Make a Piggy Bank

It’s never too early to start saving money. A piggy bank can be a fun way of making sure your money is all in one safe place. While piggy banks are typically plastic and storebought, there's nothing to stop you from making one of your own. Saving money is something to be proud of, so you should put pride in your piggy bank as well. There are a few different ways you might go about making a piggy bank from home. Fortunately, they can usually be made from things you'll already have lying around the house.

Steps

Using a Plastic Bottle

1. Gather the appropriate materials. For a plastic bottle piggy bank, there are lots of things you'll need to transform a bottle into a bona fide piggy bank. These supplies can all be bought from your local arts store. It is likely you'll be able to find some (if not most) of the supplies in your house already.
   • An empty plastic bottle. This will be the case of your piggy bank.
   • A box cutter and scissors, used to cut the pieces.
   • A hot glue gun, for gluing pieces together. You should always have an adult with you when using hot glue.
   • A paper egg carton and pipe cleaner.
   • Decoration supplies. It's recommended you use markers, acrylic paint and googly eyes, although other things like construction paper and pink spray paint will help get the best pig-like appearance.
2. Wash out a plastic bottle. There's no set limit to how big or small your piggy bank should be. You should, however, aim for a plastic bottle that's between 500-1000ml. Wash it out with water. Dry it afterwards by catching the excess water with some paper towel.
   • Keep the bottle cap on the bottle. It will serve as the pig’s snout.
3. Cut out the coin slot. Get an adult to slice a coin slot into the middle of one of the long sides using a box cutter. If you're not sure whether the hole is big enough, try sliding coins in. If they don't fit, you know you have to make them bigger. A coin slot will need to be at least 1 inch long to fit a standard US quarter. The size of your slot should depend on the biggest coin you're planning on fitting into it.
4. Attach the legs. Cut out four sections from paper egg carton to use as legs using scissors. Have an adult use a low-heat hot glue gun to attach them to the side of the bottle opposite the coin slot you cut, so that when the pig stands on them the slot faces up. The open side of the carton should face into the bottle. That way, the pig's legs will look solid.
5. Make it pink. This step is optional, as a piggy bank can have a certain homemade charm if left as is. Many normal arts and crafts supplies, like markers and tempera or acrylic paint, will adhere poorly to the plastic bottle. You do have a few other options, though:
   • Spray paint the legs and body pink. Remember, always use spray paint in a well-ventilated, outdoor area.
   • Collage over it with tissue paper and an acrylic decoupage medium (you’ll find it in the glue section of any arts and crafts supply store). Apply a thin layer of decoupage medium onto a small section of the water bottle with a paintbrush, lay a piece of tissue paper on top of it, and brush another thin layer of medium on top of that. Keep going until the whole thing is covered.
   • Wrap the bottle with felt or construction paper, and paint the cardboard feet pink with tempera or acrylic paint.
6. Decorate your pig. Now that you’ve got a basic pig shape, it’s time to get artistic with your creation. Adding many of these touches will require a hot glue gun, so it is advised you have an adult around to help you with these parts:
   • Make a tail by twisting a pink pipe cleaner into a spiral and having an adult help you hot glue it to the pig’s bottom (opposite the face end.)
   • Give the pig eyes by hot gluing googly eyes onto its face, or by drawing, cutting out, and gluing on your own eyes.
   • Draw nostrils onto the pig’s snout with a black marker.
   • Cut two triangles out of pink paper or felt, and glue them on as ears.
7. Put your plastic bottle piggy bank into action. Now that you've got the finished product, put it somewhere in your room and deposit coins whenever you come into pocket money. Although plastic bottle piggy banks don't come with a natural opening slot, small coins can fit out by unscrewing the bottle cap. You can withdraw coins once the piggy bank is full by taking a box cutter to the back of the bottle and pouring out the coins. The hind section can always be re-taped if you want to keep using it.

