diy mason jar soap dispenser

I've completed my first pinterest-inspired home project!! I'm so excited to share it with you all because I am very pleased with the results. :) Plus, it was really cheap and only took about 5 minutes to do, which is great, cause I'm always short on time.

Recently, I have found myself in love... with glass! I love decorating with glass. I frequent all the local thrift stores every few days and I am always intrigued and fascinated by the different types of glass vases, jars, canisters, etc. that they have. I'm going for somewhat of a country-chic-cabin-type decor look, and have found mason jars to be generally fabulous.

I am getting sick of the nasty plastic soap containers, so I thought I'd make my own out of a mason jar for my bathroom. I fell in love with it so much that I decided to run to the thrift store and get supplies to make one for my kitchen. Luckily, the thrift store had everything, and I was able to make it entirely for about $3.00. :) This is what I came up with for the bathroom:

See? Isn't that awesome??

When I made the one for my kitchen, I took pictures so I could give you somewhat of a tutorial on how to do it should you choose to make one for yourself.

This is how it's done:

Supplies needed:

• drill (borrowed from the 'rents)
• mason jar (found some at the thrift store for about 50 cents!)
• metal soap pump (I salvaged mine off of a metal soap dispenser at the thrift store)
• loctite clear waterproof silicone sealant (found at local hardware store)

 
First of all, I had to make sure the soap pump was clean. I have to admit, it was kinda gross, and there was still soap left in the dispenser from the previous owner. It was gross, but I made it through unscathed. ;)

Next, it's time to drill a hole through the middle of the top of the jar. I left the lid on, and it worked just fine. The goal is to make the soap pump sit snugly in the hole without a lot of "breathing room". I had to drill a couple times to get the right size.

I had to bend all the edges over so it was sharp and poking into the soap pump. The top got a little scratched, and it looks terribly uneven, but that's ok, cause it will be hidden under the edge of the pump. :) Next, I checked to see that the pump fit nice and snug.

After making sure the hole I drilled was good to go, I rinsed out the jar so it didn't have any dangerous metal shards that would scratch a person's hand when they're trying to wash it.

Now, it's time to "seal the deal"! I left the pump halfway in the hole, and ran a generous coat of the silicone sealant around the edge:

Push the pump all the way into the drilled hole, wipe off excess silicone and you're done! The bottle of silicone said I had to let it sit for at least 2 hours, so you'll have to check what yours says and make sure you don't put soap in it or use it until it's done drying.

Here's my new pump next to the bathroom pump... they're a little different but I like it that way; they are unique!

And here's the kitchen one sitting in it's new home, next to the jar of dish soap, waiting to be filled!

Woohoo! Fun, quick project that adds a little bit of fabulous detail to everyday life. :)