How to Make Miniature Gum Paste Teapots: Tea Party Cupcake Toppers, Part 2

Submitted by nicole on Mon, 07/29/2013 - 17:37

Learn how to sculpt a tiny gum paste tea pot to make an edible tea party cupcake topper with this tutorial. And be sure to check out the other tutorials that show you how to make all of the other elements of these darling tea party cupcakes!

Collage of miniature gum paste tea pot images for making a tea party cupcake.

Last Friday, I started a series of posts showing how to make the miniature gumpaste tea set cupcake toppers, starting with the itty bitty forks and spoons. today, it's all about the teapot. Can't have a tea party without a teapot!

Gum Paste Tea Pot next to a quarter for scale.

The basic teapot shape is really quite simple. Just break it down into its basic shapes if you start to get anxious about the whole project.

Steps showing the progression of sculpting a tiny gum paste tea pot for a tea party cupcake

Start by rolling a ball of gumpaste about the size of a grape. Push it down ever so slightly to create a flat surface on the bottom, so the finished teapot will sit nicely.

Next, roll a smaller ball, about the size of a pea. Smush it into a rounded disk (I don't like peas). Use a little vodka to glue the smushed pea to the top of the grape.

Then, roll an even smaller ball. Eensy. Miniscule. The size of a good sized sprinkle. Glue that one to the top of the smashed pea, again using vodka. (The vodka dries more quickly than water.)

Roll a small cylinder of gumpaste for the spout. I like to make it slightly cone-shaped, actually, to be narrower at the spout. Pinch the spout end between your thumb and forefinger to get that nice teapot spout shape. Bend the spout into an S shape and--you guessed it--attach with a little bit of vodka.

Lastly, roll a very tiny snake of gumpaste. Angel hair pasta thin. Roll it into an s-shaped coil. Glue on with vodka. Making the coiled teapot handle is way easier than trying to make a C shaped handle, so I pretty much always make my teapots this way.

Two tea party cupcake toppers on a white background.

Let the teapot dry COMPLETELY before even attempting to paint on any designs. Seriously. Don't try to rush this, or you'll end up cursing and re-attaching more spouts and handles than you can shake a vodka-dipped paintbrush at. They're pretty sturdy when completely dry, but incredibly fragile until then.

Three tea party cupcakes, featuring gum paste tea pots, cakes, and cups of tea, on a glass cake stand.

Using food coloring thinned with vodka (handy stuff in cake decorating, that vodka!) and a very tiny paintbrush, add whatever designs strike your fancy.

Three tea party cupcakes featuring miniature tea settings made out of gum paste.

Tomorrow I think I'll do plates and saucers. I also have the cake stands, and the miniature confections lined up for tutorials, so come back for more tea party fun!

Tea party cupcake toppers made with gum paste to look like a miniature tea set.