Nesting Dolls Painting Ideas

Nesting dolls, or "babushka dolls," can be painted in the traditional fashion.

According to the Russian Legacy website, traditional Russian nesting dolls are known as "matryoshka." The name derives from the Latin word "mater," meaning "mother," and came to be applied to these dolls because they resembled a stout mother figure containing a number of smaller children. Try your hand at painting a set of nesting dolls in the traditional way, or opt for a more modern theme.

Wedding Dolls

Create a wedding gift by painting a set of nesting dolls to resemble the groom, bride and members of the wedding party. Copy a photo of each person's face, adjusting the size to fit the doll on which it will be used. Glue the face photos to the dolls and paint the appropriate clothing on each one. Paint additional sets of dolls without photos, decorating them as wedding guests. Paint each guest's name on a doll and use them as table place markers.

Christmas Dolls

Paint a set of dolls as Santa, Mrs. Claus and elves. Embellish the Santa doll by gluing on a black belt and boots cut from patent leather or vinyl, and a beard made from a cotton ball. Give Mrs. Claus a white cotton-ball hairdo and glue on a square of fabric for an apron. Paint green suits on the elves and paint toys in their hands, such as tiny dolls and cars. Glue on pointy ears made by creasing triangles of pink construction paper.

Teacher and Students

Make a gift for a teacher by painting a set of nesting dolls portraying her and her students. Paint the largest doll to resemble the teacher, with his eye and hair color and wearing a favorite outfit. Paint the student dolls in boys' and girls' clothing and add their names, or add just your child's name to one of the dolls to remind the teacher of the gift-giver. When the paint has dried on the doll bodies, turn them over and add the year on the undersides.

Storytime Dolls

Paint a set of dolls as fairy-tale characters such as Snow White, the seven dwarfs, the wicked queen and the mirror, or Cinderella, the prince, the stepmother and the stepsisters. Bedtime stories such as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" or "The Three Little Pigs" also lend themselves to this treatment. Choose characters from children's classics such as "The Wizard of Oz," "Alice in Wonderland," "Peter Pan," "Tom Sawyer," "Robin Hood," "Treasure Island" and "Anne of Green Gables."

References

• Russian Legacy: History of Matryoshka Nesting Dolls