When looking for ways to decorate your home, look no further than your own collections. Whether your collections consist of books, copper molds, or vintage dolls, try incorporating them into your seasonal decorating. Two years ago, I wrote a post on Decorating With Egg Cups. Placing tiny sprigs of greenery and petite flowers into some of my favorite egg cups always brings a feeling of springtime into my home. Having collected a lovely assortment of teacups, too, I decided to show them off by using some of them to create a floral centerpiece for my dining room table. My dining room table is long and wide, so I designed a centerpiece that is a little over 5-feet-long and about 18 inches at its widest point. After selecting a complementary assortment of teacups and a teapot to use as a center focal point, I went to a nearby nursery and looked for appropriate plants. Specimens grown for use in terrariums fit the bill; they come in many different plant varieties and are grown in small plastic pots that fit very nicely into teacups. Plus, at $2.95 each, they were relatively inexpensive. After tucking a little green moss here and there to hide the plastic pots, my easy teacup centerpiece provides a light and cheerful counterpoint to an otherwise formal room.
SUPPLIES
Table runner or piece of fabric
Small box
Assortment of teacups
Terrarium-sized plants, as many as the number of teacups you will be using
Bag of green moss
Teapot for focal point
DIRECTIONS
1. Arrange the fabric down the center of the table. I used a sheer fabric and made it appear billowy by tucking the edges under and creating soft folds. I tapered the ends of the fabric to within 13 inches of each end of the table.
2. Place a small box under the fabric in the center of the arrangement. Place teapot on top of fabric-draped box for height.
3. Do a preliminary arrangement of teacups and saucers, evenly distributing colors, shapes, and heights. I fashioned an alternating right-left-right or zigzag pattern.
4. Temporarily place the plants, while still in their containers, in the teacups, evenly distributing colors, textures, and heights.
5. Once the arrangement is to your liking, take the teacups (leave saucers behind as place markers) to an area for assembling.
6. Stick whole potted plant in teacup (do not remove the plant from its plastic pot). Do the same to the other plants.
7. Arrange moss in between the plastic pot and the teacup and also above the plastic pot to hide it. Do this with all the other potted plants in teacups.
LINNELL’S NOTES
1. I used 14 sets of teacups and saucers; seven on each side of the teapot.
2. Please note that because I want to reuse the teacups for their original purpose, I did not permanently plant the plants in the cups.
3. Working with moss is messy. You can cover your dining room table with paper, if you want to work with it there. I found it easier to assemble the pots near my kitchen sink, where I could wipe any dirt, moss bits, and twigs into the sink.
4. Don’t forget to water the plants. Because they are potted in small containers, they will dry out quickly.
5. When the time comes to dismantle this centerpiece, I will plant the plants in a terrarium.
Enjoy your springtime centerpiece!