Printable Peg Dolls- Just Paint The Head And Decoupage The Rest!

I have wanted a set of Catholic peg Saints pretty much since I first saw them somewhere around 5 years ago. However, there were 2 really big deterrents that stood in my way:

  1. Buying hand-painted peg dolls is really expensive.
  2. Painting wooden peg dolls myself is extremely time-consuming.

But now, I invented a secret option number 3 for you guys… Printable Saint peg dolls!!!!! 

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printable peg dolls for decopage

All you do is paint the head, and then the body is printable. It just decoupages on right around the peg with Mod Podge- it’s that easy. Let me show you how it works.

printable peg dolls- catholic wooden saint peg dolls small

That’s actually it! Can you believe how easy this is? These print onto regular computer paper, not card stock. Card stock will not wrap and lay flat in the same way.

I hand-painted these bodies for the Saints myself, so they still have a cute hand-painted look- not a look like they were digitized off the computer. The Mod Podge also creates a painted texture, and these have lasted for YEARS now for my children. They love them!

You don’t need to be an artist! I designed all the heads to be cute, but simple to paint. for each Saint included in the pack, there are step by step directions on how to paint the head, along with pictures of the head from the front, side, and back.

how to paint saint peg doll head

Saints Included In Printable Peg Dolls Pack 1

This printable peg dolls pack is themed “Saints that go together”. If it’s popular, I’m hoping to come out with packs of different Saints in the future. Here are the Saints in this one:

Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary Peg Dolls

sacred and immaculate heart- printable peg dolls

St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe Peg Dolls

juan diego and our lady of guadalupe printable peg doll

Blessed Mother Teresa and St. Pope John Paul II Peg Dolls

Mother Teresa and Pope Saint John Paul II printable peg dolls

St. Faustina and Divine Mercy Jesus Peg Dolls

saint faustina and divine mercy printable peg doll

St. Francis and St. Clare Peg Dolls

st. francis and st. clare printable peg dolls

I just love the little wolf with St. Francis!

printable peg doll detail

These are so fast to make, you can easily make them for your kids, nieces, nephews, and even your Godchildren!

What’s Included In The Printable Peg Dolls Download, Pack 1:

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Monthly Liturgical Membership

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Perfect for families! Each month you gain access to printable activity pages, crafts, home altar pieces, and more.
 
Never has living the liturgical year been so easy and affordable!
 

printable peg dolls page- decopage

  • 10 Saint peg doll downloads: Sacred Heart of Jesus, Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Juan Diego, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Faustina, Divine Mercy Jesus, Blessed Mother Teresa, and St. Pope John Paul II.
  • Step by step directions for each head you need to paint.
  • Tips about how to paint, exactly what materials to use, and exactly how to be successful with decoupaging.

Supplies You’ll Need:

I go into more detail in the download about the supplies you need, but just so you have some idea before you get started, here’s the list of supplies I recommend:supplies for painting wooden peg doll

  • Acrylic Paint
  • Pointy Paint Brush
  • Foam Brush
  • Black Sharpie Marker or Paint Pen
  • Wooden Pegs-

All of the photographs from this post are of dolls that have been decoupaged, not painted. Well, their heads are painted. I think you know what I mean. 😉 The point is, these really do look and feel painted, and my kids absolutely love them!

This download costs just $10, which turns out to be only one dollar per Saint!

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saints that go together

If you would like a copy of this download to review from your blog, please drop me an email!

I’ve had a few questions about this download that I want to address:

  • Can I use these downloads with an ink jet printer? Won’t the Mod Podge smear the ink? In the directions in the download, it says that you’ll need to spray hair spray or a fixative on your paper before you Mod Podge it. Also, the less strokes and less “scrubbing” from the paint brush with the Mod Podge, the better. So once you have your initial layer on there and it dries, you’re good to go. A laser printer decoupages with no problems at all. This is in the directions in the actual download. Ya’ll know I’m pretty thorough when I give directions for my stuff- I promise it’s all in there. 😉
  • Can I use it with a different size of peg? Yes, you can! Monica from Equipping Catholic Families already made a much smaller set, and gives great directions for how you can, too! 🙂
  • Won’t the decoupage smear? I got a Saint from a swap with something decoupaged, and it peeled right off. NO!!!! The decoupage doesn’t peel if it’s properly done, and I have good directions in the download to do it properly. It will hold up just as well as peg dolls that have been painted and sealed.

Are There More Sets? Yes! Check It Out!

