Plastic Bottle Piggy Bank

Project demonstrated by Marie Clapper.

Materials:

one plastic bleach bottle
felt
four tapered fabric softener bottle caps
pipe cleaner
scissors
pencil

Steps:

1. Remove the handle and bottle neck from a half gallon bleach bottle by sawing across the bottle just below the upper end of the handle.
2. Using a knife, cut around the other end of the handle, leaving as small an opening as possible. Close the opening at the top of the bottle by inserting the bottle cap into the hole. Glue a felt flower cutout over the other opening.
3. Glue floppy felt ears in place. Glue on felt eyes and mouth. For the snout, glue a felt circle over the inverted bottle cap. Glue a narrow felt strip around the outside edge of the circle.
4. To make snug-fitting legs, glue a strip of felt around four identical 1-1/2" to 2" fabric softener bottle caps. Cut holes to accommodate legs in the bleach bottle. Insert the tapered ends of the felt-covered softener caps into the bleach bottle. Secure with glue.
5. To make a tail, curl a pipe cleaner around a pencil. Punch a hole in the bleach bottle to accommodate a tail. Insert the pipe cleaner coil and glue to secure.