Peg People: Feelings Edition
I have been seeing these peg people all over Instagram and decided to make a set of my own. I did get smaller ones, but Walker still puts everything in his mouth thus making them a choking hazard for now. Although my “angry” has bleeding eyes, I am so happy how these turned out and cannot wait to add them to our collection of open ended wooden toys.
How To: This project was VERY easy and if you are a beginner this is definitely one to try and tackle.
-Various paints (I used acrylic because it was what I had in the house)
-Pack of 4 Large Peg People from Michaels - https://canada.michaels.com/en/cream-large-peg-men-by-creatology/10488601.html (they are currently doing curbside pickup) OR you can find them on Amazon - https://www.amazon.ca/
-Paint pen OR fine tip permanent marker
OPTIONAL - I used my cricut to cut the words for the feelings, but you could easily use you pen or marker to write them on :)
-SEAL OPTIONS - If you do not have a child who puts everything in their mouth you could just seal with mod podge. Since Walker is not there yet, we sealed with beeswax. This is something I will re-coat periodically, since unlike other sealing materials, beeswax can wear away or be cleaned off easily.
Start by painting your dolls. I did around the ‘neck’ first and worked my way down. I did 3 coats (although, I am sure that higher quality paint would require fewer coats). Let dry.
I pre-cut all my “feelings” using the font “Century Schoolbook” in BOLD, and varying in size between 31-34. I used the permanent cricut brand vinyl (https://cricut.com/en_us/premium-vinyl-permanent.html) and applied with transfer tape. The less sticky the better, so it does not pull any paint away. You can also use your permanent marker to write yours on!
If you have a cricut, you could cut the faces but the pieces are very tiny so this is completely your call, and I decided to use a permanent marker. It worked great and the only one that had issues with was “angry.” This was my first one and I realized I was pressing the marker down too hard; once I lessened my force, the problem was fixed (you’re welcome)!
Mod Podge (optional but recommended) over the vinyl, as well as the doll as a whole.
I let the mod podge dry and then sealed with beeswax
Variations: You do not have to do feelings like I did, you can just paint people. The kit from amazon contains so many sizes making them great for creating families (IDEA: creating the families in the same colour group would be a fantastic sorting activity).
TADA! You now have your own set of peg people. Next week I will be doing a post about the importance of open-ended play, so if you are unsure of this concept be sure to come back and check it out! Let me know in the comments if you have tried this out and how it went.