Using a Toilet Paper Roll

1. Gather your materials. Toilet roll piggy banks are arguably the simplest design for homemade piggy banks. They're a good place to start if you're not used to crafts projects. Possibly barring a glue gun, most of the supplies you'll need should be found at home. If you find something that's close enough to one of the listed items, it should be fine.
   • A toilet paper roll. Save a roll once a given set of toilet paper has run out. If there isn't anything around yet, you might find a roll in the bathroom garbage can.
   • Pink cardstock. Cardstock is thicker and more durable than regular paper. You can usually find it at an arts store.
   • Scissors and a box cutter, for cutting out pieces and coin slot.
   • A low-heat hot glue gun and glue. Remember, you should always have an adult with you to help with hot glue.
   • You can use a bottle cap for the nose if you want, but this is optional.
   • Decorating supplies. Markers, felt, constructive paper and collage materials are all fair game when it comes to making a toilet roll piggy bank.
2. Draw a pig’s head on pink cardstock. The head makes a nice decoration, and also keeps coins from falling out of one end. The head shouldn't be much wider than the toilet roll. It will be glued onto a toilet paper roll body, so Don’t just make the outline of a pig’s head—give it eyes, a snout, a mouth, ears, and whatever else you think a pig should have. When you’re happy with your drawing, cut it out.
   • If you’re unsure about the size, just hold it up to the toilet paper roll and see how it looks.
   • If you want to use another fun recycled object, you could ask an adult to attach a bottle cap as the pig’s snout using a hot glue gun. Add a couple of nostrils with a felt-tipped marker. If not, feel free to just draw the snout onto the cardstock.
3. Make a cardstock base. Take another piece of cardstock and stand the toilet roll on top of it. Trace around the toilet roll. Once you have a pencil circle, draw a slighter bigger circle around it. Cut it out. This will be the base of the piggy bank.
   • You don't need to worry about exact measurements here, but the diameter of the second circle should be bigger by half an inch.
4. Attach the base. Work your way around the edge of the circle, cutting small lines that go from the outer edge to the smaller circle inside, that you traced from the toilet paper roll. Make a cut every centimeter or so. You should end up with a series of tabs. Fold all the tabs in toward the center of the circle. They will give you a way to securely attach the base to the toilet paper roll. Stand the roll in the middle of the circle. One by one, have an adult put a dot of hot glue on each tab, and press them to the side of the tube. Before you go any further, make sure the base is firm.
   • To be extra sure the base is well attached, you can wind a piece of tape around these tabs to be sure they don’t come unglued.
5. Decorate the toilet paper roll. You can do this with whatever supplies you have on hand that seem fun: markers, paint, collage materials, crayons, or felt would all work well. Since you’re making a pig, pink would be the most obvious choice of color. However, you should do whatever you feel suits your style.
   • Once there is some money in the piggy bank it will stand up on its own with no problem, but if you want it to stand up while empty you can attach a couple feet for balance. Just cut a couple triangles out of cardstock and glue them to the bottom of the base.
6. Attach the cardstock head. Using a hot glue gun, glue the head to the end of the piggy bank opposing the base. This can be done by dabbing a thin line of glue around the roll's perimeter, and setting the cardstock down firmly. Give it a couple of minutes to settle before you move on.
   • Gluing a pair of feet to the bottom of the head can be good if you really want it to look like a pig.
7. Cut a coin slot. Lastly, with a box cutter, you should make a coin-sized hole at the top of the piggy bank. Make it just big enough so that coins can fit through. If you need to test the coin slot to make sure it's big enough, try fitting a coin through. If it doesn't fit, it means you need to make it bigger.
   • It is recommended you get an adult to help you with the box cutter, as they are very sharp.
8. Start saving money. Even something like a toilet roll piggy bank can stand for a great savings plan. Saving money is a very adult thing to do, and if you make a habit of saving money, you'll be rich before long. Put your piggy bank somewhere you'll see it all the time and add coins whenever you get some pocket money.
   • When it comes time to retrieving your money, toilet roll piggy banks can be saved. Although they don't hold many coins, you can withdraw your money by taking off the head and pouring out your coins. If this ends up destroying the head, making a new head is at least a lot easier than starting the piggy bank from scratch.

