Painting peg dolls is fun and addictive. Check out our list of tips, tricks and advice and learn how you can paint beautiful peg doll people. All of our tips apply to both wooden peg dolls and spun cotton.

Peg dolls can be painted after family members, pets, super heroes, school teachers….The sky is the limit. Peg dolls can also be accessorized with materials such as felt, pipe cleaners, fabric…

How to paint peg dolls – our best tips, tricks and advice

1: Have faith in yourself, it’s much easier than you think

There is no need for fancy paint, fancy brushes, and there is certainly no need to be an artist. Actually I know several people who are famous for their work with peg dolls and who were not artists in the first place. The learning curve is fast. And there is no shortage of ideas out there  to get inspired. So trust in yourself, you will do awesome!

2: Know what doll shapes are out there.

There are many different shapes and sizes out there so make sure to use the ones that fit your project the best. You will find female shapes, man shapes, shapes with a large head, shapes with a small head, shapes with rounded bodies, shapes with slender bodies….If for example you are painting peg dolls after your family, make sure to use different size peg dolls to differentiate between adults and children.

3: Prep your doll shapes.

If you are painting a wooden doll, make sure it is smooth. You may have to sand it a little bit. Always sand in the direction of the wood grain.

4: It’s much easier to outline first.

I have painted hundreds of dolls but I still use a pencil to outline things like the eyes, the mouth, the clothes, the details..You can use a pencil eraser directly onto a wooden peg doll or a paper peg doll. If you don’t outline and make a mistake while painting, it will take a long time to correct this mistake.

5: How to make peg doll hair buns

You have several options. I recommend spun cotton balls (ø8, 10 or 12 mm). Use tacky glue to fix the balls to your dolls (wooden or spun cotton), it works very well. You can also gently squeeze the balls to flatten them a little and make the bun more of an oval.

The other way to make hair buns is to use wooden balls. However it’s not as easy because you will have to drill a hole in the wooden ball, a hole in the doll head, and join them together with a toothpick and wood glue.

6: Learn to position your facial features.

Too often the eyes are positioned too high on a peg doll face. To help you position all the facial features where they belong, there is a simple trick. Just imagine (or draw with a pencil) two intersecting lines dividing the peg doll’s head in 4 equal parts.  Position the eyes on the horizontal line. Then, use the vertical line to position the nose and the mouth.  That’s it. The eyes may seem too low this way but they aren’t. After you draw the hair or add a hat to your doll, your peg doll will look perfectly normal and well proportioned.

7: Small details are better achieved with a small brush.

This sounds obvious but it is so true. You got to have the right tools. I made a $5 investment 2 years ago in a tiny size #10/0 round brush and today I cannot imagine myself without it. I use it for almost all my peg doll projects. You can also make a small brush by cutting the bristles of a small round brush.

8: Save money. You don’t have to buy too many paint tubes.

If you are on a budget, it’s much better to buy only a few tubes of high quality paint than to buy many tubes of low quality paint. High quality paint is easier to work with (creamier), makes for a more even coverage, and will look much better once the paint is dry. I like to use acrylic paint. I was once told that the following eight colors are enough for most purposes: yellow ochre, gamboge, light red, crimson lake (carmine), Van Dyke brown, ultramarine blue, Hooker’s green, and Payne’s gray. I would definitely add white to this list.

9: Watch your paint consistency. 

Paints that are too thick in consistency may be very difficult to work with, especially when painting details, or when painting a clean border between 2 colors. Acrylic paint for example can get thicker with age. I notice this with some of my old tubes. You can use a little water on your brush to thin it and make it more workable.

10: To paint small dots, you can use a tooth pick.

Dip the tip of a toothpick in a small amount of paint and gently dab a dot onto your doll. Bamboo skewers and pencils also work great. Pencils are actually my favorite tools to make eyes. To make eyes, I use the lead tip of a pencil that has a slightly worn out tip. If the pencil was freshly sharpened, it wouldn’t work as well, the dots would be too small.

11: Paint clothes in a logical order.

It’s easier to paint clothes that are closest to the body first (shirt before jacket). And if you paint your shirt before your jacket, your final project will also look better this way. It’s also easier to paint light colors before dark colors.

12: Keep it simple.

Often, simple just looks better. Add too many details or try to be too realistic and you may lose this little something special that make painted peg dolls look so adorable. For example, consider Waldorf inspired peg dolls. Their appearance is intentionally simple. It makes for a cute look and fosters creativity.

