Fun Halloween Project: Fake Witches' Apothecary Jars

Do you remember the 1998 movie, Practical Magic, starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman? The neatest parts of the movie took place at the Aunties' house, a fabulous old Victorian on a quaint, New England island. They had a wonderful garden and spectacular green house where they grew all the herbs and other plants for their potions. The kitchen was fabulous, too, and on the cupboard shelves were numerous jars filled with the apothecary notions every good witch should have!

This year, as a prop for your scary Halloween party, why not have some fun beforehand and make your own witches' apothecary jars? Display them in your haunted witches' kitchen or dining room cupboard!

What should you use for jars? I use vintage glass canning jars-the ones with rubber seals, glass tops, and metal handles. But you could use just about any clear container. Even drinking glasses! Just make your own paper of fabric tops for them and tie black ribbon or string around the edges to secure them.

As for the labels, my handwriting is practically illegible, so I make labels on the computer using my Microsoft Word program. They have lots of different type fonts and sizes you can experiment with! My favorite is, "Excalibur SF" and I use it at font size "20" to make my labels. I also hit the "Bold type" button, to make them extra dark, even though "Excalibur SF" is already quite dark.

Below are some ideas for the contents and labels. Just a quick reminder: these jars and their contents should be kept out of reach of young children and pets! Let's make sure to have a safe Halloween!

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 1: label: "Mandrake Root"

Mandrake root supposedly can resemble the human body in form. For that reason, it has been believed to hold special powers through the centuries. Go out in your back yard and pull up any large weed with nice, branch-like roots. Chop off the plant and put the roots in a jar! (I do wash them off, first. You never know what nasty bugs were living underground among them!)

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 2: label: "Belladonna/Deadly Nightshade"

Basically, any sprig of plant will do for this jar, but if you want to be more authentic, Belladonna has small, smooth black berries that grow in clusters and pale purple to white flowers which are small and bell-shaped. I'm sure you could find something to suffice in your local craft or dollar store.

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 3: label: "Love Potion"

I have fun with this one! Usually, I add red food coloring to water to make a pinkish solution. Then, I add glitter and tiny confetti stars and hearts to float about in it!

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 4: label: "Bat Wings"

This one is one of my favorites! All you need is one of those rubber bats from the dollar store! Since I am the queen of recycling, I just stuff the whole rubber bat in the jar, making sure the wings are the most clearly visible from the outside. That way, I can use the bat again for next year's Halloween decorating!

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 5: label: "Spectral Dust"

For this jar, I add a tablespoon of any white substance-usually salt or sugar. Then I add a teaspoon of ashes or dirt and shake it all together. You don't need a lot!

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 6: label: "Eye of Newt"

Fill this jar ½ full with frozen green peas. Add water! When the peas expand, they will look really slimy! OOOOH! Creepy!

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 7: label: "Demon's Breath"

All I do to fill this creepy jar is add a cotton ball, totally pulled apart, so it looks wispy!

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 8: label: "Cream of Cobwebs"

This is fun and very easy. Just add a couple drops of milk to water. Add some wisps of cotton ball and there it is! You can even float a few plastic spiders in there to make it more fun and creepy!

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 9: label: "Spirit of _______"

Witches' Apothecary Jar # 10: label: "Essence of _____________"

I purposefully left the last two labels blank! Indulge your inner child and by all means, and use your imagination to come up with some creepy labels and contents yourself! These are just a few I thought of to start the process! Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

To read another Halloween article by this author, click here.