I made my rose cup ice sculpture for a Kentucky Derby event at a Gulf Coast casino.
about my rose cup ice sculpture design
In all likelyhood, this is going to be a very barebones post. That’s simply because I’m desperately π trying to get this design posted so that I can link to it in my Kentucky Derby ice sculpture roundup. And then so I can post the roundup before the Derby runs this year. Once that’s accomplished, I’ll feel an odd sense of satisfaction, even though nobody will have time to use ANY of the listed designs for their Derby events this year π€£ Next year then!
By the way, in case you hadn’t figured it out, this sculpture is essentially an ice vase that’s loosely based (VERY loosely) on the Kentucky Derby trophy. So basically, to decorate your Derby event, make this ice sculpture and add roses. Poof, everybody will love it and then go back to watching (and betting on) the race.
the rose cup ice sculpture design etc.
Okay, so here’s the design and template. I got outside of the usual 20″ wide ice block by flipping the top of the cup on its side and then reattaching it. That makes it a bit tricker, but I liked that option rather than attaching the handles to go outside the block. Just make sure you get the cup to sit straight on the base. And don’t try to lift the cup by the handles!! π±
Speaking of the handles, you’re going to cut them back on the front and back sides of the cup so that they’re more like cup handles would be on an actual cup. This also gives you space to round out the cup. Just don’t make the handles too thin.
the cup has kind of a wide bottom, wider than an actual cup would probably need. And sure, that’s to keep the cup from melting and falling off, but it’s also to keep you from breaking the sculpture while you’re moving it and setting it up.
when you weld the cup back on, make sure you have a solid weld and that the cup is on straight!
adding floral your rose cup ice sculpture
You’re SUPPOSED to put a bunch of roses on top of your rose cup ice sculpture. It IS for the Run for the Roses, after all. But maybe you’re using it for a different event, maybe where they’re tiptoeing through tulips or something. So I don’t give an ef what you put on top. Just do a good job and then send me a pic π
For this piece, I MAY have actually cut a small hole in the top the one time that I sculpted it. I don’t think so, but the sculpture in the pic is frosty and I can’t tell. The only reason I think I might have is that I was playing with that idea in the original design workup. I probably didn’t though.
Assuming that I didn’t, the top of the cup was then flat and I just put the arrangement on top, with a napkin or something underneath to keep it from sliding around and falling off. You can see how this whole process works in my post on combining floral and ice. It has a video from Joe Rimer of Ice Pro.
using a CNC for your rose cup ice sculpture
When I sculpted my rose cup for the casino event (see the pic at the top) I did use a CNC. I used an upright I-Sculpt CNC at Ice Pro in Florida. As you can see in the design, it includes a part that the upright I-Sculpt doesn’t usually cut, the rectangular base. (In the machine’s basic setup, it can’t get to the very bottom of the ice block.) So if you have an upright I-Sculpt, or a flatbed CNC with a high enough gantry, creating this piece on your machine should be quite doable.
links and stuff
I mentioned already that this rose cup ice sculpture isn’t much of a cup. It’s more like all the other ice “vases” that I have on the site, like the ionic column vase and the diamond vase. (There are more; check out the designs page.)
Speaking of designs, check out the design usage guidelines.
Finally, you could also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets Instagram account or the facebook page. ice sculpting secrets is also on TikTok, although videos there aren’t really tied to posts as much. You can comment on IG and fb as well as below. Since this is a newer post, you probably can comment below. But if not, then definitely comment on fb and/or IG. Thanks!
