Everyone keeps asking me how I make my little saint pegs, so I thought I would share the creative process with you, so that you and your children can create these wonderful figures.
*These are recommend for ages 3 and up. At least past the stage of putting items in their mouth. These can be a choking hazard for younger children so please be aware.*
They can be time consuming based on your perfection level. I used to make these and sell them but could not keep up with orders, family and life so I now just make them for fun.
First you want to select which saint you want to paint. Lets start out with someone easy such as St. Rose. I would type in their name in Google image or use one of my kids saint books to find a picture I liked. Choose your picture.
Second you want to do is find out where to buy your wood people peg from. I used Casey's Wood Products. They are based out of Maine. They have a nice selection of different sizes and shaped people pegs, depending on your product. I used the standard size people peg which is considered a "man peg" and its 2-3/8" tall x 7/8" diameter. They start at $.25 each and you get a better deal the more you buy. I recommend purchasing from them for bigger orders. For smaller orders of pegs, you can find them on Etsy and I have also seen these for purchase at Hobby Lobby also in their wood section in a bag of 8 pegs. Base it on how many you want to paint.
Next you want to get your paint and paint brushes. You will want to use acrylic paint to paint the wood ( I used Americana brand), as well as brushes that work well with acrylic paint. I recommend that you buy a few different brushes that will help with detail and coverage. Hobby Lobby and Michaels always have a 40% coupon and you can use it to buy a brush starter pack that has different size brushes in it.
The paint comes in so many colors so make sure your write a list of the colors you will need for your saint. For St. Rose I used black, white, pink, red, brown and flesh (yes that's a color).
Now you are ready to paint!
You want to start with your lightest color first, and you always want to wait for each color to dry after applying. It only takes a few minutes. I always painted the heads first with the flesh color. Then I would do the white around the whole bottom of the peg and a little strip of white across the top of the head. Next you want to use the black for the veil. Make sure the black is completely dry! You don't want smudges on your white. Now you can use the flesh color to paint the little praying hands and add a little strip of black underneath.
For St. Rose I like to make a crown of roses. I take the bottom of one of my smallest brushes and dip it in the red and put connecting dots all around her head to form the crown. Then you can use a lighter red or pink and paint with a detail brush the little swirls to make them look like roses. You could also add leaves if you would like.
The last thing I do after everything is dry you want to do the eyes. I used the tip at the bottom of my brush to dab on the eyes..perfect brown circles, let dry. Then use the bottom of the brush again to make a smaller small circle inside the eye and use a small detail brush to put on your lashes. After that drys, use the tip of your brush to dab little tiny white dots for more detail to the eyes. (refer to picture above). Last you can paint on some eye brows and a little smile!
Now you have a little St. Rose Wooden Peg Saint! If you want you can write the name of the Saint with a fine tip permanent marker for reference. After your finished with the name I always liked to seal the wooden peg to help keep the paint from chipping and make it more durable. Now I have tried a lot of products for sealing the pegs, and the one that I used was the American DuraClear Varnish Clear and applied it with a black foam brush. Some people use modgepodge but it can cause yellowing and a sticky feel. I have also used Krylon Acrylic sprays but was tired of putting on a mask to spray them. Choose whatever you are comfortable with. Seal your little saint and you are ready to play!
We would use them in my daughters doll house, action figures and even board games pieces. I have had some people use them as cake toppers for birthday cakes or special holiday events. So many things you can do with them and so many ways you can add a personal touch! Check out some of the other saints I have painted below for more inspiration!
