Papier-mâché piggy bank

I think this little piggy is just too cute. 

The best of all is it's one of those projects the kids can help with as well and they will just love it.

FYI:

Papier-mâché (French for “chewed paper” , alternatively, papier-mâché is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, startch or wall paper paste (http://en.wikipedia.org)

What you need: 

For the glue mixture, mix one part cold glue with one part water and make sure that it is mixed thoroughly.

First use the toilet roll to make the feet and the nose.  I wanted short legs so I cut one roll into four equal pieces to make the feet, and then used a second toilet roll to cut out the nose.

Now blow up the balloon as big as you want your piggy's body to be and tie a knot.  

Now stick the feet and the nose on using masking or sellotape.

Ok now the fun starts...

Some people say paint the glue on the paper strips, but I don't have the patience for that :-) so I find it much better to get those hand dirty.  I dip the strip of paper in the glue mixture, and use two fingers and glide the strip of paper through to get rid of the excess glue.  Then stick it on the balloon, continue until you feel that the piggy will be sturdy (at least three layers).

Let it stand for a day or two so that it will dry properly.

Then paint the piggy in any colour, or pattern you wish. If you saving for something spesifically make that the theme of your piggy.

When the paint is dry, you can apply a couple of layers of clear varnish to make the piggy more durable.  The varnish will also give you a glossy finish.

Stick some eyes on.

To complete cut a slit in the top for the money to go in...

Put piggy on display and start saving! :-)