The first thing you need before you can start to save money is, of course, a coin bank. Call me traditional but I still prefer a piggy bank (I do mean a coin container in the shape of a pig) and knowing how well my girl loves animals, it only justifies the fact that we should get one.
Wait, isn't it so boring just to buy one off the shelf knowing jolly well that there are many others who have the same pig too? So, we decided to make ours instead and we made not one, but THREE LITTLE PIGS. Yes, in today's Creativity 521, we are sharing with you our DIY Piggy banks and show how you can make your own too!
Materials (for one pig):1) Empty plastic bottle
2) Pink spray paint
3) 2 googly eyes
4) 4 pink beads
5) Pink pipe cleaner
6) Black and pink felt
7) Craft knife
8) Black marker
9) Hot glue
10) Scissors
11) Newspaper
Firstly. wash the empty bottle and remove the label using hot water. Carefully cut away the middle portion so that the bottle can be opened and closed as above. Tip: It would be easier to slot in if you get a bottle that is slightly slimmer in the middle. I used 1.5L Sparkling H-Two-O for this.
Next, it's time to SPRAY! This was the most fun part of it all though getting the paint to be consistently thick can be a bit of a challenge. Do the spraying outside the house and remember to spread your old newspapers. Shake the can well before spraying. making sure you use the right amount of strength and aim properly. Tip: The smell of the paint can be a little overpowering, so do let your child try only if you know he/she is up to it.
Let the paint dry for ten minutes and apply a second coat of paint to make it more even.
Once the pig is dry, start working on the rest of the body parts. Using two square pieces of pink felt, roll them up as shown above so that they resemble the ears of a pig. Secure the ends using hot glue.
Position and glue the ears onto the pig. Next, use the craft knife to cut out a slot between the ears for putting in the coins.
For the tail, coil a pipe cleaner around your last finger and glue one end to the back of the pig. Tip: The ends of a pipe cleaner might be sharp and dangerous for kids, so make sure you twist and fold them in to make them more rounded.
Glue on two googly eyes and four pink beads for the legs, making sure that the pig can stand upright. For the nostrils, cut out two oval pieces of black felt and stick them onto the bottle cap.
Ta-dah! We varied the eyes, ears and nostrils a little to form our three little pigs named Save, Spend and Share. Now, why do we need three pigs, you may ask. It's similar to the three-jar money system to teach kids to be wise about their money, just that in our house, we prefer to use the three-pigs instead. 
So, whenever Angel gets a sum of money, I want her to think about how she wants to use it. Does she want to save it in Spend pig so that she can take it out during the weekends to buy herself a treat? Does she want to put it in Save pig so that the money goes to the bank, builds up in the long run and she can buy more expensive items? Or does she want to deposit it into Share pig where she will donate the money to others or buy goodies to share with her sister and friends?
Yes, I think this girl is big enough to learn and sensible enough to think about her own finance starting from today. She is absolutely thrilled that she gets the freedom to decide and I think that helps to motivate her to start saving up too. In my upcoming post, I will be sharing with you 12 tips to teach children to save money so if you are interested in this topic, be sure to stay tuned and find out more!Now, will you have a go at making your DIY piggy banks too?
For more craft ideas and DIY tutorials, visit my gallery here.
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<a href="http://www.ahappymum.com/search/label/Creativity%20521"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-FA3rgSeuQWo/T_K49p08YZI/AAAAAAAAJTY/AxV0r9kjU_c/s150/Creativity%2520521%2520button.jpg" alt="new button" width="125" height="125" /></a>To fellow bloggers who have a fun craft session, DIY tip or creative idea to share, come join in the party! Highlight and press Ctrl + C to copy my button above, include it in your post/sidebar and add your link below. I will be hosting Creativity 521 on the 5th and 21st of every month, do hop over for more inspiration. Remember: The sky's the limit when it comes to creativity!
