“I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.” 

— Severus Snape

Thanks in no small part to the acting genius of Alan Rickman, Snape is one of my favorite Harry Potter characters, and it would be so cool to have access to his potions closet to force the rest of the world to do my evil bidding. I mean, to bring peace on Earth.

But even if I can’t have his, a crafty witch or wizard can certainly create their own.

This is more of a “decor” hint than a full-fledged craft, although there is a bit of crafty creativeness involved. On the upside, the mechanics are so easy, it’s, well, spooky. On the downside, it is highly addictive. I find myself looking for opportunities to build up my little wizard’s pharmacy throughout the year, and I’ve got my kids hooked, too (someone keeps stealing my eye of newt).

Step 1

Gather some bottles and labels from your local craft store. Novelty labels are getting almost too-easy to find, almost to the point of cliche, but if used right with other things, can look pretty cool. All the standard seasonal haunts (no pun intended) have some ready-made self-adhesive ones  — Spirit Halloween, Party City, Michael’s (or other) crafts stores — but the endless sea of the internet can help you dredge up some even more wild ones, especially some vintage labels for actual products such as Witch Hazel or bed bug powder. If you like you can pour a little water colored with a drop or two of food coloring in some or add old feathers, seeds and other things that would go well in a potion.

Step 2

Find a place to arrange them. Lay them in sort of a huddled mass of creepy potions with bottles of different shapes, sizes, colors, and contents together. Don’t place them too neatly, but more like a shelf Professor Snape, Dr. Frankenstein, Marie Laveau or any number of good ol’ fashioned witches might keep tucked away in their classrooms, labs, or kitchens. Fireplace heaths, along a kitchen bar, on an entrance table in the foyer, or just hidden in little collections throughout the room are especially spooky.

Step 3

Here’s the fun part: accessorize! Get some antique medical or kitchen utensils, Halloween knick-knacks, old keys, bird models, etc. These setups also look particularly good with a sparse amount of artificial cobwebs stretched over the display. Add some “mood lighting” by placing glow sticks or small “no-flame” tea lights behind them.

Hey, it’s done! Instant conversation piece that can be added to each year as you find new labels and bottle shapes.And who knows, maybe you’ll concoct a little liquid luck in the process?

Looking for other ways to show off your spooky side? Try our DIY Glowing Beast Eyes or Halloween Countdown Garland! When you’re done, wind down with Ten Family Friendly Halloween Movies to help lull the kiddos into a candy coma! Afterward, you can set the mood with Five Albums to Flesh Out Your Halloween Playlist and huddle under the covers with Netflix and Chilling – Halloween Movie Edition. Let us know about your DIY Decor on Twitter @SubCultured or come party like its 1599 in our Discord server!