Back in May, I shared an Absolutely Mad, Summer Tea Party Table. Included in the centerpiece, was a floating teacup floral arrangement. Actually, there were three — because three’s a charm, right?
Several readers asked me to share how I made them.
While planning the Alice in Wonderland, Unbirthday Party, I went to Pinterest for creative inspiration. That’s where I first saw images of floating teacup table decor. “Magically” appearing suspended in midair, a teacup spills a colorful cascade of flowers into the matching saucer below. Perfect to delight guests at a Mad Hatter’s tea party!
Most of the floating teacup pins linked to Etsy shops. One led to a blog post depicting images of the crafting steps, but lacked any text or instructive details.
So, I decided to figure it out myself — via trial and error. It is a little tricky to make a floating teacup. But, I’ve made the process much easier here; by breaking down the steps and providing a descriptive tutorial.
I use affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission that helps to offset website operating costs with no additional cost to you. Your support is appreciated! Disclosure Policy.
Recipe for a Perfect Cup of Tea
Before we start, a little background. I crafted the centerpieces about 18 months ago for a My Favorite Things Party with an Alice in Wonderland theme. Fortunately, I had taken step-by-step pictures when I crafted the floating teacup. To find the photos, however, I had to search through thousands of images! That’s why it took me so long to create this tutorial.
Since I wanted multiple arrangements, I worked on three at a time — in a sort of assembly line. But, the process works if you are making only one or many centerpieces; say for a small shower or large fundraising event. And, the floral arrangements would work for any type of tea party; mad or otherwise!
Ingredient List
Before assembling a floating teacup centerpiece, you’ll need to gather together the necessary ingredients:
- Teacup & saucer
- Dinner-size fork
- E6000 glue
- Hot glue gun & sticks
- Metal hardware ring, or disk
- Moss
- Assorted artificial florals, stems
- Decorative embellishments
For the floating teacup centerpieces, I actually used vintage china found at Goodwill. Predominantly white, the English Garden pattern features blue flowers and a platinum bands.
A few of the teacups were used with other vintage patterns to decorate the chandelier for the Wonderland theme party. English Garden is the teacup to the far left. More hanging than floating teacup!
Of course, you can use any teacup and saucer. It doesn’t have to be china or vintage. Even though the saucer will be virtually covered in the arrangement, the teacup will be the star.
So, I recommend using a teacup with an interesting shape and handle. Maybe you had a grandmother or aunt who collected teacups that are packed up in a box or collecting dust somewhere? Even with a small chip in the rim, you could probably hide the flaw with florals.
However, you don’t want to use any china that is very valuable, or that you’d be heart-sick if it got damaged.
Step 1: Bend & Flatten Fork
A dinner-size fork, with large tines, is the underlying support that holds the floating teacup above the saucer. Did you already figure that out for yourself clever reader?
Any ‘ol fork will do, as very little will be visible when the project is finished. I bent mismatched, vintage silver forks as shown below. Seemed like an appropriate reuse for them.
Bend each fork at the top and bottom as shown above. Flatten out the tines as much as possible.
Afterwards, I realized I probably should have bent each fork at a steeper angle. But, it took a good amount of force to bend the forks, and I didn’t want to break them or impale my hand with a tine! I did remedy the problem by adding a counterweight, which I’ll explain later.
Step 2: Attach Fork to Saucer
I used E6000 glue to attach the fork to the china, because it supports heavy weights, is good with a wide variety of materials, and dries clear.
It’s the same glue used for the DIY Vintage China Server seen above, behind the floating teacup arrangement. E6000 is powerful stuff, so be sure to work in a well-ventilated area.
Begin, by finding an object to support the fork in place while the glue dries. Spread a liberal amount of glue in the indentation of the saucer. Then place the fork into the glue. Once you’re sure you have the fork well-positioned, add enough glue to completely cover the fork tines and edges.
Check back in an hour or two and apply more glue if necessary. Let dry overnight.
A teacup from my everyday dishes turned out to be just the right height to support the fork, while sitting flat on the saucer.
Regular readers may recognize the Ireland Pursuit pattern from Casual St. Patrick’s Day Table. However, it’s not a cup and saucer set I’d ever consider using in a craft project!
Step 3: Glue Handle Inside Cup
This is the most challenging step to making a floating teacup. Gluing is the easy part. What’s difficult, is supporting the darn teacup and fork handle in the right position while the glue dries.
I tried a number of objects before I found the right height and angle. There are two factors to deal with. First, the teacup is a curved edge and you want the fork handle to lay as flat as possible inside.
Second, glue will run and drip, so don’t use anything for support that isn’t disposable. What worked for me was a combination of disposable food containers, cardboard boxes and paper towels.
And, for visual interest, slightly turn the teacup handle to one side.
As with the saucer, place a puddle of glue on the inside of the teacup. Then position the handle in place. This is where I found the paper towels helped to get a snug fit. Let the glue set-up a bit, before covering the top of the handle. Dry completely overnight.
Step 4: Add Counterweight
After removing the supports, I was distressed to find the floating teacup tipped over! Not to worry though, I caught it right away. The weight distribution and balance was off. Instead of floating, the centerpiece wouldn’t stand on its own.
Perhaps if I had more steeply bent the fork handles in the beginning? This is the part no one explained or showed in any of the pins or posts I found.
