Costumed Kokeshi Dolls

I have been seeing cute Kokeshi dolls all over etsy and I had an idea, costumed Kokeshi dolls!!! This is super easy and quick.

You’ll need:

Wooden doll blanks, I found mine at Hobby Lobby Man sized(7/8” x 2 5/16”) and Boy sized (5/8” x 1 11/16”)

Acrylic craft paint, I used red, black, and white

Polymer clay for added embellishment (paper clay would work too)

Brushes

Glue

Acrylic Sealer (optional)

Start by painting your doll blanks the main color, for my dolls I made four solid black and two red. Skeleton Doll - Using white I just free handed a basic/simple skeleton shape. I did paint the skull solid white and when that was dry I went back and repainted the eyes, nose, and mouth black.Day of the Dead Doll – I painted the face solid white and the went back and add the eyes, nose, and mouth with black. Once the black dried I went back with red paint and added the face paint. I added a red triangular shawl with fringe to the upper portion of the body.Devil – I painted the face white and then added eyes and a mouth in black. I also painted the outline of a tail on the back side of the devil and a pitch fork on the front. Using polymer clay I made a set of horns (baked according to package directions) and glued them in place.

After the paint has thoroughly dried you can seal you Kokeshi dolls with acrylic sealer. You could also drill a hole in the top and insert an eye screw to make these into ornaments. These would also make great party favors or little gifts.

I think I’m going to make a whole set of these illustrating my families Halloween costumes this year, now I just need to figure out how to paint a Star Wars clone trooper Kokeshi!