Looking for a little project? This is a super way to use up garage sale finds or mismatched pieces when parts of a set start to break.

Isn't this fun and whimsical for your next tea-themed occasion? The water pours from the teapot into the cup and from the cup it is recirculated using a pump back into the teapot, creating a never-filling cup.
During my how-to investigation, I found that there are battery operated pumps that are not as loud as elecric pumps, which, for an indoor display means the display is not as noisy and you might hear the water better.
Here is how one crafter made indoor table top teapot fountains:
I started with a big basket and a plastic basket liner to hold the water. Yes, you need to drill a hole in the bottom of the teapot. Then, run tubing from the pump through the hole in the teapot.
You have to wire the teapot to a stake or something and wire the stake tightly to the basket so it doesn't tip over.
I put a piece of oasis in the basket liner and put a saucer and teacup on top of the oasis lined up so the water would pour from the teapot spout to the teacup. As the teacup filled, it overflowed into the saucer and then into the basket liner below. I hid the pump behind the oasis and twined artificial greenery around the stake, the edge of the basket and all the mechanics. I added fresh flowers to it as well. It was really pretty. Oh, I used cold coffee as the water that was pumped...it is more colorful than tea.
Another one I made was for a friend's wedding. Her husband was a fisherman in Alaska. I also did it in a basket. I cut some bare twigs and spray painted them white and then sprinkled them with glitter. I put some white Christmas decoration leaves around the top edge of the basket, then spray painted the basket, the white leaves and basket edge with artificial snow. I attached battery-operated white lights to it, hiding the wiring in the white leaves, then also sprayed more artificial snow to help hide the light wires completely. I attached the twigs to represent the tree line along the back edge of the basket. I had some big frosted glass chunks that I put in the basket liner. When I added the water, they looked like icebergs. I put 2 tiny ceramic polar bears on one of the icebergs. Water was pumped like a waterfall over the icebergs. I put some dry ice in the back, so it had a foggy mist over it.
Their wedding colors were siver and blue, so I added a big silver and blue bow to the handle of the basket with long "tails" hanging across the snow scene.
I've had a lot of fun with indoor fountains, and they're really easy to do once you've figured out the simple mechanics of it all. Just be sure you have a basin deep enough to cover the pump with water or you can burn the fountain out.

This version uses a submersible pump and depending on the size and number of pots and cups could be built quite a bit larger for a permanent outdoor display.
From e-how.com, here is how to assemble this version:
1. Seal a 14-inch-diameter terra cotta planter saucer with terra cotta sealer. Allow the sealer to dry according to the manufacturer's directions.
2. Invert a metal scrolled, footed candle holder that's at least 4 inches in diameter and 6 to 8 inches tall onto the inside of the planter saucer's platform. You can find scrolled, footed candle holders in home accessory and discount stores.
3. Glue the candle platform section of the candle holder to the inside platform of the planter saucer, near the saucer wall, with one-part epoxy adhesive. Sit a small teapot on top of the inverted candle holder; the scrolled, footed base of the candle holder supports the teapot. Angle the teapot spout downward over the planter saucer platform.
4. Glue the bottom of the tea cup to the center of a matching saucer with one-part epoxy adhesive. Position the tea cup and saucer on the platform of the planter saucer so that the teapot's spout falls over the tea cup. Glue the underside of the tea cup's saucer to the planter saucer platform with one-part epoxy adhesive.
5. Place a small, submersible fountain pump on the planter saucer platform beside the inverted candle holder. Cut a length of clear, flexible plastic tubing to fit from the pump to inside the teapot. Attach one end of the tubing to the water spout on top of the pump; insert the other end inside the teapot.
6. Position the teapot lid over the teapot opening, on top of the plastic tubing. Angle the lid so that part of it touches the section of the teapot closest to the teapot spout. Glue the lid in place where it touches the teapot with one-part epoxy adhesive. It's important that part of the lid be raised so that you can add water to the teapot. The plastic tubing elevates the lid. Wait 24 hours for all of the glued sections to dry.
7. Cut a section of wet floral foam with a serrated knife to fit beneath the teapot. Insert silk greenery into the foam so that the greenery camouflages the fountain pump and the candle holder.
8. Fill the teapot with water, up to the base of the spout. Fill the tea cup with water. Fill the planter saucer with water, up to within 1/2 inch of the rim. Plug in the fountain pump. The pump pushes the water through the plastic tube to the inside of the teapot. The new water inside the teapot forces the existing water to flow out of the spout and into the tea cup. The tea cup overflows onto the tea cup saucer and then onto the planter saucer.
If you have lots of room in your backyard, perhaps you'll want to create this project on a larger scale, like this artist did!
One of the boards I was on suggested that solar pumps will also work for the outdoor project.
They also suggested that using distilled water, especially for the indoor version, will reduce the maintenance required to keep stones, leaves, and cups looking nice, and also keeps the pump working cleanly and efficiently.
You can also visit here to see a pdf document with instructions and photos for an indoor version.