Halloween '09 - Apothecary Jars on a Budget

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Like many, I love creepy things in specimen jars. I prefer to create an eclectic display of containers every year. Different sized and shaped ones are more visually interesting to me and help tell a story that they've come from odd, mysterious, dark, distant places. Old world styled apothecary jars are great additions with their antique look and instant creepy feel.

They seem to be a popular Halloween item these days in many of the more "high end" decorating catalogues and stores. I want to add a few to my prop closet one day but will have to wait due to those "high end" prices. I know less expensive ones are out there to find but I'm also trying to keep it another "no budget" decorating year. So until I have the piles of cash to spend on every small detail I'd like for October, cheap or expensive, here's what I did to create some jars of my own. They'll make decent filler for my ever growing laboratory themed dining room.

What I used: old pickle and tomato sauce jars, disposable plastic champagne glasses (the kind with detachable bases), clear aquarium silicone, large craft jewels, rubber creatures and computer made labels. Not pictured: paint brush, super glue, glue stick, food coloring (yellow & green), water, Dremel tool and a strong cup of coffee (yes... coffee).


I created two style jars with what I had. For the spider jar's pedestal, I first assembled a champagne glass. Although the base and the stem fit tight, for security, I super glued them. Super glue vapors can fog up clear plastic, so I only used a small drop. Then I silicone glued it upside down to the bottom of the jar. Having the wider mouth of the champagne glass as a stand makes it stable.
The jar lid is also a flipped over glass but with an inch of the stem cut off using a Dremel tool. A craft jewel fit in the cut end neatly to complete the fancy top..

The worm jar was very simple. I liked it without a pedestal. For it's lid, because the open sauce jar top was smaller, just a detached champagne glass base worked with a glued on jewel.I made the labels on the computer, printed and cut out. I then dunked them in a strong cup of coffee for the aged look. Once dry and put on the jar with a glue stick, I brushed on more coffee while wrinkling and tearing the edges to really make them old.

Feel free to steal these labels. Let me know if you use them, be fun to see!

Creating the fluid was the hardest part...for a silly reason. I was momentarily obsessed with making the perfect hue using yellow & green food color. I spent more time doing that than it did to make the jars. I DO NOT recommend keeping water in the pedestal jar, I used just for the pictures. The base is stable but I don't trust it to be strong enough with the water weight for any extended or unsupervised time. I'm going to replace the water with colored film/gel or use stained glass paint.

Overall a quick prop making experiment that worked out okay. It should be fun making a few more playing around with different jars and combinations. I may take extra time on those...grinding the jewel points flat and cutting out the champagne glasses' base socket on lids like the worm jar's, so all appears more seamless.