13: Keep your brushes clean.

Don’t let the paint dry up on your brushes or they will be harder to clean later. Keep a paper towel and a cup of water handy.

14: Protect your finished dolls.

Finish your project with a clear coat varnish. This will protect it from finger prints and prevent the paint from chipping. You can choose to use a glossy or matte varnish.

How to paint peg dolls – from theory to practice

Follow our step by step tutorial and learn how you can easily paint your own peg doll. We’ll use a princess as an example. You can use wooden peg dolls or spun cotton peg dolls.

Step 1 – Gather your materials. Acrylic paint works great for both wooden peg dolls and spun cotton peg dolls. I also always have a pencil handy. It’s useful to outline but also to dab little dots of paint (to paint the eyes for examples).

Step 2 – Paint the skin color first. When dry, outline the dress, the face (the eyes and mouth), and the hair with a pencil

Step 3 – Paint the hair (you can hold your peg doll by its body while you paint the hair). When you are done, paint the eyes and draw the mouth. To paint the eyes, you can dip the tip of a pencil into black paint and gently dabbed little dots onto the doll. To draw the mouth, I simply used a black ball pen. Let dry. When the hair and the face are dry, paint the dress. To paint the dress, you can hold the doll by its head.

Step 4 – Outline and paint the accessories: hair band and necklace. To paint the necklace dots, I used the same technique as the one I used for the eyes (the pencil technique).

You are done :)

Don’t worry if your first painted peg dolls don’t look all perfect, the learning curve is quick and your next dolls will look fantastic. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this page. As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch.

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Animal peg dolls are a lot of fun to make!

Here are a few project ideas that you can use for inspiration.  The pictures are divided into several categories: farm animals, household pets, Easter bunnies, woodland animals…

For all the projects below, I used blank spun cotton peg dolls. They offer a paper-like surface which makes them very easy to paint and quick to dry out. Spun cotton peg dolls are also really easy to combine with other materials such as paper, cardboard, felt, pipe cleaners…

Woodland animal peg dolls

Farm animal peg dolls

Penguins and bird peg dolls

Household pet peg dolls

Easter bunny peg dolls

I hope you enjoyed this page and found some inspiration for your own animal peg doll projects. Painting peg dolls can quickly become addictive!

For tips and tricks on how to paint peg dolls, you can visit our tutorial: how to paint peg dolls.

As usual, feel free to use the comment section below if you have any questions or suggestions. Happy peg doll painting!

Spun cotton peg dolls come in several sizes and shapes.

Follow our tutorial and learn how you can easily make beautiful, decorative owl figurines from our blank figurine shapes.

DIY Owl Figurines – Project Materials

• SPUNNYS EGGMAN BLANK FIGURINE – large (72mm which is about 2 3/4 inches). The Eggman shape looks like an egg with a flat bottom.

• Paint and brushes. I used 5 paint colors (Gold, Ivory, light brown, saffron, and black). You can use the same colors or pick your own. Most types of paints work but I typically use acrylic or enamel.
• A pencil to outline the facial features of the owl prior to painting.
• A bamboo skewer to hold the blank shapes while you paint and decorate them.

Step by step tutorial 

1: Body painting

Paint the whole spun cotton shape one solid color.

Tip: You can squeeze the paint directly from the tube onto the shape.

2: Paint the face and beak

Outline the face of the owl and the beak with the pencil. Don’t press too hard on the pencil or it may dent the spun cotton (and if you are using a light paint color, the pencil marks may show through). When you are done outlining, you can paint the face and the beak.

Tip 1: For your first owl, I recommend using the paint straight out of the tube (vs making a custom color by mixing two colors). This way if you have to touch up your owl later on, the same exact color can be used again.

Tip 2: A small tiny brush works best for the beak. If you do not have one, a black fine point marker works fine too.

3: get started with the eyes

When the face and the beak are dry, paint two discs (outline first with a pencil).

4: The irises

When the two discs are dry, paint the eye irises. I painted mine yellow. Without the pupils, the owl figurine looks pretty scary :)

5: The pupils.

Finish your owl figurine by painting the eye pupils. I painted mine black so they stand out.

You are already done :) A beautiful Homemade Owl Figurine

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I hope you found some inspiration for your own owl figurine projects.

Note that SPUNNYS figurine bodies can be used for many more DIY Craft Projects beside owls. Use them to make penguins, walruses, woodland animals, super heroes, and much more.

As  always, if you have a questions, do not hesitate to use the comment section below. Happy crafting!

