Halloween Apothecary - Part Three

In case you missed them, here are links to

Halloween Apothecary - Part One

and

Halloween Apothecary - Part Two

Now on with more accessories before I get to the actual potion bottles.

After researching photos from Harry Potter and other "mad scientist" laboratories, I made a list of things I wanted to include in my apothecary. Since the project was so small, I was resigned to the fact that many of these items I would simply have to create myself.

First, a set of scales. I tried many different methods to try to figure this one out... wood, chipboard... ugh, it was very frustrating trying to find something that would work. I ended up using a wooden dowel for the center post atop various washers and nuts for a base. I used large gauge soft aluminum wire for the arms, jewelry chain and aluminum foil for the pans and an owl charm to decorate the front. Silver paint pulled them all together and the arms actually move!

Next up; a crystal ball. I had the good luck to find a bag of Wizard and Dragon-themed chess pieces at Goodwill. The base of my crystal ball stand is a Rook. (I also used two of the awesome dragons on the top of the center unit). I found some old watch gears and metal washers, stacked them on top of the Rook and added a clear marble to the top with E6000 glue. (Oh yeah, it was another trip to the Dollar Store for a bag of clear marbles...).

Speaking of marbles, after many failed attempts with other not-so-great ideas, I came up with the thought that two clear marbles may just suffice for an itsy-bitsy hourglass. I glued them together, then added more metal washers and a button to both ends. Three toothpicks wrapped with wire were added and the whole thing was painted silver. I also added an owl brad to the top.

Cauldron and mortar/pestle - I made these two items from the same thing; wooden dowel caps I found at Michael's. For the cauldron (the one at the back), I painted it black after hollowing it out a bit. I rubbed copper paste on the outside and added some jewelry bits and wire for the handle. For the mortar, I glued it onto a piece of metal for a stand (I have no idea where it's from...), rubbed silver paint on it and added an old rusty tool for the pestle that was in a box of random vintage game pieces I got from a seller on Etsy.

I came across images that showed boxes of bottles and newspapers on the floor of some labs; so I used a few pieces of the wood I removed from the cabinets, cut them down and made a box using chipboard for the black corner pieces and copper brads for nail heads. I also printed off the page about Polyjuice Potion and tucked it in. A few empty bottles fit perfectly and viola! A crate of supplies ready for future potion making.

So that's it for the accessories... next up, a closer look at each section and the bottles in them beginning in Part Four.