Color Matching Wooden Pegs and Pots

EDIT: One of our readers just contacted Casey’s Wood Products where I put the wood parts for the products. They suggested buy the pot #7 which is Premium Wood Bean Pot Candle Cup – 1-9/16″ , (not #7C) . Just should fit nicer than the one I used and you shouldn’t need to make the inside larger 🙂 I’ve made the change in the directions.

We just returned from a wonderful visit with the Little Lady and here Mommy and Daddy. Drew and Meghan went to a bed and breakfast to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. This was the first night they have been away from Little Lady for the night. It was a monumentally successful experience, one that everyone enjoyed. (BTW… look at the mark on LL’s right cheekbone. She did that within 5 minutes of Mommy and Daddy leaving the house 🙂

Anyway… of course I couldn’t go there empty handed, so the night before going, I put together a Color Matching Peg People and Pots game. She loved it, although I love the concentration on her face as she was matching colors. We tend to forget that for children, play is work and work is play 🙂 Below are the easy peasy instructions along with resources to getting your materials if they are not available locally.

WARNING: Although the pegs pass the No-Choke Testing Tube test, for children under three or for any child that still puts toys in her mouth, only allow child to use these with parental supervision.

Materials:
2 3/8″ wooden peg person
1 5/8″ 1 9/16″ wooden bean pot
paint – soy, water color, milk paint or other non toxic, child safe paint
wood finish
sandpaper and/or dremel

Directions:
Check to see if the wooden peg fits in the bean pot with plenty of clearance. 

If they do not (and they probably won’t) you will need to shave down the inside of the pot. By far the easiest and quickest way to do this is to use a dremel. You can always attach a sanding drum to an electric drill or hand sand the inside.

Go over any rough spots with sandpaper, and check to make sure you have plenty of clearance to easily slide the wooden peg in and out of the pot. Remember, paint and finish take up space, too!

Paint one peg and one pot the same color.

When dried, finish with a non toxic beeswax finish.

Find a container just right for storing. The boxes from our Christmas cards this year are wonderful sturdy boxes so we repurposed one of those. Just the perfect fit! You can also make a drawstring bag for them.

Children will use these to match colors. They will also stack them, and incorporate them into many play situations. We made ten peg/pot sets using primary colors AND chartreuse, turquois and lavender. The Little Lady loved saying these words 🙂

Wooden pegs and pots:
Craft Parts
Casey’s Wood Parts

Paint:
Soy Paint