Witch Kitchen Jars

[DeadSpider]

I made a new how to.
I need to add some pictures to it still, but I think it makes sense...
if not, please let me know so I can fix it :)

http://aranamuerta.com/2008/01/29/witches-kitchen

[krough]

oooo, very nice. I guess I need to start collecting jars now.
You are so Crafty!

[Dr Morbius]

Cool!

[ScareFX]

Very nice DeadSpider. Your labels look great.

[Big Howlin]

SCHWEET!
A dream come true.
Spanks DS!!

Oh one question, for cork tops, do you seal the cork off with anything to prevent absorption?

[mrklaw]

wow, that's great.
I also enjoyed your other howtos.

[DeadSpider]

SCHWEET!
A dream come true.
Spanks DS!!

Oh one question, for cork tops, do you seal the cork off with anything to prevent absorption?

When I use corks and I have water in the bottle I first off I make sure it is a VERY tight fitting cork. As in if its put in the bottle its never coming out again unless you cork-screw it out. I have used them with liquids, and I dip the top of the bottle with cork inserted into hot wax a few times to seal it. So far no leaking with this method.

[Big Howlin]

oh yeah, wax. Good idea. I should get some.

[Vlad]

Excellent How To DS. Another way to seal off the cork would be with latex.

[halloweengoddessrn]

Would you mind making a list of all your bottles and any little extra wording?
I love them- incredible job!

[Big Howlin]

Actually, I like that idea if you are willing to give away a few of your ideas. Im not too reative when it comes to thinking up things. I thought the jellyfish stingers were really neat!

[halloweengoddessrn]

Aw COme one Dead- please post your creative sayings for your incredible bottles..please??????

[DeadSpider]

haha if I post all my bottles, then I wont have any unique ones left! :googly:
Its not hard to come up with names.

First decide what you want in the bottle,
then add some flourish to the name,
add a bit of character or story.

Just like I've shown you with the maggots on the site.
First come up with 'maggots'
then add a TYPE of maggot,
then maybe how it was prepared,
where it came from

....You can do it! I know you can! :)

[Haunted Bayou]

Very nice.
Now I know what to do with the jars I have in my kitchen cabinet.

[turtle2778]

This was a great how to. As you know i stole the idea already. Thanks so much for the incouragement DS. It helped.

[Front Yard Fright]

already been saving my bottles/jars.
now i just need a rainy weekend to start filling them!
thanks for the how-to!
:D.

[mysticwitch]

Wicked!! I guess I'm gonna have to get some jars and get started!

[thenameisaimee]

wonderful job! I love these.

[kerryike]

Excellent work! Great ideas on the corks, BTW.

Kerry

[Front Yard Fright]

i was wondering...
where did you get your brain things that grow in water?
i'm interested in making a jar or two with a bunch of brains...
any idea where i can get some cheap?

[ZombieLoveme]

Any neat bottles that I can get easily? Love the work.

[Front Yard Fright]

I've been collecting bottles the past few months and you'd be surprised as to how many cool jars there are around.
At our house we (very oddly) go through a lot of slasa (lol)
But the jars are perfect size and shape.
I've also got my grandma into collecting them for me...
Every time I go to visit her she gives me a stash of jars!
So I would just ask your friends and family members to keep their jars...
You'd be surprised what you can come up with!
:).

[turtle2778]

Definately check thrift shops. Good will, Salvation Army and garage sales. I have been saving them for about a year. I have done about 40 jars and i purchased some last year from Michaels. All put together Im hoping for a great selection of jars this year.

[Hauntiholik]

Turtle is right on the garage sales. I've seen a bunch of glass bottles for sale. If I knew people were looking for some I would have picked them up.

[Daughter of Darkness]

Hey Deadspider,
Thanks for the how-to on these jars.Very cool. I have made some jars too but paint them which is a pain. I just started doing them like this and I love them!

Mind if I ask what program you are using to print the labels?

[DeadSpider]

Thanks :D

I use broderbund printshop 15 for mine.... only because thats all I have in my computer, but it works well, and I can print them to the exact size i need them easily.

[ededdeddy]

Awesome. I stumbled onto your how-to before. It lead me to the forum. Thanks :D and keep up the great work.

[Da Weiner]

I have a few canning jars that have the metal spring goes over the the glass lid to hold it. Because I "can" my own fruits and vegetables, people have given them to me over the years. However, I did see them at yard sales and they also make great jars to fill. They come in various shapes too.

[SpookySam]

Great job and thank you for posting it. Definitely a less expensive (and better looking) option than buying potion bottles from Michaels.

[Samhain]

I've just started doing this as a bit of an accent for this years bash. Luckily we had a few bottles in the fridge that had organic juices and home-made chutneys in from a fete recently. The look really good now I've washed them out and attached a little raffata and natural twine.
Brilliant idea! Thanks!

[Death Master]

Thank you D.S. I,m going to use that.Very Cool.

