This is a great way to make a really cute piggy bank out of papier-mâché. This project takes a few days (there is a lot of drying time between papier-mâché layers) and requires parental (or teacher) supervision.
- One balloon for each piggy bank
- A lot of old newspaper and/or brown-bag paper
- A paper egg carton (plastic ones won't work)
- Masking tape
- Flour-water glue (instructions below)
- Pink paint (tempera works well) and a brush or pink tissue paper
- One pink pipe cleaner
- A craft knife
- Markers
- Optional – Plastic googly eyes
Instructions
Flour-water Glue for Papier-Mâché: Make a simple, thin glue from flour and water (boiling gives it a nice consistency). Mix 1 cup of flour into 1 cup of water until the mixture is thin and runny. Stir into 4 cups of boiling water. Simmer for about 3 minutes, then cool.
Blow up a balloon for each piggy bank. Have the child tear a lot of strips of newspaper and/or brown bag paper. Strips should be about 1 inch or less wide; the length doesn’t really matter. Dip each strip of paper in the flour glue and wrap around the balloon. Have at least two to three layers surrounding the balloon. Let it dry (at least overnight) after each layer.
Let the papier-mâché balloon dry for a few days. When it is dry, you can pop and remove the balloon from the inside. This will be the body and head of the pig.
After the papier-mâché is completely dry, it’s time to add the legs and the snout.
Separate 5 paper egg carton sections (one for each leg and the snout). Use the masking tape to attach them to the oval-shaped body.
To color your pig, either paint it with tempera paint or use pink tissue paper.
For the tissue paper coating, first tear or cut the tissue paper into small pieces ( a few inches in all directions). Then cover the pig with a very thin layer of the flour-water glue (using your fingers is the easiest way). Next, put the tissue paper pieces on the pig (you may need to add a little more glue occasionally) until you have a nice pink coat for the pig.
Let the pig dry completely (at least overnight).
- Tail: Using a sharp crafts knife, make a small hole at the tail end of the pig. Insert a pipe cleaner into the hole, then shape the pipe cleaner into a spiral.
- Eyes: Make eyes with a marker or glue on plastic googly eyes.
- Nostrils: Make two nostrils on the snout with a marker.
- Money slot: Along the top of the pig’s body, carefully cut a slot large enough to fit any coin.
- Add decorations if you want to.
