How to Make an economical piggy bank

Choose a food jar with a capacity of 0.5 liters if you are new to making. If you want to save more money, choose a jar with a capacity of 2 or 4 liters. If you don’t have a food jar on hand, you can order it online or at a craft store. The jar you buy needs to have a lid attached. ^[5]

• Use pasta sauce jars if you don’t have a food jar. Remember to rinse the jar well before you turn it into a savings piggy bank. You just need to use dishwashing liquid to wash it.

Remove the label with soap and water. You certainly don’t want your piggy bank to have a label before you use it. First you will use your hands to peel as much as you can. Then put a few drops of soap on the sponge and pour hot water over the jar. After the label has absorbed the water, you will use a sponge to scrub the paper label completely. ^[6]

• Dry the jars for 15-20 minutes. Once the jar is dry, you can use it as a savings piggy bank!

Cut a slot for money about 2.5cm long in the middle of the lid of the jar. Using a paper cutter, cut a line in the lid, long enough to fit the largest coin you want to put in the jar. To fit a US 25 cent coin, this opening needs to be at least 2.5 cm long.

• If you are not used to using a paper cutter, you can buy a lid with a slot. These lids are available at craft stores.

Stick a label on the jar. Write on the label “saving piggy bank” or something you like. The cool thing about using a food jar is that you can continuously track your savings without opening the lid. ^[7]

• Sure, you want to keep the jar safe, but you should keep it somewhere that’s easily accessible.

Decorate the jar however you like. There are several ways to decorate a piggy bank and this step is entirely up to you how you want it to look! A good idea is to wrap colorful decorative tape around the jar, then add stickers to the areas that haven’t been taped. Next, use embossed paint to draw your name or other motifs on the glass jar. ^[8]

• You can buy decorative tape, stickers, and embossed paint at a craft store or online.
• Apply masking tape and stickers to the jar before embossing. After painting, you will dry the jar for about 6 hours.

Mix flour and milk glue in a pot. Find a small pot that holds about 2 liters of water. Then find another medium sized pot that can hold at least 4 liters of water and is about 20 cm in diameter. This will be the pot to mix the dough. Stir 1 cup (240 ml) of flour and 1 cup (240 ml) of water into the batter. Bring about 4 cups (1 quart) of water to a boil in a small saucepan and stir the water and flour mixture into the pot. Simmer for about 3 minutes, then turn off the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Ask an adult to help you use the kitchen. ^[9]

• You can buy pre-mixed papier-mâché at a craft store, but it’s also easy to make your own at home. You will save some money if you do it yourself!

Fold a few sheets of newspaper twice to prepare with papier-mâché. Get some newspapers and some brown paper bags. Roll them up, unfold, and then round them up again. This step will help the glue penetrate the paper more evenly. After washing, roll the paper into 2.5 cm square pieces. ^[10]

• You can also order meat wrappers online to use.

Blow a bubble. Blow the balloon to the size of the piggy bank you want. Knot the balloon when it has reached the desired size. ^[11]

• The color of the balloon doesn’t matter, as you’re just using its shape to cover the papier-mâché dough.

Apply papier-mâché powder to the balloon. Dip the pieces of paper in the paste to wet both sides of the paper, then glue them onto the ball. You should only dip enough flour to paste, avoid letting the powder drop. Flatten the pieces of paper onto the balloon and cover the entire surface. The paper will dry in about 15 minutes. Glue 3 layers of paper onto the ball. ^[12]

• Once the layers of paper have been glued, leave the balloon in a well-ventilated area with enough light to dry completely.

Make a slot for the money. Ask an adult to make a slot that is at least 2.5 cm long to fit a US 25 cent coin. If you want to insert a larger coin into the piggy bank, you must cut a slot nearly 4 cm long. Since papier-mâché dough is quite fragile, use a marker before cutting. ^[13]

• You can also use this slot to pull the balloon from the inside out. You can throw away the balloon after you’re done using it.

Attach the pig’s legs and nose. Use scissors to cut out 5 molds from the egg carton. Have an adult use a glue gun to attach them to the appropriate locations on the balloon. Apply hot glue to the egg molds and stick 4 of them on the opposite side of the coin slot. Glue the pig’s nose to the center of whatever face you choose as the pig’s face. ^[14]

• Place the piggy bank on the 4 legs to let the glue dry and wait 30 minutes before starting to decorate.