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DIY for mad scientists

By bioephemera on September 11, 2008.

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19th century anatomical study cabinet #1
Alex cf, 2008

The undisputed modern master of the horrifying cryptozoological specimen is Alex cf, bane of vampires and cthulhu spawn. Unfortunately, there's an immense demand for his work, and he isn't very prolific. So how's a girl to fill her curiosity cabinet - especially with Halloween right around the corner?

Luckily, Repository For Bottled Monsters turned up a great DIY project: how to bottle your own mad-scientist monstrosities. Check out these jars, created using inexpensive plastic toys from the dollar store:

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from imakeprojects.com

These aren't Martha Stewart's Halloween specimen jars!

(You thought I was kidding about Martha, didn't you? I wish.)

Granted, these homemade specimens can't compete with Alex's intricate creations, and they're not going to fool the family cryptozoologist. But they have the advantage of being cheap, easy to make, and child safe (an important consideration on Halloween). To balance out your wonder cabinet, you can find ideas for alchemical supply jars at this post at Aranamuerta.

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from Aranamuerta

So embrace the premature arrival of the Halloween season, defy the big-box retailers, and get thee to a dollar store to buy some expanding fake octopi!

Tags
ephemera
Frivolity
Medical Illustration and History
Wonder Cabinets

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