 

Printable Peg Dolls: Nativity Set

 

Printable Peg Dolls: The Passion Set

 

Printable Peg Dolls: The Resurrection Set

More Printable Saint Crafts

Check out these ABC Saints. So easy to color and assemble to stand up on their own! These are a ton of fun

I also have a fun printable Saint set for All Saints’ Day parties that can be fun year round as well.

Feel free to tell me what “set” you think should be next in the comments! My plan is to make all of them in sets of 10 that have a common theme, such as Eucharist related Saints, all different Marys, etc.

Find all of my peg doll resources here!

Comments

  1. Thank you so much for the creating the printables for the peg dolls! I teach a religion class and I this will be a great addition! Perfect! God bless you! 🙂

    • Sara Hoenig says

      I love the peg dolls. I just made the Passion set and can’t wait to teach with them. Any thoughts on making an apostles set? I would love to be able to “play out” the stories from the new testament with my kids and preschoolers. Thanks again for making these available.

  2. Thank you so much for offering this option. I love these peg doll Saints, but it has been hard to get started, until now. Thanks for getting me started! I am hoping that there will be a set #2, since these are set #1. I am thinking ahead for First Communion in the Spring. Will Bl. Imelda and Saint Gemma be included in one of the next sets? Thank you so much for all you do.

    • Yes, I have already brainstormed a list of possible future sets, and Eucharist Saints is definitely one of those sets. These were really time consuming to paint, so I’m going to wait and see if they’re popular before continuing on. 🙂

    • Yes please include Saint Gemma in set 2!

      • Wow! Lots of Gemma fans! She is my confirmation saint, so I third this motion.

        These are awesome, Lacy! I can’t wait to get started! Thank you so much.

        • St Gemma, St Gemma, St Gemma!!! Now that I am a peg-a-holic (I started and now I CANNOT. STOP.), I need St Gemma. Was just thinking about this today, actually, and then came here to scold you (in total jest) about getting me hooked on peg dolls and also to suggest St Gemma. See I’ve been beaten to the draw! She needs her hands folded in prayer, looking skyward (blue eyes), a bun in her “hair”, a black dress, the Passionist emblem on her chest and the stigmata. It wouldn’t be too hard to do. …Can I help by painting one and sending you the photo?

  3. These look so fantastic! Thank you so much, Lacy! I am wondering, though, did you print these out on an inkjet? Doesn’t the Mod Podge make the ink run or blur if they’re printed on an inkjet printer?

    • If you spray it with fixative or hair spray first, it won’t (as long as you don’t scrub too long or hard with your mod podge). That’s in the directions. 🙂

  4. I <3 <3 <3 this!!! Oh My!! I will be ordering for sure, have to check what else it was I wanted to get too. My PSR is enjoying the Alphabet Saints(and we have LOTS and LOTS of TP rolls being donated to us!) I love all that you do. Thanks so much!!

  5. These are super cute & just the inspiration I might need. Would these need to be printed on a color laser printer? I’m thinking that the ink on an inkjet printout would smear with the application of Mod Podge.

    • The ink won’t smear from an ink jet if you use a fixative or hair spray on it first. It says that in the download. My laser printer worked wonderfully without fixative.

  6. Is peg size 3-9/16″ Man? Blog says 3 and 9/8 inches tall. Just a technicality!

    • That was a typo- thanks for pointing it out! I just fixed it. Yes, it’s 3 and 9/16. 9/8 as part of a mixed fraction doesn’t even make since. lol.

  7. You are the best. I will buy every set you offer.

  8. I bought the printables and I am also hoping you come out with a set #2. It would be great to get a St. Joseph to complete the Holy Family. Thank you for taking the time to make this printable and share your gifts!

    • Yes! Agree — need St Joseph! And St Michael, OL Fatima, OL Lourdes… OL Perpetual Help would be GORGEOUS.

  9. This is awesome! I am trying to put together my first saint exchange and we are very excited about it. Having all of the saints cutouts is great! But just a suggestion, if we are doing an exchange we most likely just need to do one saint. Would it be possible for you to set up a template with one saint on one page with as my cutouts that fit on it? Since I can’t edit a pdf that would make printing so much easier. 🙂

    Just a thought.

    Thank you for all that you do!

    • If you want to make a page with the same Saint over and over, try printing screen (with your PrsSc button on your keyboard) and then pasting multiple times into a paint program.

  10. This is so exciting. I have long loved looking at these dolls and starting a collection of my own… but, little artistic ability and 6 kids 7 and under has kept me from taking the plunge. Thank you, THANK YOU for making it so easy for me to share this wonderful gift with my kids!

