Steampunk Halloween Apothecary

I was thrilled to be able to make the time to play in Laura Carson's Pretty Potions and Poisons Apothecary Event.  I stocked up on all kinds of fun stuff to play with from Alpha Stamps.  The base of my cabinet is a five dollar garage sale find.  I almost did not purchase this item because I thought that five bucks was too much.  I am now happy I purchased it.  Perhaps it was a spice cabinet in another life?

I added lots of shimmer, glimmer, sparkle and lights along the way so I thought this would be a great entry for the sparkle challenge over at Simon Says Stamp and Show.

Hold on tight, I have a lot of pictures to share with you.  I am not so sure about my camera in my new phone, it does not seem to be as good as my old one.  I think it is way more sensitive to movement.

I mixed at least three different Graphic 45 papers and the transition is seamless.  I love how they make their palates interchangeable.  You can see a bit of their Kraft line, Olde Curiosity Shoppe as well as a bit of the Halloween in Wonderland. 

   

On the top of my set up I have a bunch of good junk.  An old space bar and typewriter keys, a steamy skeleton couple, lots of clock and time elements and a few light bulbs and flowers finish it off.  

Of course the inside is packed with lots of stuff too.  I altered a few bottles, made a few faux books and added a few other items.  The Altoid tin simply adds height.  I made one faux book from Laura's tutorial.  I did it a bit different though as I used sticky back canvas for my spine.  The other book is actually a sleeve around the battery pack for the small strand of lights that are inside. 

This area is extra special. I made a garland out of wire and charms from an Amulet and Talisman swap I recently participated in.  What a perfect place to display my charms from my art pals.  

Another special item in this assemblage are the eyeballs.  They are made from hand blown glass and they were intended for mannequins back in the day.  A clever technique: the drips on the green bottle were done with hot glue.  After it dried I added a bit of copper guilders paste.  I also love the vacuum tubes peppered throughout the project.  

Here it is closed up so you can see the outside, not nearly as fun as the inside.  I love the pressure gauge at the bottom.  I have had that thing for a while so I am happy it found a place to be for a while.   

Thank you so much to Laura for inspiring us all! This was such a fun event.  Be sure to check her blog to see others work as well as the video series.  There is lots of great information to be had.  

Cheers, 

Rhea