how to make a piggy bank
How to Make a Piggy Bank
Everybody must have surely used a piggy bank as a kid. It is a fun way to learn how to spend money and also the importance of saving money. Here are some easy to make piggy bank ideas that will bring out your creative side!
- First and foremost, thoroughly wash the jam bottle. You don't want ants crawling all over your coins! Use a bottle-brush. Make sure to clean the threads of the screw-cap.
- Usually jam bottles come with some kind of stickers on them. These can be a real pain to take off at times. The best thing to do to get rid of these labels is to soak the jam bottles in soap-water overnight. The soap will act on the glue. Next morning, simply use a scrub to scrub the label off.
- Decorate the jam bottle. Use glass paint to paint on a lovely picture on the bottle. You can even use the clean plain bottle as it is. But then that is too crude a piggy bank, isn't it? Take the time out to embellish it. You can even personalize it that way!
- Finally, cut a slit through the screw-cap that would be long enough and wide enough to drop coins in. Now remember, be VERY careful while doing this step. Do not do it on your own! Ask your big brother or your dad to do it for you. If you want to make your piggy bank all on your own, however, then at least make sure you do this step under the supervision of an elder person.
- Now, just screw the cap on... and take the piggy bank in front of all your family members to collect your first coins!
- First, here is what all you will need for this piggy bank idea - old plastic bottle, a hacksaw, lots of old rags, all kinds of stationery (sketch pens, color pencils, beads, string, felt... everything!). Got it? OK, let's begin!
- Under the supervision of your mom or dad, cut off the neck of the bottle carefully with a hacksaw. You can even use something else to cut it if you want. Hacksaw was what worked best for my nephew though (yeah we made this piggy bank).
- Use the old rags to make a cloth ball that is big enough to fit into the cut end of the bottle. Make sure the ball is not so small that it goes in, or so big that it refuses to even insert into the hole!
- We are going to use the bottle in a horizontal way. Place it on the table, hold firmly and cut a slit through the bottle big enough to drop coins inside.
- Now there are different options to make the bottle NOT look like a bottle. You can either paint it with the color of your choice. You can cover the bottle in colored paper. You can even cover it with felt (which is what my nephew did). Use colors like beige, brown, black, white or pink. (You will understand why, as you read through!) Make sure you do not cover up the slit!
- Use spring or wire and cover it with the same colored paper/felt that you used to cover the bottle. Curve it and stick it on the intact end of the bottle.
- Finally, paste small pieces of colored felt or use sketch pens or sparkle glue to draw details like eyes, nose and mouth on the 'cloth ball'. Attach semi-circular felt pieces on the ball as ears... and your 'pig' is ready!
- You can use the old rags to make 'rods' that can act as legs and paste them onto the side of the bottle opposite to the one bearing the slit. That way your piggy will stand on a plain surface. You may even use foam blocks for the same.