Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

I didn’t have to be at work today until 10:30 (woop woop!) so I actually decided to get up and be productive for once! One of my errands brought me to Lowe’s and I was finally able to grab a brushed nickel soap pump to make a mason jar hand soap dispenser. It was a fun little morning project and our first dent into making over the bathroom (one of my New Year’s resolutions, remember?). It is super easy so here is a step-by-step for you! I started with a small mason jar ($1.50), the soap pump ($3.00), a drill, and some epoxy ($4.00 or free if it is already in the cabinet!).
1.  Make a mark in the center of the mason jar lid. This will be where you will drill the hole.

 

2.  Using a hole drill bit if you have one, drill a hole just big enough for the center of the pump to fit through. If you are like me and only have various sizes of normal drill bits, start with a small one and work your way up in size. I still didn’t have a drill bit big enough for the size hole I needed to make so I drilled a few little holes next to each other. It turned out pretty hideous but it doesn’t matter because you won’t see it. Plus the pump fit very snugly so I did a great job. Use pliers to remove any stray bits of metal or tuck the metal under so it isn’t sharp.
3.  Test to see if the pump fits and if so, start mixing your epoxy according to the directions on the package. I was fascinated by the dual syringe air bubble race I had going on.
4.  Once mixed properly, apply a small amount of epoxy to the bottom rim of the pump (the part that will sit on the lid). Insert the pump and press it down against the lid for a few minutes. Then let it cure according to the instructions.
5.  When completely cured (mine was an hour), give your jar a good washing to make sure there are no metal bits in it from the drill. Metal scraps don’t make for happy hands. Trim the provided soap pump tube to size so it goes to the bottom of the jar.

 

6.  Fill with your favorite liquid soap and enjoy! I can’t wait for this stuff to run out so I can buy Burt’s Bee’s Citrus & Ginger Root Hand Soap.
I also had a second mason jar and decided to use it to hold our toothbrushes and toothpaste. So we have a little theme going on! I love the way this turned out and have already washed my hands like 3 times just so I could use it.  :)

What is Black & White & Green All Over?

When I first moved into my apartment and lived alone, I decided to have a black & white bedroom with a wild accent wall.  Enter lime green paint.  It was a bit intense but I loved it… for a while.  When Walker moved in, the first room we decided to make-over was the bedroom and I was ready for a change (bye bye lime). We decided to keep the black & white idea to some extent but wanted to change the accent wall and add more colors to the room’s accessories.  So we went with “Vineyard” (how appropriate for us winos) green paint by Behr.  We liked the idea of green but wanted something darker and more cozy.  To keep the black & white theme going, we blew up a photo my cousin took of us holding hands and made it the centerpiece of a black & white photo gallery wall.
The entire wall is pictures sentimental family photos… anything from our grandparents as teenagers to us as kids.  We picked a random fun arrangement that still has plenty of room to add on.  All of the frames are from Ikea (the small ones were $2.99 a piece, the medium were $4.99, and the large one was $19.99).  We could have gone a bit cheaper but we loved the thick, substantial black frames with white mats.
We painted everything in October but finally got the last few pictures from my house over the holidays to have a “completed” phase 1 of the wall.  I say “completed” for two reasons:
  1. We intend to keep adding onto the wall with more pictures
  2. Even phase 1 isn’t complete… you will notice all the way to your right that there is a frame with the Ribba printout still inside where a picture of Walker’s grandmother should be.  Ok, so we need to go get it printed.  But I am just trying to keep it real here on the blog and that includes the good, the bad, and the incomplete.  And me photo-bombing my own photos.  Hey, Erika!
On a sweet note, we are now surrounded by the people we love.  On a creepy note, all of these people now watch us sleep.  :)

California Love String Art

This project sort of fits under our little theme… I didn’t literally bring this back from my holiday visit but I had to keep my pie-hole zipped until after Christmas because I made one of these as a gift for my best friend! I originally made first California Love String Art for Walker and myself.  We met in LA, so we thought this project would be a cute reminder that we could display in our house for a long time.  The project would also make a great housewarming, wedding, anniversary, or Christmas gift.

I saw the wood rounds at Michael’s and I knew they were perfect to give the project a try (I had seen the idea on Pinterest ages ago). The wood goes from $8-$20 at your local craft store depending on what size/kind you get. A box of 100 pins in cool colors sets you back about $4 and the string is about $2. So you are looking at about a $15+ project. The instructions are below but I also sell custom string art on my Etsy store!

