If you haven’t already figured by now, I love everything mason jar! We use them for drinking glasses, wine glasses, storage containers, cookie cutters and crafts. Aside from canning, we employ them as dispensers, and as a vessel to mix hot liquids, particularly when I make dish soap or baby-butt wipe solution.
They are so useful around our house, that I covet them.
When I give canned goods or honey to friends, I kindly ask for my jars back. My favorites are antique mason’s, (anchor hocking), and over-sized mason’s for food storage like pastas, beans and oats. The over-sized also make great homes for homemade kombucha!
If you have a mason, a quart or pint will do, a jar lid and ring, an old pump, a hammer and something sharp, and a bottle opener, you can hammer this out in no time. (Pun intended).
First, attach the lid and ring to the jar and pierce with something sharp. My method was to hammer on a small Phillips-head screwdriver. Next, enlarge the hole with the pointy end of a bottle-opener.
I press it down into the initial hole and twist gently. If you run into trouble, it helps to pierce a second hole very nearby and that should help to enlarge your hole for your pump. Take care not to make the hole too wide, you want your pump to fit down into the hole tightly.
Once you get the hole completed for your pump, drop it down in and you may have to trim the tube of the pump if it is too long for your jar. A box knife or heavy duty sheers will do fine. The underside of the lid will be sharp, and the edges can be pressed down with the rounded edge of your bottle-opener or flattened with your hammer.
On my first attempt at this, I placed the hole in the center of the jar lid, for aesthetic reasons, but soon realized that wasn’t the best design. Every time I pressed the pump, the liquid sprayed out onto the jar lid and not onto my intended target. 🙁
My revised design places the hole at the edge of the lid, to give the liquid a chance to clear the top of the dispenser. Genius!
When we wanted to start making our own dish soap, we needed something to store it in. This dispenser works great for us because our dish soap recipe uses very hot or boiling water, and I save time by mixing it all right there in the dispenser.
Perhaps I should share that recipe?
**This post was shared with: Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Sunny Simple Sundays, Sunday’s Best, No Ordinary Blog Hop, That DIY Party, Frugal Crafty Home, LHITS DIY Linky, Creative Home Acre Hop, Wildcrafting Wednesdays, Simple Lives Thursday, Your Green Resource, Natural Living Monday, Flaunt It Friday
Hi – visiting from reding your comment on Sunday’s Charmer Party. Thanks for sharing your tutorial on making Mason Jar dispensers. I pinned this and will be trying it soon. I also love Mason Jars!
I’m going to make this – PLEASE share the dish soap recipe!!
I have used the antique blue Mason jars for lotion soap dispensers; my problem is that the lids rust on the inside. Do you have ideas for stopping that???
Hi Tammy,
The only thing I can think of would be to order some of those plastic lids that fit the tops of mason jars, and use a drill to make your hole. Depending on what type of mayo you buy, the mayo lids can be reused. They seem to fit the jars quite well. I have seen them available on Amazon to purchase also. I hope that helps!
P.S. I’m totally jealous of your blue jars 🙂
Hi. You could try spray painting the underside of the lid with clear acrylic paint. Seals it up nice! Another use for the clear paint is to spray clear mason jars with the clear acrylic – makes a ‘frosted’ effect 🙂
I love it! Cant wait to try this! Stopping by from frugally sustainable.
Jeannine, thanks for stopping by! That DIY is so easy, you’re going to love it 🙂
Finally made this! Actually made 2, one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom. LOVE them!
I love it , I read one of your other post gave it a try, brilliant ! I have one I got off Etsy but the whole is in the middle. Nice finished top, but I gotta aim her, lol. I made one myself too thanks for tutorial!
Cindee, I am so glad you gave the mason jar a try! It’s so super easy and so super cute, it’s hard to resist 🙂 Thanks for reading the blog, I truly appreciate any and all readers I have!
In good health, Jerica
Love it! Thanks for sharing on The Creative HomeAcre Hop!
What a great idea! Thanks for the tutorial, I will be doing this soon! I had to look up kombucha…..tell me more…..!
Thanks for sharing this on Wildcrafting Wednesday! Hope to see you back on today’s hop!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/02/wildcrafting-wednesday-9.html
where can I get the pumps to put in the mason jars?
Sharon, sorry I had missed this comment. I am sure you have found something by now since I am so late? I honestly haven’t ever bought a pump, I just save old ones from things I had arounf the house. You might try Specialty Bottle online, or Amazon. That’s where I’d look 🙂
Thanks, I thought perhaps the ones I had wouldn’t work for this. I will try them out.
LOVE this idea! I been meaning to buy the blue glass reusable dispenser bottles, but I never got around to it. And these are so frugal and fun! Can’t wait to try it!
I am curious…pumps usually screw on the top of the dispenser….I can not tell from your pictures….does the pump just sit on the top of the lid…doesn’t seem too secure…love the idea though….
Yes, it just sits there. It works out just fine 😉 The whole you are making is only large enough to pass the straw through. If you have an old pump, give it a try
Great idea. I’m using mason jars as part of our table decor for our wedding in July. Saw a DIY on how to paint them. I had read another DIY on another site about making mason jars with a straw through the lid. Helps keep insects out of your drink when outside. They happen to use a rubber grommet around the hole they made. I was wondering if maybe I may be able to do the same with this idea. Might keep the inside of the hole less sharp if not flattened properly. Also was thinking about the rust problem on the inside of the lid. Could it possibly be sealed with something to prevent that? This way there would be no need to worry about purchasing the plastic ones.
Great info, will have to try this, Thanks for all the great ideas just stumbled on this thru FB but will keep checking out your blog for more great ideas. I too love mason jars and such, have a good collection of them and always looking for more. Take care and keep on bringing us more info like this.