Make a miniature version of the floating rose and glass cloche from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast using an old wine glass and an etching tool.
My oldest daughter and I went to see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast together, and we loved it. The music, the characters, the settings, and the story… it’s all amazing. This is Audrey’s review of the movie:
I loved Beauty and the Beast. Belle is my favorite
princess, and to see Emma Watson play Belle was amazing, plus she has
a beautiful voice. Also, this movie revealed more of Belle and the Beast’s past,
which was nice because it didn’t seem like they were just there. I loved how
they made the objects talk and the actor who played Gaston seemed to be
a natural at Gaston. The movie overall was great!!!!!
The animated version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was won awards for its rich detail, so you can imagine how spectacular it is to see those details in a live action movie. The sets and costumes are incredible, with every detail of the ornate French-style absolutely perfect. I wish I could have recreated one of the many rooms in Beast’s castle for this blog post. They were all amazing. But since I don’t have the budget or the time, I created a miniature version of the cloche that holds the enchanted rose.
Details of the Cloche from Beauty and the Beast
I used the movie poster from Beauty and the Beast with the rose in its cloche to study and figure out the details so I could make it look like the glass in the movie. Some details I noticed: The etching on the glass almost looks organic, like a vine, but it also looks like spreading ice crystals. Plus it has a very ornate, french-rococo style. There are a lot of vines coming up from the bottom and a few small, single vines coming down from the top. There’s a glass knob at the top of the cloche and other ornate details.
I wanted my cloche and rose to be miniature because we don’t have room to display or store a full-size version, so I looked for wine glasses as a thrift store to make the small cloche. I found one with a knob in the stem, which is perfect. Unfortunately, the glass doesn’t curve out at the top, but it’s close enough. Here’s the glass I found; I forgot to take a picture before I started trying to etch it :).
You could easily etch a full-size glass cloche instead.
How to Cut Off the Glass Stem
To begin, I needed to cut the stem and base off the wine glass. I’ve never cut glass before, so I did a lot of Google and YouTube searches to learn how. I was really surprised by how easy it is. Basically, you score the glass then give it a tap, and the glass breaks apart. I scored it with a triangular file. Some people poured cold then hot water over the glass to help split it, but I found that I didn’t need that, just a tap.
The cut was a little jagged, so I used a low-grit sandpaper to make it more flat and less dangerous.
How to Etch a Glass Cloche
I tried many ways of etching glass to get the right look (you can see some on the glass a few photos back). The best method of making the glass cloche from Beauty and the Beast that I found uses a rotary tool. I love my Dremel rotary tool because I keep finding new ways to use it (like teacup pots and an artist’s easel). I found a great video on Dremel.com showing how to etch glass with the rotary tool. I had to try it!
It took some practice, so buy a few extra glasses to experiment with. I LOVE how the glass looks when it’s carved. The carving looks almost like sparkling ice, which is perfect for the icy magic from Beauty and the Beast.
I drew a rough sketch on the glass of my design with a permanent marker before carving. Don’t worry, the marker comes off easily. A little too easily; I had to be careful not to smear it while I was etching.
I carved the main lines first then went back and added the leaves, or ice-crystals, to each one. I tried to add a slight curve to each leaf, although some turned out better than others.
The best advice I can give for etching with a rotary tool is to be deliberate. If you try to carve softly because you’re not sure, it doesn’t look good and the tip bounces. Don’t be afraid to really carve into the glass. Mine never shattered, and the design looks the best where I used the most pressure. But, as I said before, practice a lot first. Get a feel for it and what works for you.
I also want to tell you that I tried etching cream to make the icy vines on the glass, but I didn’t have very good results. Because I don’t have a vinyl cutter, every method I tried to create a stencil let etching cream slip through and it made a very splotchy design.
How to Etch a Plastic Cloche
I also made a second cloche that is more kid-friendly than the glass version. I found a set of plastic champagne glasses at the dollar store. Caution, the final display is more kid-friendly, but carving the cloche is an adult craft.
First, I cut off the stem of the plastic glass with a hacksaw. I just picked a spot where the stem narrowed and started sawing through it. It’s not hard, but it does get lots of little plastic burs everywhere. Then I sanded the cut to make it smooth.
I used an Xact-O knife to carve the design into the cloche. Like with glass, I started with the main stems of the design, then went back and added leaves. It was really hard to make curves with an Xact-O knife, so the design is mostly straight lines and looks less organic that my glass versions.
This cloche is also very tall and thin because those were the only plastic glasses I could find. I had to use a much smaller rose. But I would rather have an imperfect plastic cloche in a little girl’s room than a glass one.
Decorate the Top of the Cloche
The glass cloche in Beauty and the Beast has an ornate knob a the top. My glass cloche already had one, but the plastic one didn’t. So I found a round bead and glued it to the cut stem with E600 glue (it’s the best craft glue). Unfortunately, I could only find a pink bead, not a clear one, but I don’t think the girl who gets this will mind.
The cut on the glass cloche needs to be finished off too, so I glued a clear rectangular bead to it, again using E600, and then added a small bead on top of that. Just to finish off the look.
Add a Floating Rose
I made the rose “float” inside of the cloche with fishing line. Although it’s clear, the fishing line does show a little, but it blends in with the carving or etching, so it doesn’t really show.
I stuck a piece double-sided tape inside, on the top of the cloche (the bottom of the glass) and stuck the fishing line onto that. Actually, I used the double-sided tape just to try out my idea with the fishing line, but it worked so well, I just left it. I added a piece of regular tape on top to hold the fishing line on more securely.
My fishing line is about 4 inches long, long enough that its circle can fit easily around the rose head. Getting the fishing wire to stick onto the tape was the hardest part because the glass is too small for all of my fingers to fit easily inside.
Once the fishing line loop is stuck inside the cloche, carefully put the head of the rose inside the loop. The head will hang and hold the weight of the flower.
I found small fake roses to float inside of the cloche. A fake rose worked great because I could bend and shape the stem to look how I wanted it. And a fake rose lasts forever. I used a second rose from the bunch to make the petals at the bottom. 
For my final photo, I wanted something more stunning that a fake rose, so I cut a real rose from my miniature rose bush and hung it on the same fishing wire. It looks gorgeous, but it will only last a day or two. I guess I need to break the spell before then!
A safety note: all of the DIY ideas I’ve shared in this post could cause injury if you’re not careful. Please read and follow all of the directions that come with your tools, chemicals, and DIY equipment. Make sure you craft safely!
All of these cloches modeled after the one in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast take time and a little practice to make, but the end product is definitely worth it. Enjoy the movie, then make your own floating rose in a cloche to display, or give as a gift.