  11. Thank you so much! I have been wanting to do these for a long time but figured I just lacked the talent. Does the download allow for multiple copies?

    • Yes, you can print and make multiple sets, but I ask that you not email the file to anyone else- whoever is painting and decoupaging them needs their own file. 🙂

  12. darling!

  13. Thank you for doing this! We are about to do our first Peg Saints Swap, and these will make a wonderful addition to our set. I can’t wait to see what other ones you come up with!

  14. Hi Lacy! Can I just say you amaze me! These are so awesome! WOW! Now I have no excuse NOT to start of my “pious pegs” 🙂 Thank you!

  15. Monica @ Equipping Catholic Families says

    I’ve been converting your awesome printable to fit my smaller 1.5″ peg dolls. The final images need to be reduced…actually 48.5% to cover the doll, all the way around. (Maybe the 1.5″ dolls are a tiny bit chubbier than the bigger dolls =) Reducing 48.5%, you will likely need to cut a little off the top so that the tapered edge fits easily to the neck.

    The final size of the body needs to be 2″x 1.25″ for the 1.5″ peg dolls
    (Boy Peg – 1-11/16″ Tall x 5/8″ Diameter (#1006).

    I have found these at Casey’s Wood Products…they are only 19cents/doll and they deliver to Canada. =)

    …and they do indeed look very cute.
    http://www.caseyswood.com/shoppingcart/zen-cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=374

  16. Thank you so much for all you do….these are amazing and the perfect way for working moms to get started with the dolls. We are stationed overseas and are very blessed to be able to visit places like Lourdes and Fatima, but those trips often make for long travels with our kids. I think having dolls to go along with those pilgrimages would be a fabulous activity to help them make some connections with the trip, as well as being a great addition to our RE classes, if you have the time. Again, thank you so much for everything!

    • Sorry…one more suggestion, please. I just showed the dolls to my daughter and she wants to add a vote for St. Cecelia because that is the patron saint she chose for this year 🙂 Thank you!

      • Great suggestions! St. Cecilia is my confirmation Saint, so I would like to see her as well. 🙂

  17. Rosemary Bergeron says

    These peg-saints are so cute. I just can’t believe how talented you are to come up with all these various suggestions on your web site AND give the easy-to-follow directions with pictures. Of course I might be just a tad biased, you think?

  18. Would it be possible to get all the saint printables on the same page so I don’t have to print the instructions in color?

  19. Sonja Campbell says

    Genius! Pure genius! What an incredible idea, I love it 🙂

  20. These are fantastic! Our four kids – 12, 10, 8, 6 – just completed the first set and they’re adorable! I’ve had “painting saint peg dolls” on the TOP of my craft list for the last two years since I saw a set on Etsy ($40 each). I thought I could do it – now you’ve made it something my kids can do and keepsake/gifts to cherish. We homeschool and love all your amazing ideas. Thank you for Catholic Icing! We, too, will buy any sets you create…can’t wait to see more! God bless you for your ministry : )

  21. Where can you buy wooden peg dolls? I’ve never seem them at the craft stores. I really want to do this with my Little Flowers group.

  22. I would love to see a St. Joan of arc, St. Elizabeth of hungry, St. Thomas More and St James the greater! 🙂 looking forward to making a set! Thank you so much for your beautiful work!

  23. LOVE! I too, love the leg saints but only have a few since they aren’t cheap to purchase pre-painted (& I really don’t have the time of talent to do them myself!). I know this would be more than a set of 10, but have you considered the saints from the Alphabet of Catholic Saints book? I know that many of the people who use Elizabrth Foss’s Along the Alphabet Path curriculum would buy those up! Off to make my purchase now!

    • Yes, I did think about it, but I do have a set of printable alphabet Saints already, so it’s kind of far down on the list for me. Great idea, though!

  24. Love this! Thank you! Can’t wait to see more. Now I’ll actually do it with my kids. I was too intimidated before.

  25. Lacy, you are amazing! Your ideas, your creativity is so great. I could bookmark every post and you are my all time top go-to source for any Catholic “icing”!

  26. What a beautiful way to do feast days and remember them with a peg doll! Please do come out with more sets! Is there a st valentine in time to do for tomorrow? thanks so much!!!!!

