I was looking for a way of keeping my soap dry between uses to help 
extend its lifetime. I have bought plastic ones before but was not too happy with it, so I decided to experiment with beads. I used to make jewelry for sale so I had quite a few choices to pick from. I hesitated at the thought of attempting to clean the beads later from soap residue, however I decided to cross that bridge when I get to it.
i used wire to keep the beads together, except for the one in the guest bathroom, the soap holder there allowed me to put the beads alone there. I must say it brings delight to see something pretty when doing such a mundane task as washing my hands.
update: these things are almost self cleaning, I just put it on the floor of the shower as I showered, and when I was done it was almost completely clean from the water falling on it.
If you want to watch a video of when I made the one for the shower, you can find it here:
Soaps by Glenda 