Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Mini Magic Potions

As you might remember from some of my previous blog posts, I enjoy visiting estate sales. The sales are sometimes a lesson in history, or a view into a different person's world. You never know what you'll find. I found some amazing little items at the last sale! I picked up these mini reproduction Wheaton bottles and this color changing gem. I love how this lot ended up being color coordinated.


Would you believe I snagged all four of these items for only $1.00 total? I've seen people trying to sell these mini bottles for $20+ a piece on ebay. Part of the great deal came from shopping on the last day of the sale. As you estate sale shoppers know, most sales will offer 50% off everything that is left on the last day. These prices were actually about 75% off, but I think the guy just didn't want to carry all that glass away.

I cannot impress upon you how much glass was in this house. My mom and I hit the sale on the first day and the house was loaded with it. That and elephant statues. There were probably thousands of elephants in this house. Colored glass lined the windows and shelves in every room. Most of the pieces still carried their Goodwill price tags, so we could tell where the previous homeowner liked to shop. She may have been binge buying glass bottles and elephants but I think this lady really enjoyed what she bought. I just got a sense of that from the way it was displayed. She came across as more of a collector than a hoarder.

If you look closely, you'll see a bit of my camera reflected in this jewel.
You really do get an idea of who people are/were from their belongings. Sometimes it can feel sad or even creepy to enter an estate sale house. My mom had some trouble breathing with all the bottles around her. I will say that while it was pretty, it felt like the walls of bottles/elephants were closing in on us. I guess the homeowner was comfortable with it.

Shopping estate sales also makes you consider the way you shop or collect. Another mother and daughter were fighting in one of the glass filled rooms. The mother thought her daughter would turn out like the previous homeowner based on her shopping habits. The daughter said it was different with her because she "only collected the good stuff not stuff from Goodwill".  It's not the first time I've heard people say things about the person who lived in a house and how they don't want to turn out that way. Most people probably have more things than they are aware of. It makes you think twice as you take away more stuff from a person who had accumulated so much. I couldn't feel too bad collecting yet more bottles since these are only about 3" in size and I had a purpose in mind for them!

The large Ball and Claw Bitters bottle that is already part of my collection
Some of you might remember my full sized Ball and Claw Bitters bottle from this post: Potions and Poisons. Well, I was so pumped to find a mini one! Like the larger bottle, this little guy will be part of the witch potion display this Halloween. The one with the church window type shapes on it is actually labeled "Church Brand INK" and the other looks like it has a Benjamin Franklin portrait on it with his name partially worn off. The bottles are labeled either Wheaton N.J. © or Made in Taiwan. This means they're all reproduction bottles, but even so they're vintage. These bottles were probably made in the late 1960s to early 1970s.

See the church window design and the faint Ben Franklin head?
After seeing many cool bottle labels online, I felt inspired to decorate these bottles with some spooky labels of my own. Here's what I put together:


The bottles in these pictures look a lot larger than they actually are. As I said before, they only stand about 3" high. I had to string the tags on with a needle and thread because string seemed too heavy. The little leaves were left from the CD package Heidi sent me last year. Those with a really great memory might remember seeing them with these acorns I painted. The tiny rhinestone on the leaf came from a set of adhesive backed rhinestones from Michaels. The star is one of those old stickers like you might get on a school paper. You can see a hint of a clear leaf bead behind the tag. I thought this bottle was a good fit for "Swamp Water" because it resembles a water jug and is that nice, swampy green.


It's a little hard to see it, but above the "Dragon's Breath" tag is a bead that looks just like a reptilian eye. You might have to enlarge some of these pictures to see the details. I thought a dragon theme was perfect for this bottle, because the bottle's shape could be seen as a dragon's claw. The green sequin at top also made me think of an eye or scale.


This seemed like the perfect bottle for "Graveyard Dust" because it reminded me of stained glass church windows. Churches and graveyards are connected in my mind. There is of course a skull bead strung on this one and the silver flecks of glitter are supposed to resemble the dust.


Here they are together. I can't wait to display these with the larger bottles this year. I have to wonder what the previous owner of these bottles would think. Her collection of what appeared to be hundreds of bottles has been split up and is now sprinkled into many people's homes. She had so much that she may have even forgotten what she had. I'd like to think she'd be happy that these have been repurposed and will be on display this Halloween. As estate items go, I think these bottles have been given a fun new life.

24 comments:

  1. The bottles are so pretty and you did such a fabulous job repurposing them into potion bottles! :)

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    1. Little Gothic Horrors ~ Thanks! :) I think they're at their most pretty when the light is shining through them. I'm glad you like the bottles' spooky makeovers. It was a little tricky working with the tiny materials.

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  2. I love finding weird bottles and turning them into potion bottles! Glad I'm not the only one.

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    1. Kweeny ~ Oh, you're far from the only one. The internet is full of photos from people who've turned bottles into a Halloween potion collection! Do you have some photos up of your potion bottles?

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    1. Halloween Spirit ~ Thanks! What's funny is that I didn't even see these bottles the first time we were in the house. After a few days, a lot had been carried away and more little bottles were revealed.

