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Having a Few Friends In for Tea?

Isn't this a pretty and do-able decorating idea for your next gathering of friends and tea.

What a great way to use up cups when the saucer's been broken, or just display your teacup collection instead hiding it behind glass in a cabinet.

Another Tea-Related Halloween Costume

This one's adorable, but if you want to use this idea this year, you'd better get started right away!

These instructions come from Kidsturncentral.com/holidays

This costume was made with paper mache. I used the biggest exercise ball I could find to make the form.

I cut out fabric that had flowers on it and I used Mod Podge to adhere to the form.

I used satin blanket binding for the  ribbon

and bow. I saturated it with Modpodge to make it look like ceramic.

The lid was made out of the bottom of a plastic cake holder and a paper plate on top with a rubberball on top for the knob, then I covered the whole thing in paper mache. Don't forget to attach some holder into the cake holder for the ribbons that hold it onto the head.

The spout was made out of 4 inch dryer vent and the handle was made out of 3 inch dryer vent. Attach these after you have done several layers of paper meche. I used duct tape to attach the spout and handle to the paper meche ball.

I left the exercise ball inflated until all of this was dry. After they are attached you will need to do several more layers of paper meche.

This costume won first place in our town's contest . I hope these instructions are helpful. I made this for my grandaughter. It was truly a labor of love, and it was a lot of work.

Tea-Inspired Art

Isn't this teacup lovely? Delicate and sweet with its pretty feet?

Almost too pretty to drink from, isn't it?

Would you believe that the artist's medium is not some sort of clay?

This is sugar art.

The roses behind the cup are made of the same medium.

Sugar - it's true! This teacup is made of something called Mexican paste, which is mainly confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, water and shortening.

The artist is Kim Morrison of Pennsylvania and if you've seen the Food Network's "Here Comes the Cake" or the challenge series "Wedding Cake Classic", you may have seen Kim in action. She's won many awards for her work.

Our favourite drink, or the vessel used to drink it, has inspired again!

Craf-Tea Projects

Our Friday series of tea-related craft projects continues with another bird feeder idea. This one looks much easier to make. Again, some garage sale-ing or a quick trip to the hardware store should yield most of the parts you'd need -

Light Sconce Bird Feeder:

 

You'll need a light sconce, a screw, weather resistant adhesive, and cups and saucers (mismatched is OK). When it's complete, you could put birdseed in, or if even water to provide a cute little birdbath for your feathered friends (change water daily).

Craf-tea Ideas

Today's idea isn't so much a craft, as just another way to use your teacups.

Isn't this a lovely way to serve chocolate pudding for a shower or other girl-y event!

Credit for this idea goes to British television chef Nigella Lawson.

Back next week with another way to use those teacups - don't leave them in the cabinet collecting dust!

Craft-Tea Projects, Part 6: Fun and Funky

Next time you break a cup or saucer, consider how you might use the other half - the still intact piece. Sometimes it seems a shame to trash something that's not broken.

Stay tuned this month for craf-tea Fridays - where we'll discover great ways to recycle teaware pieces and transform them into lovely, kitschy works of art, or at least  give you a few ideas on how to give those pieces a new lease on life!

Angela MacRae, an American tea-lovin’ blogger, shared this cute little craft earlier this spring on her blog:

Tea Cup Cuties

More than a year ago, I came across a delightful book called "The Complete Book of Retro Crafts" by Suzie Millions. The cover craft of a "Teacup Cutie" is what caught my eye, and inside are the project instructions, including five more "cuties" made of all kinds of teacups, including good old plastic Melamine. I wanted to make one immediately, but on principle I was simply *not* going to pay more than $5 for a plastic cup and saucer. So I waited. And I waited. And finally came across this green set for $3!

So, I've made my first "cutie," and although her lips could definitely be better (I'm no artist), I don't think this is too bad for a first effort. A teacup set, a little hot glue, some rick rack and ribbon, some googly eyes and paint, and you're done. This strikes me as the kind of thing that would be a great Sunday School or Vacation Bible School project if you could come across some solid color C&S sets for cheap.

