DIY: Monogram Soap Bottles

These Etched Monogram Soap Bottles are such a satisfying project. They look great, they’re functional, they work in kitchens or bathrooms or classrooms, and they make a great gift — a housewarming gift, a hostess gift, a neighbor gift at the holidays, a teacher gift — or make some for your own house.

The etching is so fun to do, you’ll want to etch every piece of glassware you have. Gather friends and have an etching party! Come and check out this simple project.

Easy & Pretty! Make an Etched Monogram Soap Pump for Child's Teacher
Easy & Pretty! Make an Etched Monogram Soap Pump for a housewarming gift
Easy & Pretty! Make an Etched Monogram Soap Pump for your kitchen or bathroom

Supplies for Making Etched Monogram Soap Bottles

– sticker-back vinyl
– cutting blade
etching cream
– brush
– letters in your chosen font (Archer is the font pictured here)
– glass bottle*

*Test the etch cream on the glass you intend to etch. Glass that is coated in plastic (to make it more shatter resistant) or glass that contains lead will not etch. If you find the glass won’t etch with cream, try an “etching paint“.

Easy & Pretty! Make an Etched Soap Pump for Child's Teacher | #teacherschangelives

Directions for Making Etched Monogram Soap Bottles

First, cut the letters out of vinyl.

Easy & Pretty! Make an Etched Soap Pump for Child's Teacher | #teacherschangelives

Remove the adhesive cover on the backside and place the vinyl on the bottles. It’s easiest to tear off the bottom 1/5 of the adhesive cover and place it where you want it to be. Then peel the rest of the backing off and stick the rest of it down. Make sure all the edges are firmly pressed down.

Easy & Pretty! Make an Etched Soap Pump for Child's Teacher | #teacherschangelives

Apply the etching cream over the exposed glass. Follow the manufacturer’s directions regarding length of time and rinsing.

Easy & Pretty! Make an Etched Soap Pump for Child's Teacher | #teacherschangelives

Add in a colorful soap and it’s set!

Easy & Pretty! Make an Etched Soap Pump for a classroom
Easy & Pretty! Make an Etched Soap Pump for your home or for a gift

Can you believe how easy? The only time consuming part is cutting out the initials — keep that in mind when you choose a font (straight lines are easier to cut!).


Photos and crafting by Amy Christie.

34 thoughts on “DIY: Monogram Soap Bottles”

    1. Hi Jen! I found these at Target — but some two of the commentors below mentioned they don’t work well after awhile. (Such a bummer!) I obviously haven’t owned or used these for very long — the project was created over the weekend, so I can’t tell you personally how well these work, which is why I didn’t link to them as a source — I wasn’t sure how well they functioned.

      I’ll do some searches and see if another good one pops up that has a good price.

  1. @Jen, they look like some that Target usually has in stock. Unfortunately, I have experienced some problems with them clogging and decaying in the nozzle, just using the standard non-scented Method soap refills. Does anyone have any better rec, or a way to keep these looking nice? Or a source for just the nozzle to replace?

  2. What a fun idea. I will add that I’ve purchased that soap dispenser twice (thinking the first was a dud, silly me) from Target, the they have both stopped pumping properly after a months or so. They’re pretty, but I wouldn’t recommend them.

    1. Thanks for the tip, Susan. Mine are working well and I’m bummed to think they won’t after awhile.

      Now I’m wondering if I could find inexpensive mason jar lids with pumps and buy a box full as an alternative…

  3. I adore this project — Beautiful in its simplicity, and I loved the colored soaps you selected. I plan to make some for my friends this summer :) Thank you for posting!

  4. These are great and I would totally give one of these to a girlfriend for a birthday gift as well and my kids teachers! Totally going to be making a few of these before the end of the school year!

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  6. Cute idea and so many possibilities!

    Not to pile on but rather to confirm that the Target bottle issues aren’t uncommon… my young son gave me one for Christmas a couple years ago and within several months it was clogging and before a year was up the opening of the spout actually begin crumbling away. So disappointing, as I loved the look.

  7. I would add that if you are making for a teacher who has an underserved population, adding anti-bacterial hand gel and/or lotion might be a nice thought, too. A lot of my students used antibacterial gel/lotion in lieu of a shower. I also had a lot of students whose skni dried more easily or were prone to ashiness. They would cover themselves in lotion from top to bottom!

    Just thought I would share!

  8. As a person who works with glass, and has done a ton of etching-I thought I would mention that, you will get a much better result on your glass if you leave the etching creme on overnight.

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  14. Way past teachers, but maybe you could help as I would like to do this for neighbor gifts. What kind of soap is in there, it looks likes salt and the colors are like none I have seen. Please email me.

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  16. Hello!

    I just came across this post on pinterest and love it. I have a question for you though. Could you do this to your glass drink-ware? Specifically wondering if washing the glasses after etching them would end up wearing it off in some way?

    Thanks in advance!
    Ashley

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