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  4. I love these potion bottle. Dragons Breath is my favorite I think. This post is getting me in the mood to get all geared up for Halloween! Thanks!!

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    1. Vivienne ~ Thanks! I like that little ball and claw bottle a lot too. I was probably most excited to see that one because I recognized it as the mini version of the one I had. I hadn't been aware that there were mini Wheaton reproductions! Decorating these bottles got me more in the Halloween spirit too. Now I'm looking forward to adding these to my display!

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  5. "Churches and graveyards are connected in my mind."

    Even though we tend to use graveyard and cemetery interchangeably (f I remember correctly) the word graveyard is used to reference a burial area outside a church or building. So in the literal sense, it is a grave yard.

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    1. Dex ~ That's right! I just looked it up to check. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I think I remembered that. So churches and graveyards are not only connected in my mind, but also in reality. :)

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  6. Those are so pretty, I love the vivid colours. Its nice if you can not only collect, but make something useful from your finds.

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    1. Ali ~ Me too! The estate sale house was filled with bottles in every color imaginable. Since the bottles were lining the windows, a colorful glow filled the house. I like having a project in mind for my estate sale finds. Then I have more of an excuse to bring them home. ;)

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  7. Justine, those look GREAT! What beautiful finds! I LOVE shopping antique stores with my Mom. There are always treasures to be found. I've never been to an estate sale though.
    I'm so glad that my little leaves came in handy :)
    My dad collects little odd bottles. I might have to convert a few of them for our Witch's Tea this year :) Mom and I are all ready planning it :)
    Hope you're doing well! PS- been listening to last year's CD on my way to work for the past week! Getting into the spirit all ready!

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    1. Heidi ~ Thank you! :) I was glad to find a use for your little leaves. They've been hanging out with my scrapbooking stuff for almost a year just waiting to be used on something!

      You should give an estate sale a shot! There are lots of them listed in the Sunday paper or online. Many companies will list upcoming sales on their web site. Some of the sales are definitely better than others, but all of them are an experience.

      Do you know if any of the bottles in your dad's collection are Wheaton/Wheaton reproductions? He might have some of the same ones I have. It's a fun collection and doesn't take up much space. (Unless you're like the woman who owned the estate sale house) Yeah, you might have to borrow a few of your dad's bottles this year. :) I can't wait to see the photos from your party! I'm starting to get in planning mode for mine.

      I'm getting ready to bust out the Halloween CDs too! I was just thinking of them. I listened to them throughout the year, even in winter. Now it's starting to feel more appropriate. I'm glad that my CD has been playing in your car lately! It feels good to know that it's being heard. :)

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  8. Estate sales are great. They just want to get rid of the stuff and they are usually pretty cheap. I love what you did with the bottles. Very cleaver idea.

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  9. Julie ~ Yeah! If I were starting a household and needed large furniture and sets of dishes, I'd definitely hit some estate sales. I've seen such sturdy looking antique furniture and it costs a fraction of store prices. The sets of dishes are sometimes so fancy and look unused. Those were probably wedding gifts. As you say, they're just trying to get rid of stuff! Have you found any good stuff at estate sales?

    Glad you like the bottles! I'd been planning to remake some little bottles a few days before visiting this sale. I couldn't believe my luck! There were endless bottle choices.

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  10. At work, while ringing up cleaning fluids, I always wonder how they'd look in bottles as a Halloween prop. For example, the slime green Mr. Clean or the blue Dawn dish washing liquid. Of course these bottles are already colored so it doesn't matter, but for clear bottles you could use colored cleaning fluids and look pretty eerie!

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  11. Matt ~ Good idea! I know some people use clear bottles as Halloween props, so that could work for them. I'm going to have to look at a Mr. Clean bottle the next time I'm shopping to see the color. I definitely know what you mean about the blue Dawn! Those products could also provide a nice glow for the containers/props in a mad scientist themed haunt.

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    1. For clear bottles, I've found Kool Aid is a very good color agent...and it's cheap!

      One year I had one of those "grows in water" toys, I think it was a starfish. I cut the legs off to make worms and put them in a clear bottle with water to make big icky worms. I added some lemonade Kool Aid to discolor the water and make it look dingy.

      It's also good for making a variety of colored potion bottles. I've found that using a bit of drink powder in smaller bottles can make strong colors. I think cherry is the one I use to get a really good blood color.

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  12. Dex ~ Good idea! You can get a wide range of colors from Kool Aid. Sounds like you were a crafty kid! That project sounds really Eww-worthy. So were you chasing people around freaking them out with your jar of worms? I'm picturing a bunch of little girls going "Eeeeek!" :)

    I strangely enough don't have any clear bottles, but I'll keep these tips in mind. I actually did buy something made of clear glass yesterday, but it's more fish bowl shaped. It's going to be part of my next project.

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    1. Kid? I did this a couple years ago for my desk at work!

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  13. Dex ~ Haha! Ooooooh. :) Well, I can imagine a little boy having fun doing that too... So, I guess you just had grown women to gross out with that. ;)

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