It's only 2.5" x 2", which makes it the perfect size for all of the bottles in the kit. The lid of the tin was removed and I left the hinges pulled out so I could hang a charm and key from the bottom. Alcohol inks were used to color the edges, and then the rest was covered in paper from the Tiny Vintage Scrapbook collage sheet. The little shelf is simply a piece of painted balsa wood. Some of the bottles and stoppers were made with beads that are also in the kit, and I used the most microscopic labels from the Secret Spell Book collage sheet - One. Sharpies were used to color in the liquid inside the bottles, and I also colored some of the lids. I had the most fun arranging the beads to create different styles of potion bottles.
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| My eyes, my eyes! |
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| This is the MEDIUM sized mason jar! |
After completing my wee potions cabinet, I walked around the house with it in hand trying to find a place to hang it, and eventually came to my senses and realized this thing needs a witch's cottage to go around it. Duh. So I dug out a sheet of quality foam board and a sheet of dollar store foam board to make some walls. The quality board was pretty stiff, so I used that to cut four rectangles and glued them together, making a three-sided room with floor. Originally I had thought of covering the walls with faux stones made from egg cartons, but then I saw one of my smallish people slowly, discreetly peeling the paper off the cheap-o board, exposing the foam underneath. That kid's a genius. She saw me eyeballing her, but I gave her a nod and she ripped the entire piece of paper off the board in one satisfying swoop! Three rectangles the same size as the walls were cut from that board and I used a stylus to make random stone shapes all over. Sponge painted my stones and then adhered them to the existing walls. I got to do some peeling too, and separated a thick sheet of brown handmade paper to use as the dirt floor. FINALLY! On to decorating this pad! I found the rocking chair and fireplace at Alpha Stamps and the hutch has been in the stash. (There is a better hutch HERE.) Balsa was used to make the table and ratty picture frame. Don't you just love that lantern in the corner? What ambiance!
Wanna take a tour? Seems like the inhabitant is out, so we ought to be safe. We'll start in the front and work our way round.
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| Trevor |
In lieu of a tutorial, I'm going to tell you what I used to create most of my witch's belongings. The smallish people really wanted to help so I enlisted them to find things to fill the bottles. From left: squat little bottle housing Trevor (Lego toad), large green bead, ceramic black cat bead, wood flower pot with various mosses (ends dipped in glue then into glass glitter), and Slimy Slugs, the creation of smallish peep #2 (a glass bottle filled with Glossy Accents, Lindy's Stamp Gang Spray in sea mist green ((a dropper came in handy here)), and ReptoMin turtle food). Pretty cool, right? The bowl over there is obviously an acorn cap.
In the far right corner you'll see the perfect spot for the hag's shelves, along with a balsa walking stick (maybe it's an unadorned staff, I dunno), bird in cage, a bezoar in a box (modeling beeswax rolled with coarse twine), more acorn bowls, sticks and eggs, mail, honey jar, bottle of poison, and broomstick.
All sorts of junk on the top of the hutch: books, jar of Basilisk skin (we'll get to that in a minute), Fish Eyes in a bottle filled by smallish peep #1 (Glossy Accents, spray stain, clear beads), poison vial possibly filled with dust bunnies, candy jar filled with frogs' legs (made from Stockmar modeling beeswax. Love the stuff!), and a skeleton key. You can just see a cat's eye hanging on the wall and a skeleton cameo tucked behind a few books.
Inside the hutch: Pig's Tails, Bat Wings, more Poison...can't have too much of that, I guess...brass hand, metal doodad, a bronze perfume bottle, lots of books and scrolls, metal dog (?), gillyweed (Glossy Accents, green dye, chopped up rubbery fishing lure), Dragon dung fertilizer (green moss and model railroad landscaping), Rat Spleen mixture (dyed styrofoam, dried lentil beans, Lindy's Stamp Gang Spray).
The left hand corner houses a bucket of herbs, a growing dittany plant in a basket, metal shrine, jar of goosegrass (large bead with button lid), and a crate of bones! Ugh! You can see the enchantress keeps track of her personal affairs on the calendar, there's one of her cats napping, and her hastily discarded shoes (witches prefer to be barefoot, you know.)
Let's check out the fireplace; I hope we aren't hexed for blasting some light in here! It's really gloomy! There's a portrait of Rowena Knotley, High Priestess of the coven, and a crooked framed photo of possibly one of the original "Weird Sisters". There are candles, of course (modeling beeswax), some lavender (embroidery floss dipped in glue, then dipped in tiny clippings of embroidery floss), blue jar of betony (bead with button lid and florist wire handle), hanging herbs, crystal ball (10mm glass marble, bead cap), a wee owl tchotchke, a lightning bird (sand dollar "bird"), a bottle of pulverized troll bones, a boiling cauldron (metal pot, styrofoam, Glossy Accents, spray inks, iridescent glass beads), a skull herb hanger (skull and crossbones charm, seed beads, clip-on earring back), and a jar of eyeballs?!
Blech! I suppose she prefers the blue eyes? (super cool tiny glass jar with lid and modeling beeswax eyeballs). Moving on!
Looks like we've got a crate of poisoned apples, a bucket of fly amanita mushrooms (modeling beeswax and railroad landscaping material), a bucket of babbling beverage (styrofoam, Glossy Accents, more Lindy's Gang Sprays-so shimmery!-, and iridescent glass beads), corked bottle of Ten-Second Pimple vanisher (natural sponge), and a skull and crossbones (if it isn't in a pirate ship, it's gonna show up in a witch's cottage).
We'd better hurry because it's getting late, and I really don't want to be caught snooping around. This is the workstation, where all the magic happens. She's got her potions book, I see, with an odd bookmark (is that an ear?), and a small bowl of crushed something-or-another (balsa wood pestle and glass glitter), a skull candle holder, some witchy recipes, herbs (dried moss), a tiny dish of something gross (beheaded earwig smallish peep #2 discovered), bowl of ingredients (seed pod, railroad landscaping, bezoar, boomslang skin (the classic peeling of dried glue from your fingers, then dipped in diluted antiquing fluid), bottle of Death Wish Beetle Dust (Holey Cauldron Bottom, we should run outta here!), an overturned jar of pixie dust (Stickles glitter glue), a jar of frog parts (or maybe it's just pickles), and more basilisk skin and a knife (trimmed silver brad stuck into balsa wood).
And that completes the tour! Let's depart before the witch herself shows up and turns us to toads!
Go HERE to see a supply list, all in one place. Don't forget about the museum wax to keep those minis from toppling over.
Collage Sheets used:
Tiny Magic Books and Potions
Little Potions
Secret Spell Book Parts -One
Secret Spell Book Parts -Two
Secret Spell Book Parts -Three
Witchy Little Labels
Halloween Labels
More Witchy Potion Labels
Antique Leather Book Spines
Tiny Vintage Scrapbook
Tiny Vintage Letters and Postcards
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