If you'd love a special nativity set to celebrate Christmas, check out our DIY peg doll nativity set. We'll show you how to make your own handmade nativity set.
Since we were married in late November, we received several nativity sets as wedding gifts, and I have LOVED pulling them out each Christmas season! I love each set more and more every year, and this time around, I wanted to make my own from a set of peg dolls because I had some time and I just love to paint! The entire set can be made for $10 or less, and I hope this will inspire you to make your own Peg Doll Nativity set for Christmas this year!
How to Make a Peg Doll Nativity
To make a set similar to mine, you'll need a variety of wooden peg people: 6 large "angel" dolls, 1 boy, 1 small angel, and 1 baby. For small orders, I usually find Etsy sellers who sell small groups of dolls. You could probably find a blank nativity set if you searched for it. The large dolls are usually only $1, and the smaller ones are pocket change.
I always start by painting their entire heads in a skin-tone, and their entire bodies in the base color. It seems easier to add the accent colors and details on top of a thick base.
From there, add on the details! Absolutely use the smallest paintbrush you can find! Plan on this taking up your evenings for a few nights, and enjoy the process! For the shepherd and wise men, I chose a variant of the base color by adding just a little black, white, or gray to the plate. I think adding the black outlines really makes a nice impression on the final result. You could also add some stable animals and an angel!
Finish with a polycrylic gloss and you're done! Because these are so small, you can really set them up anywhere--bookshelves, mantles, window sills, and other small spaces.
Merry Christmas!
Amanda McCollum says
Oh my goodness! These are precious, and you are so talented! I love how sweet and simple they are.
Amber Ludwig says
Omgosh these are AMAZING! I wish I had your artistic talent! I would probably start them and never finish lol!
Ashley says
Wow - wow - wow! These are the CUTEST things I've ever seen. Camille, you are so talented! I am totally going to attempt to make these.
Camille says
You all are the sweetest! Thank you for the compliments, and I'd love to see what you paint up!
Kyla @HouseofHipsters says
Wow! These little guys are too cute! We’d love it if you’d shared it at our Found & Foraged link up party. This Friday at 8PM Central Time…normally it’s Saturdays at 8PM but InLinkz is having some sort of maintenance server update during our normal party time. Anyhoo, we’d love to see you at http://houseofhipsters.com/
pattyk says
really cute
Jennie says
Love these! I have a bag of peg dolls just waiting for a project like this. Thank you!
Ashley says
Would you consider sharing pictures of the dolls from multiple angles, like the sides and back? 🙂
Dorothy Boucher says
What a wonderful idea to do these and what great gifts they would make also.