    • No. I really wanted to paint a St. Valentine, but didn’t have the time to do it. Maybe next year. 🙂

  27. This is amazing!!! These will be a family favourite for sure! I have a 4 and 3 year old. I am really looking forward to more! May I put it out there to suggest: The 12 Apostles, St. Padre Pio, St. Therese de Lisieux, St. Bernadette, St. Michael the Archangel, St. Gabriel the Archangel, St. Anne, St. Joachim. These are of course just suggestions, as I know you are looking for what people would like. Of course any additional Saints would be just dandy 😉
    THANK-YOU!!

  28. Another Canadian source of peg dolls is in Guelph, Ontario. There website is
    http://www.stockade.ca

    They currently have 30% off wooden people for a “family day” promo!

  29. This is pretty amazing!

  30. Love this.
    LOVE LOVE and LOVE MORE.
    I wish I would have seen it before we started our Saint Swap. Please create this for all the Saints.
    Some people (me)…. need help with perfectionism… and this is just what the Saint Peg Dolls need… DECOUPAGE = GENIUS!
    Meanwhile, I need a St. Bernadette. STAT!!!
    xx oo
    Em

  31. LOVE your site. My daughter and I have just set up a saint swap and will end up with 21 different Saints. Can’t wait for our swap date to see all the creations. Some people are using the download and some of us are hand painting. Thanks so much for all the great posts you have!

  32. Hi, the painting instructions for Divine Mercy Jesus are for a bearded Jesus vs the picture posted for Divine Mercy Jesus. Are there separate instructions for the non-bearded Jesus, or are Divine Mercy Jesus and Sacred Heart Jesus just supposed to have the same heads?
    LOVE THESE BY THE WAY AND YOUR SITE!

    • It wasn’t until I was all done that I realized I forgot the beard on Divine Mercy Jesus (too many late nights) so I repeated the directions for the Sacred Heart head on that one. I did originally mean for them to be a little different.

      • Thank you! I did just make them a little different so it worked great. I thought Divine Mercy Jesus needed a beard 🙂

  33. So cute! I would love to see St. Valentine, St. Patrick, and St. Nicholas in a set. I want my kids to understand the true meaning of these holidays and the peg dolls would be a great start.

  34. Michelle says

    Love these Lacy! Another set idea would be to follow the saints studied for Little Flowers. You could sell a set for wreath one, two, etc… Also sets to coincide with the saints studied in Catholic Schoolhouse, 1 set for each cycle. Thanks for all you do.

  35. Patricia says

    One more family who will buy every set you make in the future (are you feeling the pressure yet?) :0) (short of a million)
    I won’t add to the list of requests.
    It will be like I tell my children – you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.
    God Bless your Lent.

  36. I’m new to peg dolls and am not an artist. I too admire all you do. I just wanted to clarify that you currently have two printable sets available and are working on the third. Is that right? With this decoupage option, you’ve got me dreaming big.

    • Yes, that’s correct. So if you want to make them all, and you haven’t ordered any pegs yet, you’ll want 30. 🙂

  37. Hi!! I love all of your ideas and projects — I have done most of them with my daughter and CCD class!! My daughter would like you to PLEASE add Saint Kateri Tekakwitha … she has a very deep connection with this Saint and would love to take St. Kateri with her everywhere! Thank you and God Bless!

  38. I’m trying to resize the images to fit the in-between size 2 3/8 peg and I’ve found that I can’t reduce the print size because the ratios are different. I copied/pasted one into Paint and was able to reduce the dimensions separately so now I have the right size, but not all of the images are copying over. When I paste Our Lady of Guadalupe, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and St. Faustina, all I get is a solid black rectangle; the other seven images transfer just fine. Did you do anything different with those images that would keep them from copying like the others?

    I’m very excited to put these together for my sons’ Easter baskets along with the cathedral from Arma Dei. I’m also thrilled to see the new sets and will be purchasing them soon!

    • No, none of the images are any different than the others. Maybe you could try pushing “print screen” and pasting it into a paint program to get it to do what you want. I’ve only made them in 1 size, so honestly, Monica (from Arma Dei) is the expert here. Wish I could be of more help!

  39. Hi, Any plans to provide labels for the bottoms of the first set as was done for second and third set?

    • I second this request … we’ve done all three sets, and we would love to add labels to the saints.

      • I know- me, too! Do you think I should just have a generic label for “Saints” that don’t go with specific sets like the Easter ones?

        • My original post was just thinking labels for the bottom of the first set, Saints that Go Together, with names and feast days similar to those provided with the Easter and Passion sets.

  40. These are gorgeous! I can’t wait to get them all printed & made up this week. I just wanted to say again how much I appreciate your generosity and that you are willing to share your talents.

