his and hers wooden peg dolls

I assume you've all seen the adorable wooden doll projects at Lil Blue Boo?  (They are plastered all over pinterest.)

Back in November, Ashley posted her Box o' Princesses and Boyville projects, and they have been on my mind ever since.  Luckily my mom also wanted to make them, so we each painted a couple of sets while she visited.  I know I wouldn't have gotten around to making them without her motivation, so thanks, mom!

First up, the boys:

I expanded the boy's set a bit to include a few more characters.  If Ruby received eight dolls and Oscar only received four, he would not be pleased.   Even with equal sets, I am still anticipating a lot of stealing between them.

My favorite boy dolls are Obi Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader (although Buzz and Woody are a very close second).   Oscar is borderline obsessed with Star Wars.  He's only seen Episode One (which pains Jared to watch), but he thinks anything Star Wars is just the greatest.

I sanded down toothpicks and painted them as light sabers.  They are super-glued to the dolls for safety, so hopefully Oscar isn't disappointed that they aren't functional.

On to the girls:

This set is the same group of princesses that Ashley made, but I tried to add my own flare to each of them.  My kids are young, so to avoid a choking hazard, I purchased bigger wood people (they are all 3 1/2 inches tall).  The larger sized dolls made it easier to add a few extra details.

My favorite ladies are Ariel, Tiana and Cinderella.  I used Martha Stewart glitter paint in silver to add sparkly scales to Ariel's fin.   Cinderella's dress was painted with Martha Stewart pearl finish paint in "aquarium" - it turned out so perfectly shimmery (I just love the MS line of craft paints!).  I didn't use any special paints for Tiana, but she sure has a fun dress.

I'm not going to lie, these dolls took a bit of time to paint.  It's not an easy project to churn out in one night!  But I sure am excited for Oscar and Ruby to open them on Christmas day.  Hopefully they will enjoy playing with them.  If so, it will give me an excuse to make more.  I'd love to add a doctor, fireman, ballerina ... peg people are fun!

Have you made any homemade gifts for Christmas this year?  I know it is only a week away, but I still have four projects on my list.  Yikes.

wood source:  I ordered my 3 1/2 inch peg people from Casey's Wood, and have always had a good experience with their products.  However, Ashley linked to a different shop, Woodworks Ltd., and they have slightly lower prices - I can't speak for the quality.