The book includes lots of diagrams for painting the lips, and the eyes, if you like, and that's just one of the fun projects in this book inspired by "kitschy treasures from the 1920s through the 1960s." If you can remember crafts made of seashells, bottlecaps, pantyhose and gum wrappers, you will definitely enjoy this blast-from-the-past book. The author has a "Coming Soon" website here, and if you click on the link you'll get a nice peek at her retro style.

Do you remember melamine dinnerware? What colour did your family have?

Craf-tea Projects, Part 5: Mosaic Garden Pot

Next time you break a cup or saucer, consider how you might use the other half - the still intact piece. Sometimes it seems a shame to trash something that's not broken.

Stay tuned this month for craf-tea Fridays - where we'll discover great ways to recycle teaware pieces and transform them into lovely, kitschy works of art, or at least  give you a few ideas on how to give those pieces a new lease on life!

1. Find the china you want to use. Your broken and cracked teacups and saucers are a start. You may need to add more – watch for them at garage sales, thrift shops and antique stores.

2. Hammer away, break the cups into small pieces. Place the tea cup in a plastic bag, wrap it in a towel and use a rubber mallet to break the cup up. A set of cutting pliers can be used to trim away white bits surrounding the images. Be sure to protect your eyes!

3. Collect the patterned parts to the side, and keep the rest in the bag.

4. Mix the tile adhesive. One designed for bathrooms that looks like cement will work nicely. Mix it a bit thicker than it says on the package.

5. Evenly spackle the tile adhesive onto your pot, working your way around.

6. Add the china mosaic!Start with the patterned pieces and make a “front”. Use the plain pieces for the “backside”. If you use the thicker pieces from the saucer, the texture of the pot may be uneven, but  you may like it like that! If you want a more flat surface you should sort out the thick pieces first.

7. Mix the grout, a white powder (or coloured) with water before using it. Then add it to the surface, smearing it on top of everything. Ensure the spaces between the tiles are filled.

9. Clean it! After this has dried for a while (5 minutes) go around the whole pot with a wet cloth and clean up the mosaic pieces from the grout. You have to do this again in 30 minutes with a damp cloth, so the tiles shine. Then let it dry properly.

Craf-Tea Projects, part 4: Tea Cup Vase

Next time you break a cup or saucer, consider how you might use the other half - the still intact piece. Sometimes it seems a shame to trash something that's not broken.

Stay tuned this month for craf-tea Fridays - where we'll discover great ways to recycle teaware pieces and transform them into lovely, kitschy works of art, or at least  give you a few ideas on how to give those pieces a new lease on life!

This project first appeared on HGTV, and the instructions and text are from there.

My mother has a fantastic collection of teacups and saucers made of bone china that I absolutely adore; the shape and delicate features appeal to my girly nature.  Some cups are in pristine condition, but others have hit the floor a time or two leaving a chipped edge or broken handle that can’t always be repaired.

Instead of tossing out the broken or chipped teacups, I wanted to turn the elegant items into something new that would play up their great shape and still serve a function. Thus, the idea of Teacup Flower Vase was born.

Required Supplies:
Old teacups and saucers
Epoxy (available at your local home building store)
Spray paint in your favourite colour (I think a Gloss finish makes for a more interesting piece)

How to build:
1. Find yourself a comfortable place outside (this project is best done outdoors as the paint and epoxy both give off fumes).

2. Set-up the saucers and teacups on a flat work surface. Following the instructions on the spray paint, begin to apply several light coats letting each coat to dry to the touch before applying the next.  Depending on the colour and pattern of your teacup, this could take a few applications.

3. Once the desired amount of coverage has been achieved on all surfaces of the teacup and saucer, it’s epoxy time!  When working with epoxy be sure to take great care as the substance is smelly and you don’t want it touching your skin!

4. After following the mixing instructions, carefully apply the epoxy to the bottom edge of the teacup taking care not to put on an excessive amount. You don’t want epoxy goo seeping out from the bottom of the teacup on to the saucer.

5. With the saucer on the work surface place the teacup in the middle and press down softly to ensure equal adhesion around all edges.

6. After you’ve let your masterpiece set-up for a few hours you might find that you want to apply an additional coat or two of paint to finish off the piece.