Working with Papier-Mâché

1. Get the right supplies. You'll need flour, water, a pot to mix paste in, newspaper/brown paper bags/butcher paper, a balloon, a paper egg carton, a box cutter, a and glue, stuff to decorate with (tempera or acrylic paint, tissue paper, acrylic decoupage medium, spray paint, markers, etc.), a pipe cleaner, googly eyes (optional), a marker, and scissors.
   • Flour, water and a cooking pot. These usually found in a well-stocked kitchen. You shouldn't need too much flour to make it work. Set aside a few cups, and put back whatever you don't use.
   • Paper. Newspaper and brown paper bags are usually the best. You want the sort of paper that is naturally absorbent.
   • A low-heat hot glue gun. As always, remember always to have an adult present when you use a hot glue gun.
   • Googly eyes, a pipe cleaner and a paper egg carton, for the pig's decorative pieces.
   • A balloon, for the piggy bank's frame.
   • A box cutter, to make the coin slot.
   • Decorating supplies. You could use anything from paint (spray or acrylic) to markers for this type of piggy bank. Paint is recommended, as the colours will stand out more. Acrylic decoupage is useful for gluing stuff like construction paper once the frame is done.
2. Mix flour glue. Whisk together 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water thoroughly in a small bowl. Boil 4 cups of water on the stove, and stir the flour and water mixture into it. Let it simmer for about 3 minutes, and then let it cool. Ask an adult to help you use the stove.
   • You can purchase mixable papier-mâché paste at arts and crafts supply stores, but it’s easy to make your own at home.
3. Prepare the paper. Get at least a full newspaper, along with brown paper bags, or butcher paper. Crumple it up into tight balls, uncrumple it, crumple it again, and then uncrumple it once more. This helps the glue soak into the paper more thoroughly. Once that's done, tear the paper into 1 inch squares.
   • You will need a fair amount of it for this project, so prepare more than you think you'll need.
4. Get the balloon ready. Blow a balloon up to whatever size you want the body of your piggy bank to be. It doesn’t matter what color the balloon is, as it’s just providing a structure to papier-mâché on top of, and won’t actually be visible. Tie the balloon off when it reaches your desired size.
5. Papier-mâché the balloon. Wet the pieces of paper with the flour paste you mixed earlier, and apply them to the pig. Get just enough paste on the paper to have it stick, but not so much that it's dripping. Smooth the paper onto the pig as you apply it, and try to cover the space evenly. Altogether, you'll need to do three layers, although you should use your own judgment if you don't think that's enough.
   • Your piggy bank will be stronger if you allow each layer to dry before adding another, but this is not strictly necessary.
6. Let it sit. Your piggy bank will probably need at least a couple days to dry thoroughly. Put it in a well-lit, well-ventilated area to speed up the process. Once it's ready, you'll finally be able to decorate it.
7. Slice out a coin slot. Have an adult use a box cutter to slice a coin slot in the pig’s bag. If you're not sure whether the coin slot is big enough, try putting a bigger coin in the slot. If it doesn't fit, that means you should cut a bigger slot. You should also be able to use this hole to pull the balloon out from the inside of the piggy bank.
   • A coin slot will need to be at least 1 inch long to fit a standard US quarter. The size of your slot should depend on the biggest coin you're planning on fitting into it. Because papier-mâché can be delicate, it's recommended you measure out your cut before you commit to it.
8. Attach legs and a nose. Cut out five sections from a paper egg carton. You will use these to create the pig’s legs and nose. Have an adult use a low-heat hot glue gun to attach them to the appropriate places on the balloon.
   • The open sides of the carton "legs" should face into the piggy bank. That way, they can be painted after.
9. Make it pink. The simplest way to do this is to paint it with tempera or acrylic paint. You could also use markers, spray paint, or tissue paper. To collage tissue paper and an acrylic decoupage medium, start by applying a thin layer of decoupage medium onto a small section of the water bottle with a paintbrush. Lay a piece of tissue paper on top of it, and brush another thin layer of medium on top of that. Keep going until the whole thing is covered.
10. Decorate your piggy bank. Decorating your piggy bank should be a creative exercise. You should decorate it however you want. However, for a truly pig-like appearance, you can add the pig's other body parts:
    • Make a tail by twisting a pink pipe cleaner into a spiral and having an adult help you hot glue it to the pig’s bottom.
    • Give the pig eyes by gluing googly eyes onto its face, or by drawing, cutting out, and gluing on your own eyes.
    • Draw nostrils onto the pig’s snout with a black marker.
    • Cut two triangles out of pink paper or felt, and glue them on as ears.
11. Enjoy your finished product. This sort of piggy bank arguably takes more time and patience than the other designs, but it can look fantastic if you put the time into properly decorating it.
    • This sort of piggy bank can be difficult to withdraw from. Because the material is solid, you'll have to take a box cutter and cut a hole out from the top. It's recommended you cut a hole around the coin slot. If you want, you can tape the opening shut and re-tape it when it comes time to withdraw again.

Tips

• Piggy banks are traditionally based on pigs. However, you don't need to stay true to that formula. Once you become well-versed in making a piggy bank, you might try designing a completely original bank.

Warnings

• You may have to cut out a piece of the piggy bank if it comes time to take coins out. If you put in a coin slot without a way to get the money back out, you'll have to damage part of your piggy bank to withdraw anything.

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