Thursday, September 8, 2011

DIY Soap Dispenser and Pinterest Inspiration {Try New Adventures Thursday!}

Ya'll, I finally "get" Pinterest. Most of you are probably way ahead of me in figuring it out and loving it, but the lightbulb just clicked in my head over the last few weeks. And WOW! It's the best method I've found for categorizing gems that I come across on the web--tantalizing recipes, helpful homemaking tips, photography ideas, activities for kids, and crafty things that I could actually-possibly-maybe do. And did I mention lots of recipes? I have an entire board devoted to nutella. So appropriate. 

The best part is that Pinterest revolves around pinning pictures of said cool idea/recipe/outfit/craft. Perfect for my visual self!

So, back to the craft part. Because as you know, I don't own a glue gun or a sewing machine. Which means it needs to stay simple. My latest Pinterest-inspired endeavor fits the bill....and it involves a canning jar. Yay!

I got crafty, thanks to Pinterest...

It's a cute little soap dispenser! A way better version than the plastic recycled bath and body works container that was by my kitchen sink.

To make this soap dispenser, I simply:

1) Stole the soap pump part away from one of my bottles of unused lotion.
2) Drilled a hole in the top of a Ball canning jar lid (and here's how to make the craft even easier...get your sweet hubby to drill the hole!)
3) Inserted the soap pump into the hole and filled the jar with soap!

Many of the online versions of this that I found involved complicated things like epoxy. But honestly, my soap dispenser looks and works like a charm, and I didn't have to deal with that!

Other Pinterest-inspired creations made in our house recently have included:

Playdough filled balloons

IMG_8010

At almost 2 (in November...!), Squishy is in love with ballons. He's playing with two of them right this second. So he loves the little playdough-filled balloon that I made for him in about 1 minute after seeing these on Pinterest.

                                                                             Source: playcreateexplore.com via Alicia's on Pinterest

A hit! I'm collecting cool occupying crafts like these to put into busy bags for Squish for when baby arrives.

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My menu plan is also benefiting. I tried this cheddar soup...it has beer in it (which is not a great hit with me, but my hubby and our neighbor thought it was great!).
                                                                                         Source: kayotic.nl via Alicia's on Pinterest


And this sweet and sour chicken was awesome.

                                                                              Source: livelovepasta.com via Alicia's on Pinterest


So....are you on Pinterest? Have you tried any of the fun ideas you've found there?
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Link up your new adventures below--it's Try New Adventures Thursday! Don't forget to link back to Alicia's Homemaking, and leave some cheerful comments for other participants! :)





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9 comments:

  1. Such an adorable soap dispenser! I love that you can see the soap, since it's in a canning jar.

    I heart Pinterest. I BIG heart Pinterest. ;) I have gotten so many wonderful ideas from there. Some of them I've implemented {like a hook for my purse, or my braided head band} and some of them I've just stored away for future use.

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  3. Sis, I love the soap dispenser!! Such a great idea. Also, the soup & sour chicken look divine. I love pinterest for the same reasons & I've made several crafts inspired by pins, I also made penne with roasted asparagus & balsamic butter for Kurt & his parents and it was delicious.

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  4. Pinterest rocks! Love that soap dispenser! I totally wouldn't do that because I don't know how to operate a drill; however, my hubby always looks for an excuse to break his out, so maybe I could get his help. And I think the playdough balloons would be a hit with my 2.5 year old. Really cool!

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  5. LOL, I have a saved and reused B&BW (or knock-off? don't remember) dispenser at my kitchen sink, too :P Your new dispenser looks so much nicer than that plastic ol' thing that gets all grimy and nasty so easily :) And whatever color of soap you have in there is gorgeous! I'm not on Pinterest... mostly b/c I know I would probably get way too hooked and I don't need any new "addiction" right now :) So I'll just keep reading blogs and doing FB and glean from other people's finds :P

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  6. I love that soap dispenser but had a hard time telling what it was on instagram, haha!

    I LOVE Pinterest but have yet to make or craft anything from there. I will most likely use my fashion board while fall shopping though. I know this sounds like a cheesy excuse but the nearest craft store is 15-20 miles from our home and there is usually lots of traffic but I have a few things I'm ready to try!

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  7. I'm not on Pinterest or Twitter because I already spend too much time on the computer. I already have plenty of project ideas. What I need is to make time to do them!

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  8. Fun!!! Love the playdough balloon idea!

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  9. That is awesome!! I have been keeping my eye out for some mason jars, but so must everyone else because I can't seem to find any. As soon as I do, I'm totally going to do the soap dispenser. Your's looks awesome! I'm so glad you posted some recipes too...I'm falling behind in that area and I bet Josh would love that soup (I'm with you...the beer flavor isn't my favorite) but it looks great! :) I love these thursday posts. I haven't had any adventures lately, but I love reading everyone else's!

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