Getting Started
We do our very best to give you a product that can be utilized in a number of different ways. Some people want a natural wooden toy with a warm earthy feel that only natural wood brings. Other folks want to color their Pegsies to bring extra brightness, a unique touch, and personality to each character. If you find yourself wanting to color your Pegsies, we’ve put together this page to give you a running start.
We are always learning about new coloring products and techniques. If you have a talent for coloring, we (and our amazing Pegsies community) would love to see your results and learn from you. The best way to share is share a picture or video and tag Pegsies on a Social Media platform. We can be found on Facebook and Instagram.
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Test Your Tools
One inch wooden token included with each peg doll
We highly suggest testing your colors and sealants on the wooden discs that are provided to make sure you like it before committing to using it on the peg doll.
Markers
Marker: Crayola fine tip did well. Didn’t bleed beyond the etched line. It does bleed onto natural wood if used to outline.
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Colored Pencils
We have found colored pencils to be the quickest, easiest, and cleanest method of coloring.
Prismacolor Premier colored pencils (found at Walmart, Amazon, craft stores) – seen in our Nativity people listing pictures. Hold the peg doll carefully as you are coloring as the colors can smear, especially onto the white. It can also transfer to your hands. Fully sharpen the black to do outlines for a more polished look. We had someone mention that they did not like the colored pencils.
Crayola: covers pretty well and does not smear, but the white is barely noticeable.
Artist Loft Watercolor (Michaels): I didn’t have to worry about smudging with these, but they were not as bold as Prismacolor. I’ve chosen to use them on most of our listing photos (see examples in Nativity animals: not sheep, first responders, pirates, or animals).
Fixing mistakes: I was able to erase some mistakes with a #2 pencil eraser (make sure to rub off pencil marks first) or very fine sandpaper.
Sealing: Brushing or painting on Mod Podge or another sealer can make the colors smear as, so we found success with the spray sealant. We used a few coats of an aerosol acrylic sealer (Plaid Clear Acrylic Sealer, Matte or Krylon Workable Fixatif) in a well ventilated area. If you don’t seal them, the colors may rub off onto other peg dolls or your hands. And for added protection you can do a coat of brush-on polyacrylic or liquitex.
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Crayons
Overall crayons do pretty well but are a bit tricky when attempting fine detail.
Paint
We really enjoy using acrylic paint pens. The fine tip pens work well for details. They are very quick to dry and have very little mess to clean up. We have found even the cheapest acrylic paint pen sets on Amazon to work fine.
With more traditional paint and brush setups, we have used Ceramcoat, Americana, Apple Barrel, and some folk art acrylic paints. If you would like to know about any specific colors we’ve used I could let you know. See example in our First Responder Surprise listing. Paint gives the most polished look, but takes the longest and can require a few coats of paint to get a fully uniform look. Get good quality brushes and make sure to properly clean them. Nail art brushes work really well for getting fine details (I found a set on Amazon). We had problems with Plaid paint pens being blotchy.
Fixing mistakes: Very fine sandpaper after it has dried.
*May still show some, especially on the natural wood.
Sealing: We just use the brush-on coats of Liquitex or Mod podge. Warning about mod podge. Don’t use if you plan on storing them anywhere it gets really hot. When we moved, we had several that stuck together. Not sure if the other sealants do that or not though.
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