Personalized Soap Dispensers

Good, clean gift idea!

Some people you can't thank enough, but this is a good start!

So you need a gift – maybe it’s Mothers Day, Teacher Appreciation, Christmas, a birthday, or house warming. You want it to be unique, personal and yet not break the bank. Oh and you only have a ½ hour to spare! What to do, oh what to do?!

How about a personalized soap dispenser! 

Here are the supplies you’ll want to round up:

• Soft soap bottle – I had at least a dozen soft soap dispensers on hand (a nice product giveaway at work), but at the store they are probably just $1.
• Transparency sheet & Printer, OR access to a copy shop to print transparency for you (more about this below).  1 sheet will make 8 labels.
• Free template to print on transparency
• Goo Gone to remove label. Please learn from my mistake and use a very soft paper towel or rag. I used one that was kind of rough and it scratch the bottle badly. Thankfully, I had a stash on hand that I could dig another one out of.
• Pencil and permanent market (not required)

About the transparency

I had a couple laser transparency sheets on hand from college, I think, and still have them because I am a crafting hoarder (first step is admitting it, right?). If you don’t have any transparencies on hand you have a couple options:

• Buy a pack. I did some searching for you and found that while they are not expensive when you break down the cost per sheet, they are costly when you consider that you have to buy a whole pack of them, 50 sheets for about $30-$50.Yikes! If you found them in a smaller quantity, please leave a comment on where!
• Take your print to a FedEx, Office Max, Staples, or Office Depot and have them print it on transparency.  I don’t think that would cost more than a couple bucks.

Project Assembly

1. Print Label. If you’re not going to a print shop, you can print the label on an inkjet or laser printer. Ideally a laser would be best, but I have an inkjet. After I printed it, I let it set for 24 hours so it got good and dry. I then did a test on just one bottle following the subsequent steps, let it sit for another 24 hours, checked it, looked good, then did the rest!
2. Personalize Label. Add name and simple illustration. In the open area you or your child can draw using a pencil and then trace it with a black permanent marker. I have Adobe Illustrator, so I was able to open the .pdf template and do a little more customization.
3. Cut the squares. Make sure to cut INSIDE the black guide lines of each label so the edges don’t show in the soap – they’re just meant to be a guide.
4. Open the soap bottle.
5. Roll the square so that you can fit it into the tube.
6. Guide square into place using the straw portion of the pump.
7. Screw the top back on.
8. Add embellishments. I just added a ribbon to dress it up.

We gave 2 dispensers to the grandmas and kindergarten teacher. One grandma said they were almost too cute to use and the teacher was delighted. The gifts didn’t cost a whole lot, so it really is the thought that counts!