Acorn Peg Doll Crafts: Handmade DIY Toys for Kids

These cute little acorn peg dolls are easy DIY toys for kids. (First published August 28, 2015; this post is updated and republished to improve the content.)

Here’s an acorn craft made with acorn caps, wooden peg dolls, and a touch of watercolor paint. Cute little acorn peg dolls like those shown here make unique DIY wooden toys and simple homemade gift ideas for children. You might also like THIS set of wooden peg dolls painted in a rainbow of colors.

Children enjoy making DIY peg doll crafts for pretend or imaginative dramatic play. And, if you have children with an autumn birthday, these cute wooden peg doll crafts make great homemade party favors! You might also enjoy using acorn caps to make DIY Acorn Marble Necklaces. 

DIY Acorn Peg Dolls Homemade Wooden Toy for Kids

DIY Acorn Peg Dolls are an easy acorn craft and homemade gift idea for kids. These cute little handmade toy dolls are perfect for pretend or imaginative dramatic play. Acorn peg dolls also make great gift ideas and homemade party favors for a child’s birthday.

Homemade peg dolls with acorn caps also make cute rustic DIY autumn home decor–display them on mantles, window sills, fairy gardens, and fall nature tables. You might also enjoy this list of fall nature crafts for kids and adults.

Acorn Peg Doll Wooden Toy Craft Materials

• Acorn caps  (Go on a nature hunt for acorn caps, or click the link to purchase.)
• Wooden peg dolls (This package contains more wooden peg dolls than you need for this project. Use the remainder to make other peg doll crafts. Several more homemade peg doll project ideas are at the bottom of this post.)
• Watercolor paint: Liquid watercolors, watercolor paint tubes, etc. (Use brown liquid watercolor paint or a mixture of raw umber and yellow ochre straight out of watercolor paint tubes for a rich, concentrated color. Or dip them into liquid watercolor paints. Any color and type of watercolor paint will work–you can even use food coloring! Read through the step-by-step instructions below for directions and examples.)
• Paintbrushes
• Glue gun with glue sticks or craft glue
• Extra fine-tip paint pens or incredible nib

DIY Acorn Peg Dolls Wooden Toy Step-by-Step Directions

Please read the step-by-step instructions below before starting this wooden DIY toy project. Scroll down for a list of more DIY wooden peg doll project ideas.

1. Paint the wooden peg doll body.

• You can choose between a few different methods to paint the wooden peg doll bodies to make the acorn peg dolls shown here. Try either of the painting techniques described below to color each wooden peg doll craft:
  • Use watercolor paint straight out of a watercolor paint tube to paint the wooden peg dolls for a rich, concentrated color. (When making the wooden peg dolls shown in the photographs, I first layered the watercolors by painting the yellow ochre because Valley Oak Acorns are yellowish-brown where we live, and I wanted to paint them to match. Then I painted over the yellow ochre with raw umber when the watercolor paint was still wet.)
  • Another super easy option is to use brown liquid watercolor paint to color or dye each wooden peg doll. Follow the steps below if you want to use this watercolor painting technique:
    • Dip a paintbrush into the liquid watercolor paint and use long downward strokes to paint the peg doll from the neck.
    • Or fill a 4 oz canning jar with brown liquid watercolor paint and dip the body of each wooden peg doll into the liquid watercolor solution to dye the wooden bodies to color them.
• Don’t paint the heads yet. Instead, allow wooden peg dolls to dry before moving on to the next step.

2. Glue the acorn caps onto the wooden peg dolls.

• Use a glue gun with glue sticks or craft glue to attach the acorn caps onto the heads of the wooden peg dolls to make this acorn craft, as shown in the photograph below.
• Please remember that glue guns are hot and dangerous tools. So we recommend using strong multi-purpose craft glue to make these acorn crafts with young children.
• Place a drop of glue inside each acorn cap and then quickly put the acorn cap onto the wooden peg doll’s head to secure it.
• Press gently on the acorn cap to squeeze out any air bubbles and ensure it is attached to the wooden peg doll.

3. Paint a face onto each acorn peg doll craft.

• Use a paint pen or dip an incredible nib into the paint color of your choice to draw a simple face onto each wooden peg doll craft.
• Check out our rainbow peg dolls DIY project tutorial for more detailed instructions.

Related: The Best Building Blocks for Kids

Acorn Peg Doll Wooden DIY Toy for Kids and Rustic DIY Home Decor

DIY acorn peg dolls are an acorn craft and gift idea for kids. Or, invite children to use this wooden peg doll craft tutorial to make handmade toys for pretend or imaginative play.

Acorn peg dolls also make unique rustic DIY home decor. Little acorn people look super cute when displayed on mantles, window sills, nature tables, and fairy gardens.

For more amazing craft ideas, look at this list of fall nature crafts, or scroll down to see a list of wooden peg doll crafts for kids.

More Peg Doll Crafts to Make with Wooden Peg Dolls

If you purchase the recommended wooden peg dolls to make this fun acorn craft you will have enough dolls remaining to make a few more wooden DIY toys. Once you finish this fun acorn craft for kids, try the DIY peg doll project ideas on the list below!

• DIY Rainbow Peg Dolls
• Monarch Butterfly Peg Dolls
• Peg Doll Boat Craft
• Fall Fairy Peg Dolls
• Winter fairy Peg Dolls
• Elf Peg Doll Ornaments
• Angel Peg Doll Ornament
• Easy Wooden Peg Doll Nativity Scene

If you Liked This Acorn Craft, You May Also Like

• Acorn Marble Necklace Nature Craft
• DIY Rustic Acorn Marble Ornaments
• Nature Crafts and Nature Art Activities that use Natural Materials
• Fall Bucket List of Fun Autumn Activities