  41. Suzanne Andrews says

    I think a “Doctors of the Church” set would be great, even if you had to do it as two sets. A “famous modern saints” or “Famous saints of the middle ages” would be neat, too.

  42. How many peg sets do you have all together and is there a page with all options on the same page? I have already purchased the resurrection set….i see the passion set and a set with 10 saints…are there more that I am missing?

    Many thanks for sharing your love and talent!
    lisa

    • Lisa –

      Lacy currently has those three sets of peg doll printables available. There will be more to come, but that’s what’s available for now. 🙂

  43. Do you make a nativity set of these?

  44. Diane Waliser says

    Hi! I downloaded the Passion set and ordered the men peg dolls from the sight you mentioned. When all was ready to start, I noticed that my printouts were about 1/2 inch shorter than the wood pegs we’re. What did I do wrong?

  45. Lacey,
    These are very lovely. Have you ever thought about doing Jesus with the Twelve Apostles? Catechesis of the Good Shepherd materials call for a diorama of the Upper Room to present the Last Supper to small children with. These peg dolls would be perfect for that presentation. I will probably end up having to paint them myself but other catechists might like to use your designs for this.

  46. Molli Glowacki says

    HI,
    I made the Nativity set for my kids and Godchildren last year and they loved them! Thanks so much for a great design, and easy to follow directions.
    I was wondering if the Saint set #1 has the labels for the bottom like the Nativity and Passion sets? Not that not having them will stop me from making them, lol, but it would be a nice plus.
    Thanks!

    • Hi Molli!

      Lacy started making the labels for the bottom after she made this set, so there are no labels for this one. All of the other sets have them, however.

      • I’m trying to find any other sets she’s made. I saw there was a Nativity set and said set 2. Are there anymore?

        • I started answering this and then I realized… you’re right! It’s confusing! So I just updated this post to include links to ALL the sets. Currently, I have this Saint set, a nativity set, a passion set, and a resurrection set. Hoping to come out with more soon! Enjoy!

  47. I just ordered the Easter set for my Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium, and I cannot WAIT to make this! I know my students will love this! Thanks for your website, it’s my go to for child ministry.

  48. I participated in a Nativity peg doll exchange and my daughters just loved the set. So now I ordered the Passion and the Saints sets. It is such a wonderful way to teach our Faith, and history, to kids! Thank you for your beautiful work.

  49. If you are making St. Pope John Paul II, a 1/2 teaspoon is the perfect size for tracing his Zucchetto (I had to look up the name for his hat)!

  50. Hi Lacey! Have you considered making Saints that go along with the Little Flowers Virtue program? I am starting a program in the Fall with my younger girls homeschool co-op this year. (I did it with my older girls) I love painting peg dolls but think for the 1-2nd grade group, these decoupage saints would be perfect. I would love to buy them from you!

  51. Teresa Gardenour says

    I would love to see more saints! Especially St. Therese. Also your idea of a set of Mary’s is great! I also second the Apostles idea. What about archangels and prophets?

  52. Katherine Rudder says

    Any way you would do a special request of Esther and St Therese of Lisieux? My women’s group did studies on them and I’d love to use it as an end of year craft day!

  53. Joanne Chorlton says

    These are so lovely! Have you thought of doing a set of apostles or of friends of Jesus from the new testament like Mary, Martha and Lazarus? Such a wonderful resource!

  54. I am helping start a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd class at my kid’s school and need apostle peg dolls…do you happen to have printables? I am definitely not an artist 🙂

    • Hi Lisa,

      Lacy isn’t working on any peg doll sets currently. I’m hoping that she might come out with some more sets in the future though.

      Thanks,

      Angie, Catholic Icing Project Manager

  55. Hi Lacy,

    Is there any chance that you would be able to design a St. Corona peg doll printable? I would really, really love to have her in our home right now.

    Thank you for considering my request. God Bless and stay healthy!

    Kim

    • Interesting. I will consider it, but I definitely can’t make promises. I always get myself into trouble when I do that lol. My creative brain tends to do what it does. haha

  56. Jacquelyn says

    I am a CGS catechist and I would love to see parables (good shepherd!) and a last supper set. Such beautiful work!

  57. Katherine Owens says

    These are so lovely! My girls are loving their nativity and saints! I can’t wait to see if and when the next set is released! I’ll be snatching that pdf right up! This has been a great way to fill our isolation and deepen our faith at the same time. Thank you for making these accessable for those of us that are not so artistically inclined!

  58. Joanne Conway says

    I would LOVE to see a set of First Communion Peg Dolls!