$20 - $25 (based on 2020 prices)
Makes six bottles
To play on the mad scientist theme for 2020’s haunt, I decided to create a collection of elixirs to scatter throughout the shelves and tables of the laboratory. I wanted the props to be reminiscent of the cure-all potions traveling salesmen peddled in the nineteenth century, so I used amber bottles similar to vintage medicine containers and crafted colorful wax seals with hot glue.
- Six thirty-two-ounce amber bottles (you can decrease or increase this number)
- Six miniature plastic skulls
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- One 0.44 oz. bottle of nail polish in glossy black
- One 0.44 oz. bottle of nail polish in glossy green
- One 0.44 oz. bottle of nail polish in glossy purple
- One 0.44 oz. bottle of nail polish in glossy pink
- One 0.44 oz. bottle of nail polish in metallic gold
- One 0.44 oz. bottle of nail polish in metallic silver
- One piece of 8” x 11.5” copy paper with elixir labels printed on it
- At least four tablespoons of black tea (e.g. Darjeeling, Earl Gray, English Breakfast, etc.)
- One pan large enough to soak the copy paper
- One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
1. Thoroughly wash and dry the jars. If there is any sticker residue, use rubbing alcohol to remove it (soak a paper towel in the solution, let it sit over the area for a few minutes, and wipe away the remaining glue).
2. Remove the mandibles from the skulls so they sit level atop the bottles’ openings. To aid in this process, purchase items made with a thin plastic and use a pair of kitchen sheers to make the cuts.
3. Position the skulls on the lips of the bottles’ openings and glue them in place. Prior to doing this, you can fill the containers with various items, from colored sand to small marbles, to correspond with the elixirs.
4. Fashion wax seals by building up layers of hot glue around the skulls. The process works best if you move in stages, applying one layer at a time and allowing the glue to cool between applications. Also, you want to ensure that the skulls’ facial features are not wholly obscured by the glue, so pipe drips of glue down the sides and onto the bottles.
5. To make the seals look waxy, cover each one in two or three even coats of glossy nail polish. You can use one distinct hue for a unified look or, as I did, select a unique color for each bottle to correspond with its elixir.
6. Boil enough water to completely submerge the copy paper and pour it into the pan. Add the tea. The longer you allow the tea to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of tea will produce a richer stain. I found that a combination of English and Irish Breakfast brewed for over ten minutes produces a nice, deep brown. Submerge the paper into the tea mixture and soak it until it reaches the color you desire. I soaked mine for eight hours and scattered the loose-leaf tea over the top of the paper to add spots. Remove the paper from the water and allow it to dry.
7. After the paper has dried, cut out the labels, leaving a small boarder around their edges. To roughen the labels’ appearance, use sandpaper to fray their sides and create holes. You can also crumple the paper to produce creases.
8. Once you have achieved your desired level of distress, glue the labels to the sides of the bottles. You can use olive or vegetable oil to add further stains. I discovered that applying a small amount of oil to your index finger and patting it on the paper works well.
9. The bottles can be enhanced even further to cater the props to your haunt. For instance, bloody or slimy hand prints can complement a gory theme or a dusting of glittery spray paint can emphasize a more whimsical motif.
*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.
No comments:
Post a Comment