Peg doll bug craft

This is a super cute craft that is perfect for small world play, and your little one will enjoy flying them around! All you need are some plain wooden dolls (which you can get from major craft stores and online) as well as some basic supplies.

Small world play is a form of play where children use small toys and resources to explore miniature environments and stories. It allows them to explore real-life situations or create fantasy worlds, fostering creativity, social skills, and language development.

I love creating homemade resources for small world play, and these peg doll bugs are so simple to make.

Contains affiliate links - see disclosure 

I am going to show you how you can make this cute little ladybird, but you can make any bug design you want - we also made a bee and dragonfly using the same method, just changing the colours and wing shape.

To make the peg doll bugs you will need:

• Large wooden peg doll

• Pencil

• Black and white paint pens (e.g. posca pens)

• Red acrylic paint

• Black felt

• PVA glue

  
  

Start by drawing a rough outline on your bug design onto your peg doll. I recommend doing this in pencil so that you can rub it out and change it if it's not right first time.

Then use your acrylic paints to paint the body and the back of the head.

Next, use your black paint pens to fill the front of the body, then draw some spots on the back and give some features to the face.

We gave ours little closed happy eyes and antennae, but you can draw any design you like. You can have a lot of fun designing your own unique features.

Once the paint is dry, use PVA glue to evenly coat the bug. Sealing the bugs with PVA glue makes them really durable and water resistant, so damp or sticky fingers wont smudge the paint.

Make sure you don't get glue on the base to avoid it sticking to the surface when drying.

Now you can make your wings! The easiest way to do this is to fold the felt in half and cut out a teardrop shape, making sure you don't cut all the way round so the wings stay attached to each other.

Pop some PVA glue in the centre of the wings and stick them to the back of the peg doll.

And there you have it - a cute bug ready for adventures, small world play, sensory bins or just sitting on a shelf!

You can let your imagination run wild with these bugs, any colour combination and wing style will look great - I also made a little bee and a dragonfly for my little one to play with.

You don't have to stop at bugs - how about painting them to resemble family members as a unique keepsake. Or turning them into fairies and making a miniature garden for them?

If you already love crafting with your little one, or you're a beginner trying to decide where to start, check out my book, full of inspiration and tips for crafting together.

Have you decorated some peg dolls? Share a picture with me!

---

For more playful and creative learning ideas visit:

Instagram | Pinterest | Howweplayandlearn.com

---