7. Once everything is dry, place your favourite flowers in the vase and enjoy!

Craf-tea Projects, part 3: Teacup Bird Feeder

Next time you break a cup or saucer, consider how you might use the other half - the still intact piece. Sometimes it seems a shame to trash something that's not broken.

Stay tuned this month for craf-tea Fridays - where we'll discover great ways to recycle teaware pieces and transform them into lovely, kitschy works of art, or at least  give you a few ideas on how to give those pieces a new lease on life!

This week's project will require a trip to the hardware store. There are several websites offering how-to's for these, but these instructions were chosen because they appear to yield a bird feeder robust enough to handle some of the harsh weather we can get here in Canada.

These teacup bird feeders are an excellent way to recycle old cups and saucers.  And they are both whimsical ornaments for the garden and work great as feeders. 

 

Materials:
Teacup and saucer
Drill
1/8 inch ceramic tile bit
1/4 inch masonry bit
36 inch long 1/4 inch threaded metal rod
30 inch long copper tubing 1/2 inch wide
2 stainless steel nuts with 1/4 inch wide hole
2 stainless steel washers with 1/4 inch wide hole
Safety Glasses
Gloves
Marker
Birdseed

Directions:
First collect your cups and saucers. A good place to look is a resale shop or junk store.

Next prepare your cup and saucer. Mark the center of each and carefully drill a hole through them one at a time. To reduce breakage and frustration, first make a starter hole with the 1/8 inch ceramic tile bit and then widen it with a 1/4 inch masonry bit.

Now take the 36 inch long, 1/4 inch wide threaded metal rod and screw a nut about 1/2 inch from the top, place a washer on top of the metal nut and then the saucer and cup on top of the washer.

At this point you will have the tea cup and saucer balanced on the metal nut and washer with about 1/2 an inch or less of the threaded rod rising up through the middle of the tea cup.

Take your second washer and slip it over the threaded rod so that it sits flat inside the teacup. Next add a metal nut on top of the washer and screw it down tightly so that the teacup and saucer are secure.

Select the area in your garden where you would like to place the feeder, push the copper tubing into the ground about 2 or 3 inches and then insert the threaded metal rod down into the ground through the copper tubing to give the feeder a finished look.

 

Craf-tea Projects, Part 2: The Lamp

Next time you break a cup or saucer, consider how you might use the other half - the still intact piece. Sometimes it seems a shame to trash something that's not broken.

Stay tuned this month for craf-tea Fridays - where we'll discover great ways to recycle teaware pieces and transform them into lovely, kitschy works of art, or at least  give you a few ideas on how to give those pieces a new lease on life!

This week's project is by far the most ambitious. If you didn't have enough cast off pieces to assemble this, you could easily pick them up at garage sales (yes, it's that time of year again!). This craft appeared in a recent Country Crafts magazine and also appears in the online magazine.

A New Use for Mismatched China

Turn a collection of castoffs into an Alice in Wonderland-inspired lamp.

The finished product can sit on a bedside table, where it adds a cheerful touch to the room.

Choose color-coordinated, simply shaped teacups, pots, bowls, and saucers that would stack easily.

To create a balanced arrangement, select components that would form a pyramid — with large, heavy items on the bottom (like an overturned mixing bowl) and lighter teacups up top.

To start, fill the top cup, a demitasse (hidden under the shade, right), with Amaco self-hardening clay. While the clay is still wet, press in a socket-and-cord unit from Ikea and a harp from Lowe's, an inch deep. Allow the clay harden for 24 hours.

Glue the remaining elements together with a thin line of Super Glue gel, letting each piece dry for a minute before adhering the next. Wait a day for the lamp to set, then screw a standard shade to the harp's finial. You might find the shade at a garage sale, or at stores such as Ikea.

The wiring of this whimsical creation doesn't require any drilling, because the cord runs behind the lamp instead of through it. Keep the cord flush against the base with a few pieces of electrical tape, and then position the lamp against a wall.

TIP: Sandwiching saucers in between the teapots and cups gives the lamp added stability.

To see a more elegant version of the teacup lamp, click here.