Jazz Up Bathroom Tissue With A Thrifted Glass Hack

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For the most part, that box of tissues on your bathroom counter serves its function. With a small tug of the wrist, it spits out tissue after tissue, ensuring that the worst bugs of the flu season don't keep your nose completely stuffed up. But what if there were a way to make the setup just a tad fancier? That's a question TikToker @redeux_style would likely answer by handing you a vintage glass brandy goblet and a small Dollar Tree tea light.

The goblet replaces the box, thus giving your tissues a prettier home to sit in. Despite the snifter being made of vintage glass, the piece won't cost much to make. If you're going to try to recreate this bathroom craft at home, you'll want to take a quick trip to a nearby second-hand store or peruse the wares at the church bazaar.

The TikTok influencer found her goblet on sale for $2, though a similar piece may cost you more or less, depending on what you find and your particular tastes in vintage ware. Facial tissues run a couple of bucks a box, and the box of glow lights from the Dollar Tree cost $1.25 for a box of three. The goblet should be cleaned of any dust or debris before using it, so plan on spending a couple of bucks on a package of microfiber cloths, unless you have some already.

Putting this goblet tissue dispenser together is pretty straight forward. To keep your vintage ware in tip top shape, give it a rinse with warm water to get rid of any dust. It's best to leave it out of the dishwasher because it could damage the vintage glass. In this case, you also want to avoid using harsh substances to clean the glass, again due to its vintage status. To rid it of any water droplets, clean and dry it with a microfiber cloth and set it aside to allow any extra moisture to evaporate.

While the brandy goblet dries, open the box of tissues. It needs to be opened completely because you're going to pull the whole wad of tissues out in one go. Unless you have a gigantic goblet, you'll need to separate the tissues into a couple of piles so they can fit into the narrow mouth of the glass. To put them in the goblet, it's best to roll the pile of tissues up like an egg roll and push it into the glass like you're stuffing the end of an egg roll into the glass. After that, rotate the pile over so that the pleat on the tissue is on top.

You'll have to work around the tissue to insert the light into the glass. If you're using the dispenser right away, turn the light on before you put it into the goblet to save time. Once that's done, pull the top tissue out to get the dispensing action started.

Because this dispenser will go into the bathroom, you want to take steps to ensure that it won't slide around on the counter or the back of the toilet. To keep it safe, spend $10 or less on some Scotch gripping pads. Often you'll see these on the legs of chairs to prevent them from sliding around on hard wood floors, but the package of gripping pads actually has a few sizes. Take out three or four of the smaller ones and place them either in a triangle- or square-shape on the bottom side of the base of the goblet. They need to be at even intervals with each other to keep the goblet balanced. If done correctly, they'll keep the dispenser on firm footing.

Additionally, due to the fancy glass, this project has a bit of a glam aspect to it that you can totally play up. Snag a Zosenley Store mirrored makeup tray for $15 or $20. Lay a doily or cloth handkerchief down on it right in the middle and place the tissue dispenser on the doily.

To finish the display, position electric candles around the goblet. Get at least two electric candles – one for each side. (They need to be electric to avoid a fire hazard. You don't want the tissues to catch fire.) The light inside of the goblet dispenser as well as from the ones sitting on the mirrored tray will reflect on the mirror. This creates a soft light display for the bathroom, particularly when the main light is turned off. It'll decorate your bathroom counter in a lovely way.