DIY Nesting Dolls

By craft contributor Rachael

This is a really lovely project you can do with the kids on the Christmas holidays to keep them busy and to create a beautiful gift for one of their friends. Nesting dolls are great for storing hair elastics, bobbi pins and secret messages from friends. You could even choose a boy-themed nesting doll blank such as robots or monsters to get the boys in on the act too.

Apart from the nesting dolls, you will find all of the other parts of this project already in your craft box, which makes it easy on the pocket as well as loads of fun.

Let’s get started with materials…

Materials:

  1. Nesting doll blanks- available at your local craft store or on amazon here
  2. Decoupage glue (any non-toxic, clear drying glue will do)
  3. Fabric scraps
  4. Sponge brush
  5. Acrylic non-toxic paints
  6. Scissors (use safety scissors with little kids)
  7. Glaze (optional)

Step 1: As we are only going to cover one half of the nesting doll with fabric, we decided to paint the tops in lovely bright colors.

You can put these aside to dry while making the bottoms.

Step 2: To make the fabric bottoms, it is easiest to cut your fabric into little pieces first, especially if you have the kids on board helping.

Cut them into small pieces that can overlap each other – check the size of your doll before cutting.

Once you have your pieces cut, attach them to the bottom of the nesting doll with glue. You don’t need to be too neat – just overlap the pieces until you have the whole nesting doll bottom covered.

Step 3: Now it’s time to make a face for your dolls. We drew faces onto another piece of paper and glued them on, however, you could use your paints to paint them on too.

Once your faces are on, you will magically have a new little doll family all ready to be gifted!

If you want your dolls to last forever, you could spray them with a non-toxic glaze, however, if you have glued your pieces on and used a couple of coats of paint, your dolls will last well without this step too.

The best part of this holiday project is there are so many different fabrics and paints to choose from your dolls will be unique just to you.

Have fun, be creative!

 

Comments

..YOU CAN DO ALSO ..JESUS FAMILY AND THE NATIVITY SCENE…(FOR XMAS )

This is a lovely idea! I didn’t realise you could buy them unpainted. I would love to give this a go! 🙂

These are so cute and amazing! I would love to make some of these. Thank you so much for sharing!

Can you give a source for the blank nesting dolls? I checked Joann’s and Michaels online and can’t find them.

Hi Stephanie,

I bought mine from our big craft store here in Australia called Spotlight but if you want to buy online Amazon has a good range of great priced options. Just type “blank nesting dolls” into their search bar. You. An also purchase them from Etsy too.

Hobby lobby has them too(if you have a hobby lobby near you)
And they always have a 40% off one item in store coupon

Love these! My two year old loves nesting dolls… I should make him a set like these for Christmas. Thanks for the inspiration!

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