for your customized pet photo book, filled with sweet and silly shots throughout their lives. Personalize your book with stories, quotes and the layout style of your choice.
14. Beloved Bunnies
Source: Alicia Sivert
If you or a friend just lost a cherished rabbit, add two velvet silhouettes of the bunnies to a white throw pillow. Send with a pet sympathy card and a sweet message to show your support. This project can be customized to any lost pet.
15. Permanent Paw Print
Source: 365 Designs
During a holiday with your furry family member, take a moment to gently press their paw into a circle of quick-dry clay. If your pet has passed, use a stamp that reminds you of them. Paint their name in gold and add a gold ribbon to hang on your tree each year.
16. A Feeder in their Honor
Source: Delia Creates
If you recently lost a bird, hang a handmade bird feeder out your kitchen window made from just a clay disk, string, dowel and wooden beads. Pass along the love your bird brought you by feeding their feathered friends every morning with this simple, zen-like DIY feeder.
17. Tiled Photo Display
Source: Horse and Heels
Tiled photo collections transform an entire side of a room into a memorial for your beloved friend. Break up an expanded image into six equal sizes and have them mounted on canvas or wood.
18. Paper Maiche Pups
Source: All Things Paper
Artistically express your love for your late pet through this paper mache DIY pet memorial. Use newspaper or old book pages to craft a likeness of your dog and display at home to honor their place in your heart.
19. DIY Dog Headstone
Source: Haunted Housewife
Honor the memory of your pet in your garden by creating a DIY concrete headstone with their name, dates of life and a sweet message to remind you of their love. Use stone stamps and a rectangular cement mold to create the simple yet effective look.
20. Collage of Cats
Source: A Beautiful Mess
This photo wall display lines up 32 mini images to tell the life story of your pet. Simply tape each hand-cut image into a symmetrical grid and feature right in the center of your home beneath a large wooden frame.
21. Wildflower Memorial Garden
Source: Pillar Box Blue
Dedicate a quiet spot in the backyard to peaceful mornings of reflection for your sweet late pet. Repurpose a wooden pallet and hook hanging potted plants to the slats for a flowing cascade of blooms.
22. Pet Photo Tray
Source: Morena’s Corners
With the use of Mod Podge, repurpose a simple wooden tray to display your favorite image of your furry or feathered family member. Display on your coffee table or even mount on the wall.
23. Wood Slice Message Display
Source: The Country Chic Cottage
Feature a sweet cat quote, dog quote or any loving message that reminds you of your animal’s loving presence in your home for so many years. Cut out each letter from stick-on gold foil and attach to a large wood slice. Display with a decorative plate stand.
24. Chalkboard Ornaments
Source: Creativity Unmasked
Decoupage photos of your beloved pets to circles of plywood and add a string or ribbon to hang on the tree. Finish off the wood with chalkboard paint for a classic look that matches the black-and-white nostalgic style of the image.
25. Light The Night
Source: Shine Crafts
Fill your yard with light to reflect the warmth your dog brought to your day every time you went out for a walk. Create your own set of DIY hanging candle mason jars, tea light candles and waxed polyester cord. Hang from an embroidery hook and attach to a shepherd’s hook for easy yard display.
26. Commemorative Garden Box
Source: Savvy Saving Couple
Design a simple area of your outdoor space to honor the memory of your furry friend. Choose a spot with plenty of sunlight and attach four large slats of wood to create the garden box. Fill with soil, mulch and flowers of your choice as well as any memorial stones, photos or candles.
27. Pet Photo Pillows
Source: My So Called Crafty Life
Print photos of your pet onto fabric with the help of your Cricut or send away for professional printing. Hand or machine sew the fabric image to colorful backing and stuff with your choice of filling. Display in your living room as a sweet memorial to their place in your home.
28. Memorial Garden Stones
Source: Shutterfly
Mark the spot of your pet’s ashes or simply honor their memory in a beautiful patch of flowers with these handmade garden stones. Combine mortar and cement and add stamps and a handwritten name just before it dries.
29. Watercolored Matte
Source: Bliss Makes
Displaying the memory of your pet provides a daily reminder of their effect on your home. Add a personalized, artistic touch to the frame around a photo by adding a simple watercolor design to the matte border. If the photo is black and white, stick to grey paint tones to blend with the image.
30. Salt Dough Paw Charm
Source: Savvy Saving Couple
Salt dough is an easy material to make with kids, especially if you’re looking for a craft to honor losing their cat or dog. With just three ingredients, mold the dough until it’s pliable enough to craft your own paw print to remember them by. Add their name or a charm to personalize it to your pet.
31. Hand-Embroidered Love
Source: A Beautiful Mess
Personalize a photo display of your late pet by wrapping a wooden frame in embroidered burlap. Add a design that complements the colors of the photo or even include their name as a memorial.
32. Furever With You
Source: Dalmation DIY
Save some fur from your cherished pet and follow this tutorial to transform the collection into jewelry beads and charms. Thread on a string or wire as a wearable pet memorial. Hair can be easily collected from their brushes as well.
33. Kitty Herb Garden
Source: Little White Whale
Planting herbs or flowers is always a lovely way to honor a lost loved one. Cut out strips of gold contact paper to add a sweet cat or dog face to a white ceramic planter. Add herbs for the kitchen or bright flowers for the living room to remind you of them each day.
34. Charming Memorial
Source: Tikkido
Design your own charm bracelets with small symbols that remind you of your favorite creature. If you recently lost a horse, for example, use needle-nose pliers to attach horseshoes, stars and prancing horses to wear their memory each day.
Saying goodbye to a pet is never easy. By creating a space or item that speaks to their frisky and comforting energy, you can carry their love into the rest of your years with these daily reminders. Explore all the ways to add pet photos throughout your home to reflect the place they hold in your heart.
