Wooden peg dolls

I am having a whole lot of fun making stocking stuffers for my kids this year!

One of my favorite ideas for my daughters' stockings: wooden peg dolls. The materials are inexpensive, and they can be as simple or as detailed as you please! 

Oh, the possibilities!

These little pegs can be found at your local craft/hobby store. I found mine at Hobby Lobby in the woodcraft aisle. They are sanded smooth and all ready to go. I bought some acrylic paint for $0.57 a bottle and got started right away. They took a few days to complete, as I paused to let the paint dry between colors, and my Santa's workshop time is limited to post-bedtime hours ;) 

All painted and ready for a clear coat.

After I was satisfied with the paint job, a few coats of polyurethane were added for durability. Poly is available in handy-dandy spray cans. We had some left over from a previous project. Once that was dry, I added a little fabric and sparkle for accents :)

You can do just about anything with these little guys to suit your kids' tastes! For two of my daughters, I am making little families (one of which is pictured here) for their dollhouse. I have a third daughter who is on the adventurous side, and her set will be female superheroes (ie., Mrs. Incredible and Wonder Woman).

After Christmas, I'm going to let them paint a few extra dolls of their own.

Little boys can have fun with these, too! Besides superheroes, think pirates, army men, or ninjas.

After polyurethane, with some added accents:
hair bows, lace, and "jewels"

Just for fun, I picked up a little, unfinished wooden box to paint and monogram. The monogram was very simple. I pulled up Microsoft Word, sized the letter and chose a pretty font, and printed it out. Then I traced the initial on the box with tracing paper and painted it in! 

Are you going to give these a try? Tell us your ideas in the comments below!