Spooky "Lotion & Potion" Bottles

Today's Halloween body craft fun is an updated flashback to one of my favorite posts from a few years ago. It is a quick DIY on how to create your own spooky "lotion & potion" bottles for containing your handmade body care goodies....

In the spirit of Halloween, my daughters and I recently crafted our own spooky apothecary bottles to store various handmade lotions and potions. It was a very fun, easy and inexpensive project. Here is how we did it...

First, we scoured our house, the recycling box and the local thrift shops for interesting looking bottles to reuse. We chose a variety of sizes to give us several storage options. We also looked for clear glass, as it would showcase the product inside. I also prefer glass to plastic as it does not leach any unwanted chemicals into finished body care products. 

Each bottle got a good hot soak in the sink followed by a scrub with a copper dish scrubber until they were crystal clear. Note: If you have any stubborn old label adhesive on the glass, we found that coating it with olive oil for 10-15 minutes before soaking and scrubbing works great.

Second, we searched the Internet for fun "potion" labels and downloaded some amazing labels by Love Manor. They have a selection of outstanding old world designs with a very tongue-in-cheek, spooky flair. And if you are a fan of Halloween and/or Halloween inspired home decor, you will definitely want to check out the Love Manor Blog.

Last, we printed the labels out in sizes to fit each bottle, carefully cut them out and adhered them to the glass with Scotch Spray Mount. As an optional step, you can seal the label with Mod Podge (we are going to experiment with the crackle finish Mod Podge). This gives the finished piece a bit more character, durability and resistance to any water or product that may come in contact with the label.

We temporarily set our bottles out in the parlor for a final viewing, but next week they will be in our powder room gruesomely holding bath salts (Graveyard Dust), cotton balls (Swamp Fog) and body wash (Life Renewal Potion)!

Have you created your own potion bottles? Post your fab pics on my Facebook Page!

Buttery Sweet Halloween Bath Candy

Today's Halloween bodycraft recipe could not be any easier (or affordable). It is a deliciously sweet, moisturizing bath treat that will leave your skin soft after lounging in the tub. It is candy for your bath. Not your belly. So, there is no guilt. Not that anyone should feel guilty about eating candy. Because I'm pretty sure chocolate is a food group.

The only ingredient needed for this fun project is cocoa butter. The best that I have found is the certified organic, fair trade cocoa butter wafers from Mountain Rose Herbs. They come in small wafers that allow for easy measuring and faster melting. And the delicious cocoa aroma far surpasses any cocoa butter I have ever smelled. And at the time of this post, they are only $4.75 for an entire pound, which would make about a bazzilion bath candies (approximately).

To make these spooky melts:

1. Select your molds. I used silicon ice cube tray molds that I found at the dollar store. You can also find these at pretty much any major craft store for around $2.
   
2. Gently melt the cocoa butter in a small glass bowl (preferably with some sort of pouring spout so you don't make a mess like I did) in a pan full of water.
   
3. When the butter is totally melted, carefully remove the bowl from the pan with oven mitted hands, as it can be hot. Wipe the water off the bottom of the bowl so it doesn't drip into your bath candy when you are pouring.
4. Carefully pour the melted butter into your molds, filling them just to the top and taking care not to overflow.
   
5. Let them cool until hardened (they will cool faster if you stick them in the fridge - but do not freeze because they will crack when trying to remove them from the mold). Pop the candies out of molds while wearing non-latex gloves, so that you don't get fingerprints on them. Handle them as little as possible as they will begin to melt on body contact!!!
6. Voila! Place the finished candies in paper candy cups and package them in a decorated candy box for gift giving, if you wish.

To use the bath candy, simply drop one into a tub full of warm water and then soak your bones. It will melt into the warm water and moisturize your whole bod, while imparting your skin with the luxurious scent of cocoa. Just be careful when exiting the tub, as it can get a little slippery from the butter. 

Have some cocoa-y, bath candylicious fun! I'd love to see what you create! Post pics of your bath candy on my Facebook page!