Make DIY Woodland Fairy Peg Dolls

Meet our Woodland Fairy Family…

Through our correspondence, this tightly-knit fairy family has shared quite a bit about themselves, so now *I* get to introduce them to you and post a few of the family portraits they’ve left for me (with their approval)…

Up first are the wildflower fairies – Anemone, Hepatica, and Primrose. They’ve been working hard lately, convincing the woodland flowers to pop out of the nice cozy dirt, stretch their leggy stems, and bloom. They spend the summer flinging wild seeds into the wind, directing pollinator traffic, and generally tending to their wild gardens.

Next, meet Sequoia, the wood sprite, Cedar Wing, the pinecone pixie, Hornwort, our fairy of the moss, fungi, & lichen, and Hawthorn, the leaf sprite. These four work together, cultivating and sustaining the woodland growth – from the forest floor to the tip-top of the highest tree!

And now we’ve come to our smallest fairy visitors – but don’t let their size fool you…these two may have the most important jobs of all. Often found gathering nuts, berries, and seeds from the hedges and brush, Bramble is a fairy of the thicket who ensures the woodland wildlife has an abundant supply of food.

And last but not least, Dewdrop, our water nymph, watches over the lakes, streams, and even the puddles. These two love making a little mischief, and a stroll through your backyard in the early morning will give you an idea of their late-night shenanigans…dew and scattered seeds and pollen dust everywhere!

To make your own DIY woodland fairy peg dolls, you’ll need:

Note: We prefer to shop locally or use what we have at home, but this list contains Woodpeckers Crafts, Etsy, Blick Art Materials, Bookshop.org and/or Amazon affiliate links for reference. As affiliates (and Amazon Associates), we make a small commission on qualifying purchases.*

Safety note: Making these for a household where there are kids under 5? We recommend leaving the faux flower bits off and sticking to fairy wings and felt hats. Also, be sure to use super glue (like gorilla glue) or something equally as strong to hold on the wings.

How to Make Fairy Peg Dolls – DIY Instructions:

Use our step-by-step tutorial to make your own set of charming woodland fairy peg dolls, perfect for imaginative play or as a decorative addition to any nature-inspired theme.

Paint your peg dolls.

We started by painting our fairy peg dolls different skin tones with watercolors (as shown in the tutorial for our diverse DIY peg dolls). It only takes about 5 minutes to be dry to the touch, so you can quickly move on to painting the rest of the peg doll.

We painted the bodies of our peg dolls with acrylic paints. Our particular color palette was inspired by colors we’ve observed in the woodlands, but you can choose your very own favorite forest shades.

I wanted our fairy peg dolls to be extra durable and have a nice shine, so I added a coat of Mod Podge. I used Mod Podge specifically because it fully dries in about fifteen minutes, but you can use any finish if you prefer!

Cut out your fairy wings.

I looked FOREVER for the perfect recycled supply for our fairy wings. I wanted something translucent that could hold its shape and wouldn’t have sharp edges when cut. As it turns out, a plastic water or milk jug (I used the gallon size to cut all my sets of wings) is just the thing! Start by cutting apart your water jug on each side.

Using our free printable fairy wing templates (or your own hand-drawn wings), trace a set of wings onto one of your water jug pieces. I used a permanent marker, then cleaned the edges with a bit of nail polish remover afterward to erase any leftover pen marks. Cut out your fairy wings with scissors.

Add shimmer to your fairy wings (optional).

When I picture fairy wings, I imagine them to have a pearly shimmer – much like dragonfly wings. Though I kept most of our wings plain for simplicity’s sake, I had some leftover cellophane from a gift and thought I’d experiment with it. I glued a square to a pair of butterfly wings with a glue stick, let it dry, then trimmed around the wings.

Though it looks FANTASTIC, it was a bit fussy, and instead of trying to work with the cellophane, I’m going to try painting them with some iridescent nail polish next time – a much easier process for kids (and you!).

Make the hats for your peg doll fairies using felt, faux florals, or other nature supplies.

Using our fairy hat templates (or drawing your own simple quarter-circle shapes), trace and cut out the pieces for your felt fairy hats. Roll into a cone, and glue along the edge with a hot glue gun.

We added decoration with small clippings from old faux flowers, leaves, and greenery to give our woodland fairies their own style and flair. This is a fabulous way to recycle those dusty old faux flowers (something you can almost ALWAYS find at thrift stores or grab for free from a neighborhood marketplace).

Glue the hats to your peg dolls and play!

The last step is to add the hats (or other headwear) onto your peg dolls – using one small dot of hot glue at the back and front of each hat. We decided it would be more interesting if some of our peg dolls had creative variations on hats, and found that an upside-down plastic faux bloom, acorn, and pair of little wired faux stamens make the cutest fairy chapeaux!

Ways to Use Your DIY Fairy Peg Dolls for Learning and Play

Our set of handmade fairies was created as an outdoor play tool to encourage creative nature exploration. Here are some ideas to inspire you to use them in fun and unique ways…

Go on a fairy scavenger hunt.

I took extra care to make a set of durable fairy dolls that could be used outside and withstand a rinsing if needed, so these fairies can be placed just about anywhere in the backyard, which makes them perfect for a little fairy scavenger hunt! Hide them under bushes, behind a flower pot, or even in the branches of a tree.

Especially for little ones who may not be thrilled at the prospect of outdoor playtime, have a fear of backyard wildlife, or get bored with independent small-world play, this little game is a great distraction from their dislikes/fears/boredom.

Dream up a collaborative fairy-themed story.

For a simple creative play exercise, you can grab a couple of pixie peg dolls and a simple prop or two (pinecones and leaves, a miniature toy, etc.) and invite your kiddo to start a story. Need a prompt? You can use our fairy stories and names as a springboard.

Build your fairies a habitat.

Building a woodland fairy habitat is one of those sensory or STEAM-centered play activities that is great for an afternoon in the yard OR a rainy day inside. You can use recycled supplies, cardboard boxes, a flower pot, or nature finds to build a woodland-inspired home, fairy garden, or forest habitat for your peg doll fairy family. Our fairy forests are a lovely example of simple habitat-building.