Meet Ernie. He’s our middle-aged french bulldog who has poor to fair listening skills, but excellent to stellar friendship ones. Which is exactly why he deserves his own space on our walls. Plus, those ears, right!? Our family adores him. In fact, before my husband and I had kids, “Big Ern” was our child. Our firstborn. And it wasn’t until we had human babies that Ern’s posh life became, well, different. (Understatement of the year right there.)

To pay tribute to Big Ern and forever solidify his status as our firstborn, we decided to add him to our oldest daughter’s nursery decor. Here he is, in all his big-eared glory.

 I love it, but I also love the frame (a frugal thrift store find, spray painted bright yellow). I also can’t take 100% credit for this project (here’s why), but I can tell you how I accomplished it. I started with a great photo that showcased Ern’s unique silhouette (those ears!). Then, I fired up photoshop and clipped it out. Once I had him cut out from the background, I simply sized it appropriately (I already knew I wanted to use this frame), printed it, cut out his shape with an exacto, and voila: I had my starting point. Elli’s nursery is yellow and pink, so I then found some great coordinating paper, and simply traced my silhouette onto the paper, cut it out, and then did the same thing for a second grey sheet of paper to give a “shadow-like” effect. It honestly couldn’t have been easier. Minor prep work, so definitely worth the time. Bonus: It’s CHEAP. (And Ern’s famous.)