Buzz
Saving money is never too early! A piggy bank not only helps store money but also serves as a fun toy. While it's easy to buy one, making your own isn't that difficult. There are several ways to create a savings piggy bank, and you can use materials you already have at home.
Steps
Using a Plastic Bottle
Clean the plastic bottle with regular tap water. There’s no size limit for your piggy bank, but try to choose a bottle with a capacity of around 0.5-1 liter. Clean the bottle with water and let it dry for 10 minutes.
- Screw the bottle cap back on. The bottle cap will represent the pig’s nose.
Use a utility knife to create a slot for inserting coins, approximately 2.5 cm in length. Ask an adult to cut a slot in the middle of the bottle. Make sure the slot is slightly larger than the largest coin you plan to insert into the piggy bank.
- The slot should be at least 2.5 cm long to accommodate a 25-cent US coin.
Attach legs to the opposite side of the bottle from the coin slot. Cut 4 molds from a paper egg carton. Then, ask an adult to help you use a hot glue gun to attach them to the bottle by gluing the edges of the molds. Finally, glue the 4 legs onto the side opposite the coin slot.
- Once the piggy bank stands on its 4 legs, the coin slot will face upwards.
Decorate your piggy bank using the remaining materials. Now that you have the basic piggy bank shape, it's time to get creative! Twist a pink pipe cleaner to form a pig's tail. Use a black marker to draw nostrils on the pig's nose. Cut two triangle shapes from pink craft paper or felt and glue them onto the bottle to make the pig's ears.
- You can create the pig's eyes by gluing toy eyes onto the bottle with hot glue, or you can draw, cut out, and glue eyes made from craft paper.
Warning: For gluing small parts, you will need to use a hot glue gun, so it's best to ask an adult for help with this part.
Use a food jar
Choose a food container with a 0.5-liter capacity if you're just starting out. If you're looking to save more money, you can opt for a container with a 2 or 4-liter capacity. If you don’t have a food container on hand, you can either order one online or purchase one from a craft store. The container you buy should come with a lid.
- If you don’t have a food container, you can use a pasta sauce jar. Just be sure to clean the jar thoroughly before transforming it into a piggy bank. A quick wash with dish soap should do the trick.
Remove the label using soap and water. You definitely don’t want your piggy bank to have a label when you're done. Start by peeling off as much of the label as you can by hand. Then, apply a few drops of soap to a sponge and pour hot water over the jar. Once the label has soaked, use the sponge to scrub away the remaining paper.
- Let the jar dry for 15-20 minutes. Once it’s dry, your new piggy bank is ready for use!
Cut a 2.5 cm slit for inserting coins in the center of the lid. Use a utility knife to carefully cut a slit in the lid, long enough to fit the largest coin you intend to insert. To accommodate a 25-cent US coin, the slit should be at least 2.5 cm in length.
- If you’re not comfortable using a utility knife, you can buy a lid with a pre-made slit. These types of lids are available at most craft stores.
Attach a label to the jar. Write 'piggy bank' or something else you prefer on the label. The cool part about using a food container is that you can track your savings without having to open the lid.
- While you want to keep your jar safe, make sure to place it somewhere accessible so you can easily add coins.
Tip: You can tape around the lid to make it harder to open, so you’re not tempted to take money out until the jar is full.
Decorate your jar the way you like. There are many ways to decorate your piggy bank, and this step is completely up to you! A fun idea is to wrap colorful decorative tape around the jar, then add stickers to the areas that are still bare. Next, use puff paint to write your name or other designs on the jar.
- You can buy decorative tape, stickers, and puff paint at a craft store or order them online.
- Stick the tape and stickers onto the jar before painting with puff paint. Once the paint is dry, let the jar dry for about 6 hours.
Use papier-mâché paste
Mix flour and white glue in a pot. Find a small pot that holds about 2 liters of water. Then, find a medium-sized pot that can hold at least 4 liters of water and is about 20 cm in diameter. This will be your mixing pot. Stir together 1 cup (240 ml) of flour and 1 cup (240 ml) of water in the mixing pot. Boil about 4 cups (1 liter) of water in the small pot, then pour the flour-water mixture into the larger pot. Let it simmer for about 3 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it cool for 15 minutes. Ask an adult to help you with the stove.