Check out our tutorial and learn how you can easily make your own cake topper figurines from spun cotton figurine shapes. Spun Cotton Shapes are ideal materials to make cake toppers because they are plastic free, easy to paint, and they can be mounted on wooden picks.

DIY Cake Topper Figurines – Materials

Only a few materials are required:

• Spun Cotton Figurine shapes.
• Paint and brushes. We recommend that you use only non-toxic paint.
• A non-toxic water based finish such as mod podge.
• A pencil to outline the cake toppers before painting.
• A black pen to draw facial features.
• Toothpicks.

Step by step directions

1: select your spun cotton figurine blanks

Spunnys offer a wide selection of figurine blanks.

2: paint your toppers

You can check out our “how to paint peg dolls tutorials” for a list of tips and advice.

3: display the toppers on the cake or cupcake

Use toothpicks to display the toppers. Spun cotton shapes all have little holes at the bottom.

Painting cake topper figurines – tips and tricks

• To make painting easier, you can hold the figurine shapes via a wooden pick. A bamboo skewer works great.
• To rest your painted toppers in a safe position while they dry, simply place the sticks in a container such as a tall glass.
• Always outline with a pencil before painting.
• When you draw the eyes, make sure to place them in the middle of the head.

CAKE TOPPERS – Project examples

A cute wedding cake figurine topper DIY idea.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. As usual, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch or to leave a comment. Happy crafting!

Check out our tutorial and learn how you can make your own miniature pipe cleaner hats. With a little bit of practice, you will be able to make pipe cleaner hats in as little as 5 minutes.

You can use miniature hats for decorations, but also to dress up peg dolls and figurines.

One technique – many styles of hats.

You can use our technique to make almost any styles of hats: hats for Santa, elves, pilgrims, leprechauns, wizards, top hats, bucket hats, swinger hats, sun hats, beanie hats, boater hats, cloche hats, and more.

Pipe Cleaner Hats – Materials needed

• Each hat requires 4 to 5 strands of pipe cleaners (also known as chenille stems)
• You will also need a pair of wire cutters and a pair of pliers. No other materials and/or tools are needed.

You can use any type of pipe cleaners: plush pipe cleaner, bump pipe cleaner, glitter pipe cleaner, narrow pipe cleaner… For this tutorial, I used regular pipe cleaner (12″ long, .23″/6mm wide).

Pipe cleaners are pretty affordable, you can buy a few different types and experiment with color combinations and shapes.

Step by step tutorial

To illustrate the technique, we are going to make a simple hat. You can then modify this basic technique to make different styles of hats.

1: Gather 5 strands of pipe cleaners.

2: Cut 2 strands in half.

You are now left with 4 half strands and 3 full strands

3: Build the frame of your hat.

The frame is a 7-arm star, plus an eighth arm longer than the others. To create your star, do the following:

1. On your workstation, lay out a bunch of 3 half strands perpendicular to one full strand (see picture below)
2. Grab the full-length strand, loop it around the bunch and pull on both ends to tighten the loop.
3. Separate the strands from one another to create a star shape.

The 7 arm star is the frame of your hat. The 8th arm will be weaved through the frame to build the hat.

4: The weaving of the crown.

Grab the long strand and slowly roll it clockwise around the center of the frame, as if you wanted to create a licorice roll. When you meet the strand just next to it, go under it, then when you meet the next strand, go over it, and then go under the next strand, and then over the next strand, and so on. After a few revolutions, you will have made a disc (the top of the crown)

When you are done with the top of the crown, bend all of the 7 arms down and continue weaving.

When you run out of pipe cleaner, attach a new strand to the old strand and continue weaving until you are satisfied with the size of your crown.

5: The weaving of the brim.

When you are done with the crown of the hat, bend the pipe cleaners again to make the brim of the hat. Continue to weave with the similar technique as the one described above until you are happy with the size of the brim.

You are almost done. If you want, you can fashion a little pipe cleaner decorative band and wrap it around the crown of the hat.

Very important: before cutting the ends of the pipe cleaner strands, fold them under the brim first, otherwise you will see pieces of metal sticking out of the brim.

You are done :) You can now try to make another hat and experiment a little.

• Try different kinds of pipe cleaners.
• Experiment with longer crowns, longer brims
• Keep the same technique but try to change the shape of your hats: make pointy hats or hats that tapper out

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. As always, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to use the comment section below. Happy crafting!

Miniature pipe cleaner hats: a few more project ideas