Dollar Tree Hack: Painted Piggy Bank Gift Idea

This painted piggy bank gift idea is both fun and inexpensive. The basic piggy bank came from the Dollar Tree and you guys know how much it cost!

My oldest nephew and his wife are expecting a baby boy in just a few months, and I wanted to make a custom gift instead of buying something cookie-cutter from a big box store.

I thought about giving them the vintage brass piggy bank I found at my favorite junk shop a few weeks ago, but it didn’t seem fitting for a nursery. So I painted a ceramic pig and added a few fun details to it. I have to say I did a great job!

See, I told you the brass pig was a keeper. It’s a tad beat up but that just gives it character.

I found the ceramic piggy bank at the Dollar Tree for……$1. You can’t beat that price.

I’m going to walk you through the process of how I painted the pig and the one little detail that makes the pig a star……his DIY tail! The paint for the project is FolkArt Multi-Surface Acrylic, color Cayman, and FolkArt Glitterific, color Tropical.

The acrylic paint goes on like butter and covers well.

I applied two coats just to make sure I got full coverage. Seems I always miss a spot or two on the first coat. Once the paint was dry, I added some sparkle.

The glitterific paint is just as named……tons of glitter in a little bottle. The paint contains various shapes and sizes of glitter in a clear base, with different shades of blue.

I applied two coats of the Glitterific. You can see in this photo that there are some really big pieces of glitter. The more to sparkle with.

 

I waited overnight for the paint to dry completely, then used a hot glue gun to give the pig some googly eyes. From past experience, I’ve found that hot glue will melt the plastic eyes if it’s too hot, so don’t use HOT glue; use warm glue.

There is one other thing the pig needs to make it a star, and I didn’t think of it until I was taking photos. Wait until you see how that one simple thing makes the whole project.

 

…….TaDah……the tail. The ceramic pig had a small bump for the tail but it was boring. The new curlicue tail is perfect. Wait until you see what I made it out of.

I took wire cutters and cut part of an artificial flower stem then curled it up like a pig tail. The stem has wire in it so it’s bendable and will hold the shape. Next I painted it with acrylic paint then added some clear Glitterific for shine and sparkle. How smart was that tail idea??

The piggy bank is so sparkly and cute. No, it will not hold a bunch of money but it’s not meant to. Back in the day piggy banks were a big deal. I think they need to make a comeback.

If you enjoy making personalized gifts for family and friends I want you to take this idea and make it your own. You don’t have to paint a piggy bank.

There are many small, inexpensive items you can customize with paint, like photo frames, mirrors, jewelry boxes, and candy jars……the ideas are endless.

Did you have a piggy bank when you were a child? What did it look like? Miss Sofi tried out the piggy bank slot just to be sure it worked. Then she took the money out……and kept it.

 

 

 Find the Acrylic paints on the Petticoat Junktion Amazon page here.

Are you thinking about making a gift for someone……or for yourself? Leave a comment, please. I read them all. As always, thanks for being here, and have a great day, Kathy