Matryoshka Pirates

As promised here is the first week of a summer of crafts for kids.

Now don't panic, I'm not going to try and tell you that my child painted these dolls but the activity is terrific for any age.

Did you realize you can get a set of blank wooden nesting dolls (also called matryoshka dolls) for decorating on your own? Well I'm telling you now and I made this set with my wood burner and paints while the boys and I were reading Treasure Island a couple months ago.

You've got big ol' Long John Silver (notice his parrot on his shoulder) with an eye patch and red scarf on his head, then you've got Doctor Livsey (or it could be Squire Trelawney or Captain Smollett in a pinch) with the yellow cravat and tri-cornered hat (I have to explain what he's wearing because heaven knows my painting certainly doesn't give much of a clue).

Then there are a couple assorted pirates in baby blue (because pirates always wear baby blue puffy shirts--my pirates are enlightened) and stripes then tiny little itty bitty Jim Hawkins. Cute huh?

Though upon completion I'm suspicious that some of my pirates are strangely reminiscent of Larry the Cucumber . . . maybe I've been forced to sit through that movie too many times and it's seeping into my subconscious.

Anyway, the dolls are fairly inexpensive (you can find a huge selection here) and it's fun for younger children and older children alike to decorate their own set of dolls. Plain old craft acrylic paint works well and if you want to give them a coat of shellac for protection it's not a bad idea (though I haven't).

Some possible ideas for the dolls:

• Favorite fairy tale characters such as The Princess and the Pea, Sleeping Beauty, The Three Bears, Cinderella or Red Riding Hood.


• Family members (different sets come with varying numbers of dolls)


• Book characters such as Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.


• Movie characters-Star Wars is the obvious choice here but you could go with Spiderman or Batman or superheroes too.


• Animals of any kind.


• Plain old stock characters like knights, cowboys, aliens, princesses, ninjas, fairies, whatever.


• Or just let them decorate in an abstract way. Nothing says it has to look like a person does it?


• Or you could have small children paint them each a different color then play a game of collecting things that are that color to hide inside each doll.
  

And you know what matroyshka pirates say don't you? "Ahoy! Comrade!" You can see more pictures of the set at my Flickr page.

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Congratulations to April of We Are the Duvalls for winning this weekend's Itty Bitty Bookworm and Corner Stork Baby Gifts giveaway!

Sponsored by Dimples and Dandelions with the Serena and Lily Bedding Collection for children.