[Lagrousome]

I have been picking up a few bottles at garage sales.
Here's a hint if the ones you get a dirty on the inside and you can't reach them to get the areas clean.
If you can crush up some ice, throw it in and add a little water and swish it around.
Some of the bottles I have picked up are even so small that I can't get the ice into them, so I threw in some left over sprinkles...you know, the stuff you put on cup cakes.....swished it around with a little water, and it took off some of the stuff.
Anybody else have some good ideas how to get the insides clean when the openings are so small?????

[NickG]

I used .177 caliber BBS (standard bb gun ammo) to clean the inside of one once, along with some fantastic(k?) general purpose cleaner.

[Lagrousome]

BB pellets? Didn't think of that! My son has some of the little plastic air-soft pellets....those I suppose would work good too.

[Lilly]

use an old toothbrush?

[Lagrousome]

The toothbrush worked good, but it wouldn't get up and under near the neck of the bottles where the dirt seemed to stick.

[Sickie Ickie]

Put cotton on the tip of wire (from a hoat hanger works well), secure it with thread by wrapping it, and you can usually bend it where you need to reach. Kida like a giant q-tip

[Lagrousome]

Great idea Sickie! Thanks.

[Lagrousome]

Thought I would post incase anyone else had the same problem.
I printed out my labels, then soaked them in coffee.....ink ran....nothing but "blobs" for labels.
This time, I soaked the paper first, let it dry, then printed out the labels.
Worked great!
Thanks DS for the help & advice!
I'll post some pics when I get them put together!

[Holyhabanero]

Thought I would post incase anyone else had the same problem.
I printed out my labels, then soaked them in coffee.....ink ran....nothing but "blobs" for labels.
This time, I soaked the paper first, let it dry, then printed out the labels.
Worked great!


Good thinking. If you use an InkJet printer, then the ink will run when it gets wet. I printed mine on my work's laser printer to avoid the problem completely.

Also, I don't have any coffee in the house, but I did have some herbal peppermint tea, and it worked great. I just had to let it soak a bit longer.

Spider, thanks for the brilliant idea and the How-to. I've already made about five of these and am visiting my local thrift store every couple of days to collect more bottles. In one of the bottles I'm collecting dead spiders I find lying around. My family thinks I've fallen off my rocker.

[Lagrousome]

My dining room table is overflowing with the bottles now! Some not so well items to use.....chocolate chip morsals....hubby's idea for "toad stool"....yep, they melted....i guess i now have "mud"......
I fixed the label problem by printing them out on tan stock paper (like what is used in scrapbooking pages), put a stain over them, cut em out and glued them on. Worked GREAT!

[Big Howlin]

where can u find test tubes? And is there a clear hardening gel or glue or something that could be filled in a jar, then solidified to look like liquid? you could place objects in it to suspend as well...anybody know?

[dave the dead]

not sure about the availability of test tubes, but you can get clear acyrlic 2 part resin at Michaels( I think that's what it is called)....its the stuff they make paper weights out of that have some sort of object inside

[Holyhabanero]

where can u find test tubes? And is there a clear hardening gel or glue or something that could be filled in a jar, then solidified to look like liquid? you could place objects in it to suspend as well...anybody know?

American Science & Surplus (http://www.sciplus.com/) is a great company. They sell tons of off-the-wall stuff, including test tubes, flasks, and other lab supplies. They also have pretty good prices and the item descriptions are sometimes hilarious. Here's a direct link to the category with the test tubes http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm?subsection=4&category=42 They are currently selling a 20 test tube variety for $2.00

They also sell have test tube racks and corks, as well as little motors, servos, switches, decorations and other good stuff to help with haunting.

[AzKittie74]

your jars look great! thank you for the how to!

[Holyhabanero]

For anyone needing extra inspiration for witch jars, take a look at these cool pictures from Pirates 2:

media.outnow.ch/Movies/Images/2006/PiratesOfTheCaribbean2/movie.fs/13.jpg
media.outnow.ch/Movies/Images/2006/PiratesOfTheCaribbean2/movie.fs/30.jpg

(you will need to copy and past the addresses as the site doesn't allow hot linking)

[halo0205]

Thank you for this tutorial. These jars are awesome. You are so creative:jol:

[decolady]

I just wanted to say thanks so much for this great idea. Last year I made a dozen or so of these jars and they turned out great. Am about to start adding to the collection again. First thing on the agenda is to spray paint lids.

[jdwyer]

the jars are so beautiful...

i have an autopsy and many medical supplies (work in a hospital) but can not figure how to make my lab come more alive with bubbling. i have one aquarium bubbler but this only uses small tubing. do you know how or anyone to get larger tubing to force air into my beakers?

i apologize for being a total forum newbie and dont even understand how to post...ouch...jen

[Spookie]

Another way to produce aged paper effects is using something like Tim Holtz's Ranger, acid-free, Distress Ink in pads. Lots of different finishes like antique linen, vintage photo, black soot ( http://www.rangerink.com/products/prod_dyeink_distresspads.htm ). Available in craft stores like Michaels.

[hexerei]

Your work is so inspirational! This is really going to help me out in my Mad Scientists Laboratory. Thank you!