DIY Potion Bottles for Halloween

Making potion bottles for Halloween as part of my indoor decor has been on my to do list for a while. Unfortunately I never quite got around to it the last couple of years so this year I decided to start planning early since Fall can be a very busy time in our household.

There are dozens of different styles of potion bottles on Pinterest and in stores like Michaels to use as a reference when you start creating your own version. I wanted to create a whimsical feel with my bottles, and based some of them off of fairy tales and books.

Here are the supplies I used-

Different size and shaped bottles with corks collected from craft stores and Goodwill.
Extra fine glitter in black, purple, and red.
Modge Podge for applying labels.
Label template found HERE
Pledge Floor Finish (for the glitter bottles)
Acrylic paints in silver, black, and purple
Black Tulle for decorating & use inside some of the bottles.
Plastic skulls from dollar store
Spiders from dollar store
Halloween craft paper from Hobby Lobby (used for some of the labels, such as the Trick or Treat & Poison bottles)


Creating the bottles is pretty simple and does not need much explanation. I used paint inside some to create the appearance. Just squeeze it in & move it around to coat as thinly or thickly as you want it. I also used vinegar/water spray inside some to create a a foggy look like in the "witches potion" bottle. (the paint doesn't stick to the vinegar areas fully)

The glitter bottles were created by taking Pledge floor finish, squirting some into the glass bottle, swirling it evenly throughout, draining out the excess then using some sort of funnel (or in my case, folded card stock) then pouring a generous amount of glitter into the bottle and quickly swirling it around to create an even layer inside.
I love the way this looks, the glitter bottles are my favorite and I am not a glitter loving kind of girl.

For the corks, I painted some to match the bottles, others I left as they were. I glued the plastic skull on. The glittery spider was a piece of a floral arrangement and it had a stem which is stuck into the cork.

Tulle was cut and used to tie around the neck of some of the bottles. I also used to tulle as the potion in the Madame Leota elixir and Poison bottle- I just fed it into the bottle until it looked the way I liked it then cut it off leaving some sticking out of the top before corking the bottle again.

The labels on the Witches Potion, Trick or Treat, and Poison bottles were cut from a piece of Halloween craft paper.
I used the above template to create my personalized labels. This part was really fun. I actually created a dozen more that I plan to use on my next set of bottles.
I have references to Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, The Disney Haunted Mansion and Game of Thrones on this set.
I will probably create more intricate labels next time which include ingredients and perhaps some snarky warnings. These I just printed and modge podged on. I aged some by using a paint brush and applying some cold coffee from earlier in the day. I also used a lighter to burn some of the edges of the paper to give a more aged look.

Because this is a pretty easy craft, these instructions aren't step by step, and I just typed everything out from memory so feel free to post any questions you have in the comments and I will reply.

Here are my finished diy potion bottles. Hope you enjoy them! Happy Haunting!

Madame Leota's Elixir

More crafts are coming, stay tuned!