Category: Other Attempts

Pastoral Crafting: Peg Disciples

The curse of being a pastor with hobbies is the lack of time you get to do said hobbies if you aren’t intentional about carving out time. For the last 6 months, however, I have folded my hobbies into my pastoral duties and ignited a fire inside of myself. Holy Week (especially Good Friday), Vacation Bible School, and the peg dolls have all been sources of creativity that spiritually filled me.

Disclaimer: If you care extensively about historically accurate clothing or aesthetics, this post will not be for you. The character designs were built entirely on “vibes.”

The entire finished group.
oh no they don’t fit in their container anymore! I need a bigger basket.

Since Holy Week of 2024, I have been on the lookout for Bible character dolls or action figures. I have been on a journey to incorporate play into our worship space to include kids and neurodivergent minds to engage with their faith. Much to my dismay, there was nothing even close to affordable for a small country church. Fortunately, I am a crafter with ADHD and a “How hard can it be?” attitude. I turned to Amazon, yes, the evil Bezos empire, and purchased some wood peg dolls. (unaffiliated link)

The original 15 dolls.

The first rendition was Jesus, the original 12, and Paul & Matthias. They were imperfect, and I didn’t have any women represented. I was satisfied for the moment; ministry was calling my attention to other duties.

Maybe it was a year or only 6 months later, I finally got myself organized enough to create more peg dolls. Here are some slightly better photos of all the dolls. The guys got a few updates (because of the lack of sanding I did; they were already showing signs of wear), and now we have some of the original female disciples from the Gospels.

Jesus & Mary
Mary & Martha of Bethany
Paul & Mary Magdalene
The fishermen
the fishermen view 2
Women of the background: Salmome, Joanna, Susanna, Mary of Clopas
Matthew/levi, Philip, Thomas/Didymas, James the Zealot, Simon the Zealot
Judas Iscariot, Matthias, Bartholomew/Nathaniel, James of Alphaeus

I’ve learned a lot about this medium. I loved using acrylic paint for it’s quick drying properties and ability to layer colors. However, I really should have sanded the pegs first. I tried to work on the guys too fast, and the paint is muddy in a few spots. I am considering putting a clear-coat varnish on the dolls, hoping to protect the paint.

  • Dolls include:
    • Jesus (heart on his chest)
    • Mother Mary (heart on her chest)
    • The 12
      • the fishermen/inner circle
        • Peter (fish & keys)
        • Andrew (fish)
        • Sons of Zebedee: (fish & lightning bolts)
          • James (the Great/Elder)
          • John
      • Judas Iscariot (bag of money)
      • Philip
      • Thomas/Didymus
      • Bartholomew/Nathaniel
      • Matthew/Levi
      • Jude the Zealot
      • Simon the Zealot
      • James of Alphaeus/ James the Less
    • The women
      • Mary Magdalene (fancy clothes & a money bag)
      • Mary of Bethany (scroll & pen)
      • Martha of Bethany (apron)
      • Susanna
      • Joanna
      • Salome
      • Mary of Clopas
    • Acts Characters
      • Paul (scroll & chains)
      • Matthias

If you have ideas of items the other characters could carry in their hands or be represented on their body, let me know! I created these from memory and would like to add more details.

I am placing an order for a few more dolls, including a few different sizes. Naturally, my ADHD wants to go all in, therefore i’ve started making a list of future peg dolls.

  • Near Future Peg Dolls:
    • Gospel characters: woman at the well, healed woman, man born blind, John the Baptist, Pharisees, Sadducees, Roman officials, King Herod (Luke 2), Herod Aggrippa (Easter), Zacheus, Elizabeth & Zechariah, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea
    • Acts & the Epistles – Lydia, Priscilla & Aquilla, Phoebe, John Mark, Luke, Timothy, Onesimus, Philemon, Stephen, Eunice, Lois, Syntyche & Euodia, Barnabas, Cornelius, Dorcas, Ethiopian Eunuch, James brother of Jesus, Philip (not the apostle) & his daughters
  • Eventually: Hebrew Scriptures Peg Dolls
    • Abraham & Sarah
    • Moses & Zipporah
    • Aaron & Miriam
    • Jochebed (A, M & M mom)
    • Isaac & Rebecca
    • Jacob/Israel + Rachel & Leah, Zilpah & Bilhah
    • Hagar & Ishmael
    • David, Saul, Jonathan, Micael, Abigail
    • Dark stories:
      • Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel
      • Noah & Family

Okay, I had to stop listing characters… I was about to list everyone in the Bible. You get the point.

Tell me if you’ve made any peg dolls. Do you have tips or tricks?

Fermenting and other Homestead things

Today Josh and I finally got to process some of the things we have been fermenting and extracts we’ve been… extracting?

Here are some photos of the process

getting started
mother of vinegar
cleaning the mother
homemade vinegar
bottling extracts that have been sitting for 6+mo
Buddha’s hand Citrus extract, vanilla extract, strawberry extract – all with a vodka base
Stevie approves

Headboard day 2

We put another afternoon into our headboard. We’ve continued to adapt our plans as we’ve seen progress.

Today we cut the sky pieces.

We adjusted some of the cuts as the tight fit moved things around a little.

Josh sanded.

We realized we needed some supplies so we made a quick trip to Lowe’s for some Boiled Linseed Oil, sponges, and french cleats. As of right now, we’re considering using the french cleats as our mount to the wall.

Then it was time for some Boiled Linseed Oil. Man! That oil really transforms a piece of wood!

We will let this try and then possibly add some pyrography of stars and a moon to the sky. First I’m going to do some test designs on a piece of scrap wood.

When the oil dries completely, we plan to add stains to sky and peaks. Then when that dries we will add the finishes.

As we assembled this project we realized the amount of weight was going to be more than we anticipated. We plan to add a brace to the back and use french cleats for mounting as they distribute the weight of an object evenly across a wall.

I am really excited to see the finished product and get it on our wall. Our current headboard is not comfortable for sitting up, leaning, & reading in bed.

One step closer!

Starting a Mountain Headboard

On a whim during lunch Josh and I decided to make a headboard. I have hated our current headboard since day one. It’s metal bars are not great for a lazy afternoon read and my pillows frequently slip through the bars. Yes, I realize #firstworldproblems.

So as we sat at Olive Garden for some delicious carbs, we plotted out our dream headboard.

Conveniently enough, Lowe’s is right next to Olive Garden. We left the restaurant, bellies full, and went shopping for wood!

Here is an example of our inspiration.

The plans became real as we walked out of Lowe’s with a truck bed of wood.

Got wood from Lowe’s
Prepping border (in retrospect, I regret staining this now….we later sanded the whole project, including the border)
Plotting out designs, initial cuts, and safety first!
Making some headway
Stopping for the night. Still need to finish the sky, sand, and apply the finish. To stain or not to stain? That is the question.