- You can buy pre-mixed papier-mâché paste at a craft store, but making it at home is easy and will save you some money!
Scrunch up a few sheets of newspaper twice to prepare them for the papier-mâché paste. Take some sheets of newspaper and a few brown paper bags. Crumple them up, unfold them, and then crumple them again. This step helps the glue soak into the paper evenly. Once you've finished crumpling, tear the paper into small squares, about 2.5 cm in size.
- You can also order meat wrapping paper online to use instead.
Inflate a balloon. Inflate the balloon to the size you want your piggy bank to be. Tie a knot once the balloon has reached the desired size.
- The color of the balloon doesn’t matter, as you’re only using its shape to cover with papier-mâché paste.
Apply papier-mâché paste onto the balloon. Dip the pieces of paper into the paste to thoroughly wet both sides, then stick them onto the balloon. Make sure not to over-soak the paper to avoid excess paste dripping. Smooth the pieces flat on the balloon and cover the entire surface. The paper will dry in about 15 minutes. Apply 3 layers of paper to the balloon.
- After applying all the layers, place the balloon in a well-ventilated area with good light to allow it to dry completely.
Tip: Your piggy bank will be sturdier if you let each layer dry before adding the next one. This is why you should wait around 15 minutes between each layer.
Cut a slit for inserting coins. Ask an adult to help you cut a slit at least 2.5 cm long to fit a 25-cent US coin. If you want to insert larger coins, the slit needs to be about 4 cm long. Since the papier-mâché can be delicate, use a marker to outline where to cut before making the slit.
- You can also use this slit to remove the balloon after the paste has dried. Feel free to dispose of the balloon once it's no longer needed.
Attach the legs and snout of the pig. Use scissors to cut out 5 molds from a paper egg carton. Ask an adult to use a hot glue gun to attach the molds to the appropriate spots on the balloon. Apply glue to the edges of the egg carton molds and attach 4 of them to the side opposite the coin slot. Attach the pig’s snout to the center of whichever side you choose to be the pig’s face.
- Place the piggy bank on its 4 legs to let the glue set and wait for about 30 minutes before starting the decoration process.
Use paint and accessories to decorate your piggy bank. Spray paint or use acrylic paint to cover the body of the piggy bank, trying to apply an even coat. Then, twist a piece of pink pipe cleaner into a spiral shape and ask an adult to glue it onto the pig’s backside using hot glue. You can use two toy eyes for the pig's eyes, or you can draw, cut out, and glue two eyes from craft paper. How you decorate your piggy bank is entirely up to you.
- Another decoration idea is to use a black marker to draw nostrils on the pig’s nose, and cut out two pink triangle shapes from craft paper or felt to create ears.
- If you don't want to use paint, you can color the body of the piggy bank using a marker.
Warning
- You may need to cut open a part of the piggy bank if you want to access the money inside. If you design a coin slot without a way to retrieve the money, you will have to break part of the piggy bank to get the coins out.
What You’ll Need
Use a plastic bottle
- Empty plastic bottle
- Utility knife
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun
- Paper egg carton
- Pipe cleaner
- Marker
- Acrylic paint
- Toy eyes
- Construction paper
- Felt fabric
Use a food container
- Food container or pasta sauce jar
- Utility knife
- Paper labels
- Scotch tape
- Decorative tape
- Pen or pencil
- Puff paint
- Stickers
Use papier-mâché paste
- Flour
- White glue
- Water
- Some balloons
- Mixing bowl for papier-mâché paste
- Newspaper
- Brown paper bags or meat wrapping paper
- Egg carton
- Utility knife
- Hot glue gun
- Pipe cleaners
- Toy eyes
- Marker pens
- Scissors
- Spray paint or acrylic paint
- Pen or pencil