Here was my first/original attempt! See below for more examples.

1. Print out an outline of the state you are making (use Photoshop to get it the perfect size for your wooden board) and mark the city of choice.

2. If using long pins, trim the pins to a reasonable size using wire cutters (to make it easier to hammer in straight as well as to make sure the pin doesn’t come out the other side).

3. Using the printed outline as a guide, hammer in each pin leaving a quarter to a half an inch of space between the pin head and the board (depending on how strong the pins are… if they are thin, the closer to the board the better so the string doesn’t bend them).  You can place the pins as close together or far apart as you want, depending on the look you are going for.  Obviously, the closer you put the pins the more pins you will need.

4. Draw a heart around the city of choice before removing the paper and hammer pins into place (I didn’t do this the first time… I decided to wing it and ended up with a funky little heart. We like it because it is quirky but it leaves a lot of mistake holes and a lopsided heart! Check out the difference below)

5. Remove the paper carefully without pulling out any of the pins.

6. Using the string, tie a sturdy knot (or two) around one of the pins. Loop it around one of the center (heart) pins and then around the next outline pin. For a very sturdy but very time consuming project, you can knot the string around each of the outline pins. However, I prefer just to loop it because it makes a nicer shape (and allows you to go back and fix the string if your finished product isn’t quite right). If the string breaks at any point, tie it to the last pin you can, tie a new piece of string to the same pin, and keep going!

  • TECHNIQUE:  At first I tried counting the number of outline pins and divided them evenly by the number of center pins to get the number of loops to make on each center pin. However, this often didn’t come out well (looked kind of swirled). So I later realized that the best way is just to send the string where it looks most natural. If one center pin has 12 loops and another has 5, that’s ok as long as it looks good! Also, if the shape of the state makes it so a part of the outline blocks the string from the center area (i.e. the top right corner of CA- below), you can loop the sting around the outline pins in the general direction of the center area to make it look the best.

7. Tie off the string on the last pin and push each string loop up toward the pin head (moves the string farther away from the wood to give it the most depth/texture). And ta-da: string art!

OTHER IDEAS:

  • Use small nails instead of pins (you can even paint the nail heads like I did below!). Just be very careful if you have a state with a long straight side (like Idaho below) that you are very gentle as to not split the wood. I learned that the hard way the first time.

  • Stain the board before you begin (like I did with the Mongolia one above) and finish with Poly. Just be aware that the paper likes to stick to this finish so you may end up with little paper bits when you remove it. Again, I learned this the hard way and had to remove/replace some nails after picking out paper bits. Not sure how to prevent this… I will keep you posted. Update: You can place tape along the outline on the bottom side of the paper (the side that touches the board) and nothing will stick. But just be cautious when removing the paper since the tape makes it harder to remove.
  • Custom writing can personalize it! Sharpie bleeds on the wood so use paint for a crisp line. For the one below I wrote it in pencil, traced it in thin Sharpie, and then painted over the Sharpie to make the lines crisp. I can’t write with paint alone (again… learned that the hard way).

DISCLAIMERS:  Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

    • Using fine pins makes using the hammer impossible (it just bends them and breaks them). So trim them pretty short using wire cutters and use your thumbs to push them in/support them. After doing this for two Etsy orders, my thumbs were KILLING ME. I literally had wounds. Be smart and invest in a little rubber thimble or something so you don’t suffer like I did.
    • This is easy in theory but a lot can go wrong and it can take much longer than you think. It takes a lot of patience (especially when dealing with thin pins… ugh it make me mad just thinking about it!) and you may end up needing to buy additional pins if you break too many. If you don’t have the time, energy, patience, or DIY know-how, I am more than happy to make you one myself! Check out my Etsy store for more details!  :)

Erika

I’m Erika, an interior designer with an aesthetic that is a mix of California Bohemian, Mid-Century, and Scandinavian influences with pops of fun color and loads of natural materials. Plus plants, plants, and more plants!

My sweet family (Walker, Juniper & Hank, as well as pups Arlo & Guillermo) just reloacted from Los Angeles, CA, to Lincoln, NE. We would love for you to follow along with us on this journey!

 
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