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 Make Your Own Ball Jar Soap Dispenser You may have noticed that we're doing a lot of crafts lately. That's because March is National Crafts Month (we have no idea who dreamed that up), plus we just kind of like doing crafty things. I suppose we're kind of funny that way. When we moved into our new old house, the main bathroom was a wreck after the previous owner quit in the middle of a massive remodeling session. While this was a pain for us, it did allow us to create the bathroom we wanted, which we decorated in a kind of Arts & Crafts meets Cottage Style kind of thing. Once it was done, ordinary disposable soap dispensers looked just plain wrong (plus they're not remotely eco-friendly), and it seemed like a waste to spend $30 or $40 on a fancy store-bought one. We had a bunch of Ball canning jars lying around, which combined with an old disposible dispenser, was all that was needed to make a simple but attractive dispenser that is now proudly displayed on our bathroom sink. Here's how we did it.  What you will need: A Ball jar or some other pleasant decorative jar with a lid The pump from an old, used up disposible soap dispenser A small Phillips screwdriver or a large nail A Hammer or some other heavy hammerlike object A ruler or tape measure A marker that draws on metal A utility knife or other small sharp knife (we used an old steak knife - I seem to remember that someone who didn't know we were vegan had given us some as a wedding present) Liquid Soap to fill the dispenser You may also need a scissors  Unscrew the top, which includes the pump, from a used up disposible soap dispenser (If you don't have one and you still want to do this, you could buy a new disposible soap dispenser, take off the cap and use all the soap to fill up the one you're making).  Depending on the size of the jar, you may need to take a scissors and cut a bit off the intake tube. It should almost tough the bottom of the jar, and should be snipped off at a little bit of an angle (about 20° or so).  Measure the width of the tube on the pump just below the cap. Most of the ones I've seen are about 5/8" across.   Measure to find the center of the jar lid, and draw a square that's about 1/8" smaller than the diameter of the tube you just measured (in our case, the tube was 5/8" in diameter, so we drew a 1/2" square).  Use the hammer to gently tap the small Phillips screwdriver or large nail through one corner of the square you've drawn.  Use the knife to cut along the edges of the square. The metal is relatively soft, thin and easy to cut. We should note, though, that this is a really excellent opportunity to cut yourself, so be careful and keep your hands away from the sharp side of the blade.  Push the pump through the hole until the cap of the pump is flush against the cap of the jar. The sides of the cap should hold the pump securely in place (if it doesn't, you may wish to glue the pump to the top of the lid).  Fill the jar with liquid soap, screw on your new lid, and you're ready to go!  © 2014 Vegan Street |
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