Lovely handmade crafts

Handmade piggy banks with fun mechanisms! A collection of summer vacation craft ideas that will amaze even adults

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.
Accompanist / Piano Instructoryuri
Accompanist pianist × piano instructor × web writer. I began piano lessons at age four and, inspired by my piano teacher, decided to pursue music. I went on to specialized music programs in high school and university, where I discovered the appeal of accompanying instrumentalists and singers. Currently, alongside teaching piano, I work mainly in my home region of Aichi as an accompanist for flute, voice, choir, and more. Through lessons, my students often introduce me to trending songs, and my hobby is trying anything on the piano—Japanese and Western pop, commercial jingles, and beyond. Since 2021, I’ve also been active as a web writer, covering music and a variety of other genres.

“Summer vacation is just around the corner, but I still haven’t decided on a craft project…” Many kids may be feeling this way.That’s why we recommend the classic craft: a handmade piggy bank!But a plain box shape is boring.If you make a piggy bank with a fun mechanism—like coins that spin, or one that walks or wobbles with movements that seem like magic—you’ll enjoy both the building process and managing your money every day after it’s done.In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of amazing piggy bank craft ideas you can make with simple materials.

Handmade piggy banks with fun mechanisms! A collection of ideas for summer vacation crafts that will amaze even adults (1–10)

Slope Piggy Bank

Recommended for summer vacation crafts 🌻 I made a piggy bank out of a milk carton.

Slope Piggy Bank

How about making a fun piggy bank where coins roll down a slope? You’ll use a milk carton, wooden chopsticks, and a clear file.

Make three rectangular pieces from milk cartons.

Turn them sideways, stack two, and glue them together.

Then glue the remaining one at the very bottom, shifted slightly forward.

Cut a coin slot at the upper right edge of the bottom milk carton, and decorate with origami paper or masking tape.

Glue chopsticks to both ends of the gap created by the offset, and add a slope so coins fall into the slot.

Close the top with a piece cut from a clear file.

Your piggy bank is complete! If you want to be able to use the money whenever you like, add a retrieval opening as well.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

ATM-style piggy bank

[Free Craft] A milk carton transforms!? A piggy bank that looks just like a real ATM! [Milk Carton Craft]

ATM-style piggy bank

Just like a real ATM! Here’s a piggy bank idea made using a milk carton and a toilet paper roll.

First, create the main body of the piggy bank with a milk carton.

Then make the money tray using another milk carton and a toilet paper roll, and secure it inside.

Decorate the outside of the carton with construction paper or plastic sheets so it looks like an ATM, and you’re done.

When you insert a card, it triggers a mechanism that drops the saved coins down, so you can even experience “withdrawing” money!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

secret stash piggy bank

DIY #4: Where do you put the money in? Secret Stash Piggy Bank

secret stash piggy bank

Stashing money away where nobody will find it—“hesokuri,” a secret savings.

This piggy bank is an idea that makes that hesokuri possible! Since it’s hesokuri, you don’t want it to look like a piggy bank and give it away.

So first, make a pen stand with a small accessory drawer.

Then attach a hollow base so it can function as a piggy bank.

Where does the money go in? Through the bottom of the accessory drawer’s frame.

Design it so that when you pull the drawer out, you can see the slot.

If you’re looking for an idea that will make everyone go “Ah!” in surprise, this is it!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Pinwheel piggy bank

[033] NEW Windmill Coin Bank – Tutorial Video Released! Drop in a coin and watch the windmill spin round and round!

Pinwheel piggy bank

Let’s make a piggy bank that spins a pinwheel when you insert a coin! You’ll need a milk carton, an empty 6-slice cheese box, a bamboo skewer, and a straw.

First, cut open one side of the milk carton so it can be opened, and make one hole in that side and another hole in the opposite side.

Also make a coin slot at the top.

Next, cut another milk carton into a ring about 5 cm tall, flatten it into a cross shape, and fix a bamboo skewer at its center to create the rotating mechanism.

Insert this into the holes in the milk carton, then attach the pinwheel blades made from the empty 6-slice cheese box to the outside, and you’re done! To prevent the internal mechanism and the blades from shifting left and right, thread small pieces of straw on the skewer as spacers.

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem

Shaved ice coin bank

Peekaboo! Shaved Ice Piggy Bank #shorts

Shaved ice coin bank

Let’s make a shaved ice-themed coin bank using a small milk carton.

First, peel off the printed layer of the carton to make the whole surface white.

Paint the triangular top area to look like syrup, then apply aurora (iridescent) paper over it.

Next, cut a coin slot and two holes for a bamboo skewer.

Combine two pieces of cardboard to create a spinning component.

Thread a short piece of straw, the spinning component, and another short straw onto the bamboo skewer in that order, then insert it through the holes in the milk carton.

On the outside, attach another spinning piece shaped like pinwheel blades with a face drawn on it.

Trim any excess bamboo skewer sticking out on the outside, add a cardboard border to enclose it, and finally close the top of the milk carton to finish.

When you drop in a coin, the outer part spins and a little face pops out—it’s super cute!

Raise the rankinglower

Report a problem