How to Make The Most Adorable Wooden Insect Dolls

We released our newly “hatched”, or rather newly “emerged” ladybugs into the wild (aka our backyard). The boys were surrounded by the busy little bugs scampering about, enjoying their newfound freedom.

As the ladybugs took off, one by one, Jansen (4) looked increasingly broken-hearted.

“But Mama, will they be OK? Where will they sleep tonight? What if they can’t find their mamas and dadas?” (This kid and his heartfelt concern for others…)

What would you have answered?

(This post is sponsored by Woodpeckers in return for my honest review of their products.)

I took a deep breath and paused (to think of a creative and age-appropriate answer!)

“Honey”, I hesitated. “Bugs live a different kind of life than we do. They don’t live with their mamas and dadas – like you do.” Jansen’s eyes were at this point “bugging” out of his face (please excuse the pun) – while the waterworks were starting to flow.

He gets upset when I tell him about creatures who don’t live with their parents.

“How about we go inside and make our own bugs who LOVE to live with their mamas and dadas!” Thankfully he was in FULL agreement with my impulsive idea – thank goodness.

My only challenge was “how on EARTH was I going to make bugs!”

I recently bought these adorable wood peg dolls on Amazon, from Woodpeckers®. At the time I wasn’t sure what I was going to make with them. I just knew that the possibilities are endless and those are the types of craft items I love to have on hand.

Make the most adorable insect #Wood #PegDolls with products from @Woodpeckercraft - fun #craft and #DYI Click To Tweet

Over the next few days, Jansen and I created our insect peg dolls. We went through several prototypes before we came up with a design we both love.

We made a small butterfly family and lady bug, firefly and bumble bee families as well. Everything came out great (if I must say so myself).

Craft supplies needed:

Wood peg dolls in different sizes from Woodpeckers® on Amazon.
Acrylic craft paint. I prefer matte for this project, not glossy.
Black beading wire.
Felt in various colors.
Felt glue.
Paint brushes.
Tooth picks.
Scissors.
Needle-nose pliers.

Step by step instructions:
I have worked on peg dolls for a while, looking for the best way to make them as adorable as possible.

These are my methods and the colors I chose to use. I encourage you to pick your own colors and play around with tools you have available at home. Have fun with it!

Face:

Paint the face the desired skin color with a small flat brush.
The face shape is a horizontal oval.
For this project I chose a light pink. I have also had great success mixing orange with white to get a slightly darker skin tone.
I paint every peg doll I will be working on that day. This is especially important if you a mixing your own colors. In case you need to go back and fix a face, recreating the exact color is very hard.

Eyes, cheeks and mouth:

I use a toothpick to paint the finer details on the dolls, including the facial features.
Dip the tooth pick in black paint and place one quick dot on the face.
Re-dip the tooth pick in the paint before you make the other eye.
For the cheeks I use a darker shade of the skin tone, preferably something with a pink hue.
I also use a tooth pick to paint circles as cheeks, but I make them slightly bigger than the eyes.
The mouth is a bright or dark red. I recently started making the mouth a small heart and I love the look.
I use a tooth pick to make a heart out of three dots.

Antenna:

Cut a piece of wire.
Approximately 3” for the smaller dolls and 5” for the larger ones.
Wrap the wire around the neck of the doll.
Start with the middle of the wire in front of the doll and wrap it tightly around the back, twist once as close to the neck as possible.
Straighten the wires so they take the shape of antenna.
Use the needle-nose pliers to round the tips into small circles.
Glue the antenna to the doll by placing a dot of glue on the back of the doll’s neck, where the wire is twisted.
One small dot is sufficient to keep the wire in place.

Once the paint has dried, you can proceed with the customization.

Butterfly:

Start with a peg doll with a face, eyes, cheeks and mouth.
Paint the rest of the doll in a bright fun color.
Be careful to keep the shape of the face a nice oval.
Make the antenna by following the above referenced instructions.
Draw one side (= half) of the desired wing shape on a piece of felt.
- Fold the felt.
- When you cut the wings, both sides are uniform and connected along the mid-line.
Glue the wings along the back of the butterfly. Allow to dry completely for several hours.

Ladybug:

Start with a peg doll with a face, eyes, cheeks and mouth.
Paint the BODY of the ladybug red, leaving a small triangle blank in the front.
Paint the head (except for the face) black, in addition to the triangle on the body and spots on the back.
Keep the shape of the face oval.
Use a small brush to paint the black parts.
Attach antenna as described in the above instructions.

Bumble Bee:

Start with a peg doll with a face, eyes, cheeks and mouth.
Paint yellow stripes around the body. Make small strokes with a thin brush while turning the doll until the two ends meet.
Use a thin flat brush to paint the rest of the body and the head, except for the face.
Attach the antenna according to the above referenced instructions.
Draw one side (= half) of the wings on a piece of white felt.
- Bumble bee wings are round, almost like circles.
- Fold the felt and cut the wings.
- They are now attached in the middle with a uniform shape.
Attach the wings on the doll by placing a strip of felt glue along the body of the bumble bee.
Allow the wings to dry completely before handling.

Dragon Fly:

Start with a peg doll with a face, eyes, cheeks and mouth.
Paint the entire head and body in a green or brown colors.
Leave the face a horizontal oval.
Draw one side (= half) of the wings on a piece of white felt.
- Dragon Fly wings are long, almost as long as the peg doll is tall.
- Fold the felt and cut the wings.
- You will have two connected wings with a uniform shape.
Attach the wings on the doll by placing a strip of felt glue along the body of the dragon fly.
Allow the wings to dry for several hours before handling.

Wood products from Woodpeckers®:

I have been very impressed with the wood products I have bought from Woodpeckers® through Amazon.
Their products lend themselves perfectly to crafts and DIY projects.
The wood shapes are uniform and without blemishes.
Their customer service is wonderful with personal attention to each customer.
They even send you an adorable ebook for inspiration when you purchase their peg dolls.
Be sure to follow Woodpeckers for more craft inspiration: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook

Jansen’s big “paws” held the wooden ladybugs tight. I sat next to him in the grass, pretending to be “preoccupied” with something, when I really was watching him play. He quietly had the mommy ladybug tuck in the baby ladybug for the night.

And then he started to sing “Jonah Bear, Jonah Bear, you are my little Jonah Bear.” Which is the song I sing to his younger brother every night at bed time. Just like that, everything was right on Jansen’s world. Thanks to our wooden peg dolls.

I have SO much fun crafting with products from Woodpeckers®. Check out these projects – they are sure to inspire you!

DIY Wooden Garland of Wishes