Off I went to our local hardware store for something I could use that would provide counterweight. The washers, or whatever the hardware is called, weighs much more than the china. I’d guess about pound or more. At about a buck or two a piece they saved the day!
Not only did the hardware provide balance for the floating teacups, but they added a lot of stability as well.
To camouflage the counterweight, I covered it and the fork with a strip of moss.
From this point forward, I used a hot glue gun rather than the E6000.
Step 5: Decorate & Embellish
Now for the fun part! Decorate with flowers and whatever floats your boat teacup, LOL!
Because I was holding an Alice in Wonderland theme party, my embellishments tied to elements in the storybook — a large key, white and red roses, and a crown. I looked for small pocket watch embellishments at craft stores, but came up empty. A Queen of Hearts playing card would be cute too, but I used that in my fascinator for the party.
Most of the flowers and embellishments were leftovers in my craft stash, or from other DIY party decorations and favors.
You might have caught glimpses of them in Alice in Wonderland Party Favors and Fanciful Wonderland Wreath.
Bee sure to check out all the tea party theme party posts and other DIY projects, like How to Make Whimsical Teacup Fascinators.
If you’re not a crafter, but would like a floating teacup to decorate a table or give as a gift, I’ve just added all three to my Etsy shop, DebbeesBuzzBoutique.
More Tables to Come
The last week, I’ve been working on two new theme tables. For the August tablescape hop, I’ll be sharing an outdoor Palms & Paradise Tropic Table. And, in the next week or so, I plan to show you the olive-decorated linens I found in Athens, for It’s Greek to Me.
Related Post Picks
Pin Me!
Featured Post
Link Parties
I regularly participate in: Metamorphous Monday, Turn About Tuesday, Centerpiece Wednesday, Whimsical Home Projects, In Link Party, Share Your Style, Tablescape Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Crafty Creators, Fabulous Friday, Saturday Sparks, Happiness is Homemade, and Love Your Creativity.
You clever cookie you. This is so fabulous. Maybe one day…….
Thanks Kem, but the original idea came from others on Pinterest and Etsy. I just figured out a way to implement it that worked for me.
I used disc shaped fishing disks for counter weights. Heavy, flat and round. Super easy and cheap
Gina, thanks for sharing the tip! How many floating teacups did you make and for what purpose?
Super cute idea Debbee. I can see many possibilities. How fun and creative this is.
Thanks Linda! I just wish I had one or more of the teacup and saucer sets my sisters and I use to give my mom for Mother’s Day. It would have been fun to turn them into a centerpiece.
I’d love your ideas for Christmas crafts to sell at fairs. I want to start early.
Hi Judy, thanks for taking the time to comment. I’ve never created crafts to sell at a fair — with the exception of wreaths, my Etsy shop DebbeesBuzzBoutique sells decorations I made for theme My Favorite Things Parties. There are two DIY Christmas wreath posts you might like; Elmer the Elf Christmas Wreath DIY and Bringing Home the Christmas Tree DIY Wreath.
Great project, well done. Pinned
Thanks Anita!
English Garden was my grandmother’s pattern. Lost long ago. How lovely to see it again!
How nice is that?! I think it must have been a very popular pattern in it’s day. I was thrilled to find a box of it at Goodwill that I used to create decor and teacup favors for the Alice in Wonderland, Unbirthday Party. I was delighted when a woman who collects it bought the leftovers from me at a neighborhood yard sale. Wish I had an unused teacup and saucer left to send you — although there is one more floating teacup arrangement left in my Etsy shop, DebbeesBuzzBoutique.
Great idea. Thanks for sharing the instructions. Sometimes when I glue two different elements together, I glue a small piece of felt in between.
Myrna, that’s a really good tip! It would be especially useful when gluing something to a curved surface — like attaching the fork handle to the inside of the teacup.
This is so clever! Pinning!
Michelle, are you thinking of making one? Have any vintage teacup sets around the house to use?
Such a smart idea, Debbee, and a great tutorial on how to make a floating teacup centerpiece. My mom has a huge collection of teacups, and she will love this when I show her!
I can’t take credit for the original idea, but I did have a lot of fun figuring out a method that worked for me. Julie, maybe you could take one of your mom’s teacups and make her one for a birthday or Mother’s Day?
Thanks Debbee! I absolutely love it. This is really a smart idea to make unique things in our home. Big Hug!
I bought a teacup and plate at a thrift store quite a long time ago, wanting to make one of these. Instead, I used it to stage the printable tea tags that I used from another site!!
I think they’d also make a great Mother’s Day or birthday gift for a tea-loving friend — and you could attach one of your tags to the teacup handle!
What a cool idea, I never would have thought of this. Great tutorial, too. Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm. xo Kathleen
Maybe you could use one of the duplicate teacup sets in your collection to make one? Love your linkup party!
what do you do with the back of the fork?
Do you mean the handle end Patricia? It’s what’s glued inside the teacup — the trickiest, but doable part. See step 3 for instructions and photos. In setp 4 there’s another pix of it hidden under moss. I hope you’ll give it a try!
I am making these floating tea cup and saucer for my husband and myselfs 50th wedding anniversary on June 5th of 2021. They will be put in the middle of each table, and one guest at the table will take one home.
Hi Cindy, is this your first time visiting my blog? Happy upcoming anniversary! What a milestone. Curious how many will you be making? And, are you using vintage cups and saucers?