Earth Day is coming up, and you know how much I love recycled crafts! I’ve created stuff out of old light bulbs, toilet paper rolls, empty beer bottles, and more, so when Discount Tire challenged me to turn an old tire into a cool project, I was super excited. There are tons of things you can do with an old tire, but I decided that the best project would be something for our new puppy, so I made a DIY dog bed out of a recycled tire!
Fawkes totally loves her new bed! She likes to sleep curled up, so the interior of the tire is the perfect size for her, and when she’s awake, she likes to rest her head on the hard rubber edges while chewing on her rawhide. And the best part is, this entire project was quick and easy to do; the longest part was waiting for the paint to dry!
DIY Dog Bed From A Recycled Tire
- 1 hour (time spent doing stuff)
- 1 hour (time spent waiting around)
- 2 hours (total project time)
Tools
- a stiff bristle brush
- soap and water (dish soap works great!)
Materials
- an old tire (just visit Discount Tire; they’d be happy to find an old tire for you and have you recycle it!)
- spray paint (make sure it’s designed to stick to rubber; I used Rustoleum Painter’s Touch 2x in Gloss Berry Pink for this tire)
- sticky felt pads
- a round pet bed (anything from 30″ round to 34″ round should work for a regular tire)
The guys at the Discount Tire store I went to were super helpful! I told them what I had planned for the tire and they made sure to find one with really good tread to make the outside more interesting after it was painted!
Instructions
Start by cleaning your tire. Paint won’t stick to dirt and dust, so hose the tire down and give it a good scrub with some soapy water and a stiff bristle brush. I also picked out all the tiny rocks that were stuck in the treads using an old nail, but I’m a little OCD; feel free to skip that part if you don’t mind a few little rocks!
Once you’ve scrubbed down all the outer surfaces of the tire, rinse it off with clean water and set it out to dry.
Once it’s dry, set the tire up on its edge and lightly spray the tire with spray paint, holding the can about 8 inches away from the tire. Because I couldn’t paint all sides of the tire at once, I did four “painting sessions” for this tire. I did one coat on the top half of the tire, then, once the paint had dried, I rotated the tire and painted the “bottom” half. Then after the first coat was dry, I did a second coat on the top half of the tire, then rotated again to do a second coat on the bottom half.
Once the paint is completely dry, it’s time to bring the tire inside! You can use little felt sticky feet or furniture sliders to protect your floors from the tire and protect the paint job on the tire.
Lay the tire down and stuff a round pillow or dog bed inside of the tire, and you’re done!
I used a 34″ round dog bed as the cushion inside the tire and it fits perfectly! It’s great because it has a washable cover, so if the bed ever gets dirty I can just pull out the cushion, wash it, and put it all back together again once it’s clean!
She totally loves it, but she had to “break it in” a little first. What a silly puppy!
Have you ever recycled a tire? I would love to turn a tire into a swing, but we don’t have a big strong tree in our yard, so no dice!
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Disclosure: I received compensation from Discount Tire and Find Your Influence in exchange for my participation in this tire recycling challenge. But the guys at Discount Tire were really great and totally helpful when I told them what I had planned, and all opinions in this post are 100% my own. I would never write a post about something I didn’t think was useful or interesting for you guys, and Practically Functional will only publish sponsored posts for companies or products I love and believe in! 🙂