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How to Make a Wooden Peg Doll: DIY Little Mermaid

Published: Jun 5, 2020 · Modified: Apr 14, 2021 by Tina · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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I didn't even know that wooden peg dolls were a "thing" until I discovered this Little Mermaid peg doll.

It turns out that these peg dolls are a toy used in Montessori and Waldorf schools for pretend play, color matching, and other activities.

They can be as simple as painting the "body" a solid color, then giving them 2 dots for eyes, as you can see in this photo.

Some people like to attach some yarn for hair, and others even use fabric to give the dolls clothing.

In other words, peg doll can be as simple or as creative as you want them to be.

For example, here's are some cute Harry Potter peg dolls.

Since unfinished peg dolls come in packs, doing a bunch of them at once, assembly-style, would be a smart way to go. If you get a couple of friends and/or older kids to work on them with you, even better!

These dolls make adorable stocking stuffers and would make a great service project for a group to make and donate to an organization that helps kids in need.

Now that you know all about peg dolls, let's look specifically at how to make a doll that looks like Ariel, The Little Mermaid.

 

Supplies/Materials for Little Mermaid Peg Doll

Detail Paint Brushes SetDetail Paint Brushes SetDetail Paint Brushes SetMatte Finish Acrylic Craft Paint SetMatte Finish Acrylic Craft Paint SetMatte Finish Acrylic Craft Paint SetPlastic Paint Tray PalettePlastic Paint Tray PalettePlastic Paint Tray PaletteNatural Unfinished Wooden Peg Doll BodiesNatural Unfinished Wooden Peg Doll BodiesNatural Unfinished Wooden Peg Doll Bodies

 

  • 5-6 Paint Brushes
  • Acrylic Craft Paint in these colors:
    • Dark Teal
    • Aqua
    • White
    • Black
    • Red
    • Dark Purple
    • Light Purple
    • Peach
  • Paint Tray Palette (or just a paper plate)
  • Peg Doll

Supplies for Little Mermaid Peg Doll

 

DIY Peg Doll Directions

  1. Start by painting the face, and part of the head of the doll in a peach colored paint.

    Make sure to get all the areas around the neck, as those areas sometimes absorb more paint than the rest of the doll.

    Continue painting the upper front of the body the same color, and stop about halfway down the doll. (The bottom will be painted with aqua scales later.)

    Paint peg doll peach

  2.  

  3. Use the dark purple paint to make two seashells as the bikini bathing suit top for the doll.

    Painting purple bikini on Little Mermaid peg doll

     

    Finished purple bikini on Little Mermaid Peg doll

  4.  

  5. Paint the entire bottom half of the doll dark teal, stopping just under the “waist line”, and making a slight “V” shape just below the waist.

    Purple and teal on Little Mermaid peg doll

  6.  

  7. Use the aqua paint to outline just the top of the “V” shape.

    Outline of V shape in peg doll

  8.  

  9. Use the aqua paint to begin painting the scales onto the dark teal Start directly below the peak of the “V” and paint a drooping half oval, with each one connecting as you go around the doll.

    First scale painted on doll

     

    3 scales painted on peg doll

     

  10. Once one row is complete, start the next row off-center, so that the half oval starts in the middle point of the row above it.

    More scales painted on peg doll

  11.  

  12. Continue until you have four rows of scales all the way to the bottom of the doll.

    Four rows of scales on Little Mermaid peg doll

  13.  

  14. To paint the tail fins, first paint the shape of the fins in the dark teal.

    Once that dries, outline the fins with the black paint.

    Then use the aqua paint to make a few lines on top of the dark teal and add some texture and detail to the fins.

    Black outlline of fin

  15.  

  16. Use the light purple paint to outline the outside of the dark purple bikini top.

    Light purple outline on peg doll bikini

  17. Make a little light purple dot between the two shells, and then draw three lines across the shells to create detail.

    3 lines across bikini on peg doll

  18.  

  19. Use the red paint to create the doll’s hair, starting with the bangs and swooping towards the left side of the face.

    Start by painting the bangs

  20.  

  21. Continue painting around the head. Making sure to paint all the way down to the tail, and overlapping the tail with the ends of the hair.

    Continue painting hair down to the tail

  22.  

  23. Make a few small curls at the end of the hair as you go.

    Make a few small curls at the bottom

  24.  

  25. Add two small dots of black paint for the eyes.

    Paint the eyes on peg doll

  26.  

  27. Paint two tiny lines on each dot to make the eyelashes.

    Paint the eyes on peg doll

  28.  

  29. Add a very tiny white dot of paint on top of the black eye dots, and your Ariel peg doll is complete.

    White paint on peg doll eyes

  30.  

  31. And your Little Mermaid peg doll is complete!

    Finished Little Mermaid peg doll

  32. More Mermaid Fun for Girls

    • Free Printable Mermaid Coloring Pages
    • Mermaid Color by Letter Worksheet

     

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