And it didn't cost a thing.

The good thing about all of those creative bloggers out there, is that you learn a few tricks and gain inspiration from others. I would like to say that I have some original ideas, but alas, not so many.

In my kitchen, for several years, I had a soap dispenser - a kitchen pump, from Kitchen aid that I loved. It was heavy duty, easy to use with the kids, and easy to clean.

A few months ago, I found that it was leaving puddles of soap on the counter top and realized that the silicon on the bottom was leaking in several spots. I tried to fix it, but it was just a no -go, so it go donated to the Good Will.

I then tried to locate another one just like it in town, but with not much luck. I was too cheap to spend the money to order one + shipping on the Internet.

So out of desperation,  I bought a clear soap dispenser out of the bath section at Walmart. It lasted a mere month before it fell into my sink and broke. I tried to Krazy Glue it back together, but it was a lost cause. So the big soap container sat on the counter for a few days. It was a bit harder for the kids to use, without that pump, and they ended up leaving a mess.

Then yesterday, I remembered all of those homemade Mason Jar soap dispensers that are circulating out in the crafting world, and thought about making one.

I got my supplies together, all of which I had on hand. The pump I had to dig out of the garbage and the original plastic bottle that it was attached to, a body wash, had been thrown in the recycling.

The jelly jar I had on hand, as well as the canning lid and ring.

This was SO EASY.

I used the largest drill bit that I had and drilled a hole into the lid. It still wasn't large enough to fit the pump through, so I took an Exacto knife and cut a larger "x" to accommodate the size. Then I cut the pump tube way down, so it would fit in the jelly jar. It was a tight fit, so there was no need to glue it.

Filled it with soap, and was good to go.

It's cute, functional, and best of all, I just used items that I already had on hand. It took just a few minutes to make.

Linking to:

Last Minute Gift

It's the end of the wire in our neck of the woods. My girls will finish up with school this Thursday. Yes, I realize that it is later than a lot of you get out. In the meantime, I have been working on some crafts for the teachers as a thank you. One of my daughters is in Special Ed, and has a support staff that goes above and beyond for her. I stewed and stewed over what I could give these wonderful teachers that have worked so hard with her. At Christmas time, many of them received hand knit gifts from me. I finally decided to make them each a Scrabble Pendant. I picked up a Scrabble game at a garage sale a few weeks ago and just got to work on them over the weekend, amongst many, many other projects.  I would like to say that they all turned out perfectly, but they didn't.  This is where I am in the process. For you my readers, I pulled out all the stops in my presentation. I decided to photograph them on a wax paper covered paper plate. Very Glam. No, some of them are still drying. I had a heck of a time driving all over town trying to find some Aaranku jewelry bails. After shopping at four different stores, I found just a few at an upscale bead shop. Then when I was attempting to glue them to the back of the tile with some Krazy glue, I made a mess and gummed up my fingers. I have never made any jewelry, unless you count stringing pony beads with my kids onto some elastic cording. Now, I am just trying to make the clasps on the necklace work and put it all together. In the end if I decide they don't look that great, well, I will just say that the kids made them... he he he...
Hopefully they enjoy the thought and time that went into these pendants and I can let go of some of my Obsessive/Compulsive tendencies and not worry what they think!