Jinx-B-Gon
I peddle a few Accoutrements products (their retail arm is Archie McPhee) in the shop, so I receive alerts when they make new products available. Their new Jinx Removing Spray (“magically formulated to allegedly remove jinxes, nullify hexes, and dispel curses”) is a cute idea, but: 1) All of the interesting design work is on the package rather than the atomizer, and 2) Shelling out eight bucks for what amounts to air freshener seems a bit silly.
Sounds like a DIY project to me!
The type of atomizer they use is called a “shell atomizer,” and they’re widely available online in a variety of sizes and colors. Nemat and Best Bottles sell them individually, and also offer wholesale pricing if you want to make a lot as gifts or wedding favors.
For the spray itself, you can choose your favorite perfume, design your own fragrance (just google “how to make perfume” for a hojillion tutorials, such as this one), or make a simple air freshener by mixing 1 C distilled water, 2 tsp of rubbing alcohol, and 8-10 drops of your favorite essential oil; shake thoroughly to combine.
A label can be as simple as a printed sticker, or you can go nuts with hand-painting or even silk-screening. If you’re artistically-inclined you can design your own label, look for traditional patterns like Voodoo Veves, or mine the artwork of places like Lucky Mojo for inspiration.
If intended as a gift, add a tag with instructions to spray at the first hint of jinxiness and tie with a bit of ribbon or twine. Since the atomizers are reusable you can also offer free refills for the heavily jinxed. Easy, unusual, and cheap. What could be better?
Posted in Doom It Yourself, Terror in the Aisle | 3 Comments »
April 30th, 2012 at 11:32 am
Favorite words in this post: hojillion. jinxiness.
May 1st, 2012 at 9:49 am
I’ve actually sold a cedar/sage/sweetgrass “smudge” spray for space clearing. It was packaged in the bigger cobalt blue spritzer bottles though. It sold _very_ well, especially for folks who can’t do smoke. I’d toyed with the idea of doing one for clearing “haunted spaces” for kids (or adults). I’d call it, “Booger Be Gone” for clearing the closet monsters and under the bed bogies.
May 1st, 2012 at 11:03 am
On another note, I just wanted to point out that if you’re ever in the Seattle area, Archie McPhee’s store is a TREASURE TROVE of cool stuff for haunt building. Cobwebs carries all the cool Accoutrements stuff in her store (no really, well edited there,) but their retail location has beakers and cardboard gallon drums and a random assortment of odd bits and pieces of plastic, etc for building. Plus gas masks. Worth the trip.