Piggy Bank Project

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Is 1985's chart topping hit,  "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)", a frighteningly accurate prophesy of the economic climate, or is it simply just an obvious reminder that all this has happened before and all this will happen again*.

Either way, it's time to save our pennies and this little projects, from the little red house, which utilizes recycled newspapers and discarded egg cartons, will help you do just that.


Here's a list of materials.

Recycled Newspapers
An Egg Carton
Balloons
Masking Tape
Flour
PVA or Craft Glue
Tissue Paper (if you don't use colourful paper, which you can pick up in a craft shop, just use normal tissue paper and paint it afterwards.)
Paint Brush
A Large Cork

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Step 1

Blow up the balloon and cut out 5 sections from your egg carton. Tape each section to the balloon, making 4 legs and a nose. Place the nose section over the balloon tie to hide it.

Step 2

Mix your flour and water to form a thin paper mache paste.
There are some great paper mache recipes at this link from Ultimate Paper Mache

Cut your newspapers into strips and start putting a thin coat of paste on each strip and apply it smoothly to the balloon.
 

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Keep applying strips of paper until the entire balloon, legs and nose are covered.

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Leave to dry over night.

Step 4

Choose the colour tissue paper you like (or paint it white, let dry and paint it the colour you like)
Cut the tissue paper into small squares(about 2 inches squared)

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Mix the PVA glue with some water to make a runny glue that can be painted on to the pig. Apply the squares of tissue and using the paint brush, paint the glue on to help keep them in place. Once the entire pig is covered, allow to dry over night.

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Making sure the pig is completely dry and hard all the way around, cut a slit in the top (big enough to take coins) and then cut a hole in the bottom, about half the width of your cork. You should be able to pull out the remains of the balloon from either of these two holes that you've cut.

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Step 5

Start saving your money for a rainy day. Just don't spend it on every rainy day because if you go by our weather, you'll be broke by the end of the week.

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*Forgive the Battlestar Galactica reference but if you know me, you're probably very surprised that I haven't quoted it sooner.  Really...it was only a matter of time.