Handmade Gift Idea: Peg Dolls

My kids love Peg Dolls. Princess Newbie is constantly finding them around the house and walking around with them in her hands.

They are the perfect gift to give to little girls for Christmas or to stick in stockings. Last year I made them for my girls as stocking stuffers and this year I made these for my niece. I'm going to decorate an old wooden cigar box to look like a house for them and give it to her for Christmas. I think she'll love it.

You want to learn how to make them? They are super simple and anyone can do them.. yes anyone! even if you can paint. If you can make lines and dots, then you're good.

First you need unfinished man peg dolls from the craft store. They have women forms that are smaller and flare out at the bottom like a skirt. They are fine to use but I like these man dolls because they are chunky and much safer for little hands.

First paint all the heads a plain tan/ skin color. Then paint on the basic clothes. Don't put on any decorations yet, just paint basic bans of colors and with different necklines and the occasional scalloped hemline. We'll add the details when this dries a bit. If you let it dry then it is easier if you mess up a detail and want to paint over it again. Trust me, I know this.

These dry extremely quick so in no time you'll be ready to add the face details. It's best to do this using a wooden skewer or toothpick. Add two black dots for eyes and using a different skewer, draw a pink mouth. I dabbed a little pink on the cheeks using my pinky. I'm fancy like that.

Now using the same method of dots and lines using a skewer, add details to their clothes. It is much easier to use a skewer, no paintbrushes! If you really mess it up, just repaint the basic clothes again.  Not that I have ever had that problem!! OK.. just a few times. Like 20.



Um. I think these guys/ girls need some Rogain.

Much better.

Now for the last step... let's add a glaze to make them shine and preserve the paint.

I love this stuff. I could bathe in it, except that then I would be perfectly preserved. Wait.. can I buy this in bulk? This will make a ton of difference in the final product. The little mistakes will be much less noticeable and your peg dolls will hold up for a long time. There's a few of them that I found outside after a month or more and they looked perfect, thanks to this glaze. I found it at Hobby Lobby and I left the price tag on for you to see that it's extremely affordable. The little jar is all you need.

I found it's best if you paint the body with the glaze first, not the bottom, and then paint the head, using a knife or other sharp point to hold it still while you paint. You do not need to glaze the bottom. Pop any bubbles with a pin and check them every few minutes for drips.

Let dry for 24 hours and then you'll be ready to play.

Cute huh? What girl wouldn't like a few of these to play with?

Did you hear though?

There's a peg doll streaker on the loose. Hide your kids, hide your wives... or just hide your forgotten naked peg dolls.