Etched Dish Soap Bottle | Awesome DIY Gift Idea!

Make your own etched dish soap bottle from a simple olive oil dispenser with a stencil and glass etching cream… Totally awesome DIY gift idea!

Using an olive oil dispenser as a dish soap bottle is not a new concept for me — I’ve had one for this purpose for years. Actually, I use one for real maple syrup, too!

But when I saw this cute etched bottle tutorial on Pinterest, it was one of those, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” moments.

I recently invested in a Silhouette Cameo, but frankly, I was a little intimidated by it. So it sat in its box on the floor of my office collecting dust. I figured this simple little etching project was the perfect opportunity to put its cutting abilities to the test.

And you know what? Using the Silhouette was waaaayyyyy easier than I expected, and I’m totally kicking myself for letting it sit for so long. I have tons of ideas for labeling and etching now — and that’s just the beginning.

Of course, you don’t need a Silhouette Cameo to do this project. It will take slightly longer, but you could easily cut a stencil out of vinyl with an X-Acto knife by hand and achieve the same results.

Supplies for making etched dish soap bottles:

• olive oil bottles ($1.47 at Walmart — score!)
• adhesive-backed stencil vinyl (Contact Paper would work too)
• X-Acto Knife or Silhouette Cameo
• glass etching cream
• paint brush
• your favorite dish soap

All in all, this is an extremely frugal project, especially when you can pick up the olive oil bottles at such an inexpensive price!

How To Make An Etched Dish Soap Bottle

First you’ll need to create a stencil. I created mine in the Silhouette Studio using the Lucida Handwriting font, but as I mentioned, you could also print out your template, transfer it to some vinyl or Contact Paper, and then cut it out with an X-Acto knife.

Apply the stencil to the olive oil bottle and press out the bubbles. Yes, I realize I didn’t get all of them out, but as long as you get the ones near the lettering where you’ll apply the etching cream, you should be safe.

Apply a thick coat of the glass etching cream to the stencil, taking care not to get it anywhere but on the letters, and let it sit…

Now this is where I need to add a little disclaimer to let you know that I am by no means well-versed in the finer points of glass etching. The cream that I purchased actually did not have any directions on the bottle. I looked them up online, and they stated to leave the etching cream on for no longer than 1 minute — so of course, I left it on for 10… The glass was not nearly as etched as I would have liked.

So when I did the next couple of bottles, I applied the etching cream, and then I got busy and totally forgot about them. 45+ minutes later when I rinsed them off, they were perfect. So use your best judgment, but I don’t see any harm in letting it sit longer than a minute.

Awesome DIY Gift Idea

That’s pretty much it! I filled the bottle up with my favorite dish soap — Mrs. Meyer’s lavender dish soap.

While I was at Walmart, I also grabbed the cute red & white striped Mainstays dishtowels shown in the first image. A 3-pack of them was just $4.74! When paired with the etched dish soap bottles, it makes for a lovely personalized teacher’s gift, coach’s gift, hostess gift, etc., and even if you include the towels, you’re well under $10 per gift. I made several to have on hand all in the same sitting!

Did you make or buy any handmade gifts this holiday season? I’d love to hear what projects you’re working on!