Spooky Specimens

Transform your home this Halloween with a mad scientist’s apothecary!

Halloween specimen jars are fun and easy to create.  Begin with large jars available at crafts stores.  Then comes the fun part!  Take a trip to the grocery store to look for things that can be used as preserved potion ingredients.

Brains: Cauliflower floating in a little green sports drink or pickle juice.

Intestines: Whole wheat wide egg noodles boiled in water with a little red food coloring.

Eye of Newt: Canned button mushrooms.

Every mad scientist needs to know what’s in their cupboard, so don’t forget to label your specimens!  Soak regular office labels in strong tea or coffee for an aged, vintage look.  We found an apothecary sign at a local crafts store, but you could also make one out of a piece of scrap wood painted with acrylic paint.  Group the jars with old books, drippy candles, and cheesecloth for cobwebs, and let the experiments begin!