Start your kid on an early lesson of money management by getting them to make their first piggy bank. All you need are these simple things you can easily find at home and let them start collecting the coins to their future treasure!
What you need
l Plastic jar and lid (a jam jar works well for this project)
l Craft knife
l Scissors
l Plaster cloth (sold at craft stores)
l Container of warm water
l Cardboard egg carton
l Craft paint (pink and black)
l Foam brush or paintbrush
l Ruler
l Pink felt
l Glue
l Pencil
l Black permanent marker
l Pink pipe cleaner
What to do
l To make the pig’s body, set the jar on its side. Use a craft knife to cut a coin slot in the pig’s back.
l Cut out a bunch of plaster cloth strips (about 1- by 6 to 8-inches) and rectangles (about 3- by 4- inches).
l Remove the lid from the jar. Dip a piece of plaster cloth into the warm water and apply it to the jar. Continue doing this, overlapping the pieces a bit, until the outside of the jar is covered. Do not cover the coin slot or the threaded portion of the neck where the lid screws on. Use the same method to cover the top and sides of the lid. The lid will serve as the pig’s nose when you screw it back on later.
l For the pig’s feet, cut four cups from the egg carton and trim the tops evenly.
l Use additional strips of plaster cloth dipped in water to attach the feet to the bottom of the body. Then apply a second layer of plaster cloth to the jar and lid. Let the cloth dry (it generally sets up in about 20 minutes).
l Paint the dried plaster cloth pink.
l While the paint dries, fashion a pair of felt or foam pig ears. For each ear, cut a 1 1/4- by 3-inch rectangle from pink felt. Shape it into a cone and glue the edges together to secure it. Trim the cone to resemble a rounded ear. Glue the ears to the top of the head.
l Cut out small black circles for the eyes or simply draw them on. If you have old dolls with googly eyes, then cut them open and use the black pupils for eyes. You can draw on eyebrows with the black marker.
l Paint the feet black (you can set the jar upright while you do this).
l When the paint is dry, add a squiggly tail. Wrap a pink pipe cleaner around a pencil and then slide it off. Trim the tail to the desired length and glue it to the back of the jar.