How to make a piggy bank

We had a lot of fun making paper mâché piggy banks in the project class. How did we do this? What do you need to make such a nice piggy bank? What are the steps?

This is Natalie's piggy,
made with pages from old textbooks.

MATERIAL :

To make a piggy bank like this you need :
- A balloon
- A small paper cup
- A cardboard egg carton
- Tape
- Special glue (made of water and flour)
- Newspaper
- Colored paper

STEP #1 -- MAKE THE GLUE
To make the glue, mix three (3) cups of water and three (3) tablespoons of flour in a saucepan.

Whisk well, until there are no lumps left in the mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil, while stirring constantly. 

When it starts to boil, turn the heat off and let it cool.

Make the piggy's snout with a paper cup.

STEP #2 -- MAKE THE PIG "SKELETON"

First, blow up the balloon to the size you want. Tie the balloon.
After, cut the top of the paper cup and open it like a flower (see picture).

Tape the cup to the balloon, covering the opening of the balloon.
Secure the cup with a few pieces of tape. You don't need to use much tape: only a few pieces will work to keep the nose in place.

Attach the 4 legs of the piggy with tape.

To make the legs of the piggy, use sections of cardboard egg cartons. Cut one egg hole for each leg, and two extra pieces for the pig's ears.

Attach the legs to the balloon with tape. Do it carefully so the balloon doesn't pop. Be sure that your piggy is standing properly and can rest on its four legs.

When the legs are attached, do the same with the ears.

Cover the pig with strips of newspaper.

STEP #3 -- COVER THE PIGGY WITH NEWSPAPER

Tear newspaper into long strips. Do not cut the paper with scissors, use your hands to tear it.

Dip the newspaper strips in the glue (both sides) and remove the excess glue with your fingers.

Apply the strips of glued paper onto the pig. Make sure to cover every part of the pig, including the ears, feet and snout. Apply one or two layer(s) of newspaper onto the pig at this point. Smooth it down with your fingers. Make sure that all surface is covered.

When your first layers of newspaper are properly applied, you can let your pig dry for at least 24 hours. As we didn't have much time in class we applied the colored paper directly onto the newspaper. This technique works too, but the drying time will be longer afterwards.

Cover the pig with some colored paper.

STEP #4 -- COVER THE PIGGY WITH COLORED PAPER

Tear some colored paper into long strips. Do not cut the paper with scissors, use your hands to tear it. You can use any paper you like : wrapping paper, colored pages, magazines, old textbooks.... anything you like!

In our class we printed images of foreign currencies on colored paper and we used this to make our piggies.

Dip the paper strips in the glue (both sides) and remove the excess glue with your fingers. The same way you did it with the newspaper, apply the strips of glued paper onto the pig. Make sure to cover every part of the pig, including the ears, feet and snout. Smooth it down with your fingers. Make sure that all surface is covered.

STEP #5 -- LET THE PIG DRY COMPLETELY

This step is very important. You must let your piggy dry COMPLETELY and it may take up to 2 or 3 days. If possible, place your piggy in the sun, in a nice warm place with good aeration.

If you wish, you can place your pig in a warm oven to speed up the drying process. Just warm up your oven, then turn the heat off and put the piggy inside, with the door slightly ajar. Never put your pig in a turned-on oven.

STEP #6 -- FINAL TOUCH

When you piggy is completely dry, you can apply one or two coat(s) of varnish on it to protect it and make it nice and shiny.

Afterwards, cut the coin slot with a small utility knife and pull out the balloon with tweezers.