Then I realized I indeed had many a soap pump AND many a mason jar, so I immediately traveled to the Mecca of art and craft ideas: Pinterest. After searching and reading a few how-to sites, I knew this would be a doable feat for me.
With only a few snafoos that were easily fixible, I ended up making three soap jars that I'm proud to call my own! I think there's something incredibly satisfying about creating your own household items out of things you already have lying around- cheers for upcycling!
The black hand pumps look more classy and aesthetically pleasing, but I found that the Cetaphil pump works wonderfully as well and I like to utilize all of my 'trash'.
- A mason jar with two piece lid
- An old plastic soap dispenser (Think those hand soap containers from Mrs. Meyers or Purell- I even used an old Cetaphil pump container)
- A permanent marker
- Scissors (Preferably a hardcore set like kitchen shears)
- A Phillips screwdriver
- Crazy glue (I also had acetone nail polish remover on standby)
- GLOVES, GLOVES, USE GLOVES -FOR THE LOVE - USE GLOVES (I used a latex set like you see in hospitals and what not)
- Paper towels - protect your counters! Crazy glue is evil and merciless
- Optional: A hammer, needle nose pliers
Assemble your tools and don your gloves my fellow homesteaders! Here we go!
As you can see, I have a knife here. It's old knife from college and I use and abuse it for projects like this. I used it to cut off the top of a soap dispenser but you could also use your scissors. Please notice I left about an inch around the top of the dispenser. Also, sorry for lack of picture of me sawing the top off of the empty soap dispenser. Also- use common sense when working with sharp knives and scissors, let's not lose a digit here!
Invert the top of the soap dispenser onto the bottom of the mason jar lid, trace around the opening so that you know how large to cut the hole. (You could also do this before you cut the bottle apart, it doesn't really matter)
There we go! Not a perfectly drawn circle, but who's going to see it once it's together? NOBODY - that's who!
Then grab your screwdriver and hammer, and go find a soft, cushy place to pound the screwdriver through the lid. I used my carpeted stair. I promise, it doesn't damage the carpet, it just raises the lid up enough that it's not flush on the ground and it makes it easier to puncture the lid. The metal is really thin also, so if you don't have a hammer handy, just pound on the end of the screwdriver with your fist. One or two holes should do.
Et voila!
Now carefully, oh so carefully, use your kitchen shears to cut through the puncture hole and around the circle you made with the permanent marker. The metal is sharp, any jagged edges WILL cut you, I know from experience.
Save yourself some grief and trial putting the neck of the soap dispenser through the mason jar lid to ensure that it fits. Cut the hole a little wider if necessary.
All set! We're almost there!!
Now from here, if you have a super tight fit you can probably avoid that evil super glue, or if you're really wanting to avoid ANY leakage, you can give it a go. I did not have good success with being able to adequately super glue these two pieces together. I also don't give a care about the leakage (it seems that was the top complaint on the Amazon reviews of purchasable ones as well- so I'm not alone!)
Screw the top part of the pump onto the neck as tightly as you can and there you go!
Sure, it might not be perfectly painted and I bet if I turned it upside down and shook it, it'd leak, but I think there's something incredibly appealing about home-style, imperfect creations. Makes it unique eh?
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