DIY Disney Teacup Photo Prop: How I Made a 4-Foot Foam Board Standee for Our Disneyland-Themed Teacher Appreciation Week

One of my favorite photo props from our Paineland Teacher Appreciation Week was this oversized Mickey and Minnie teacup ride standee.

Originally, I planned to use it as part of our main “it’s a small world” photo backdrop (I ordered this one from Temu), but once we started decorating, it looked so cute that it deserved its own space. We moved it beside our pink arch backdrop to create a second photo opportunity, and it quickly became one of everyone’s favorite places to stop for pictures.

This project was made using the same DIY foam board method I shared in my How I Make Giant Foam Board Props for School Events and Parties tutorial. If you’ve never made one of my foam board props before, I recommend starting there first. That post covers designing, printing, mounting, cutting, and creating the freestanding support. In this tutorial, I’ll focus specifically on creating this oversized teacup ride.

Heads up: this post contains affiliate links — if you shop through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I’ve actually used and paid for myself.

Supplies

To recreate this project, you’ll need:

• Free digital download of the teacup graphic files
• Two 24” × 72” CVS Repositionable Poster Prints
• Dollar Tree foam board
• Masking tape
• Sharp X-Acto knife
• Self-healing cutting mat
• Scissors

I’ll link the exact supplies I used below.

Free Digital Download

To make this project as easy as possible, I’ve included free downloadable graphics for the teacup standee. Get the free teacup graphic files here.

The files are already sized correctly for two 24” × 72” poster prints, so you can simply upload them when placing your order.

You’ll notice that the downloadable files include a generous amount of white space around the teacup. That’s intentional!

Rather than leaving that area blank, I recommend opening the files in Canva and using the extra space to add your own signs, decorations, or graphics before ordering your prints. Since you’re already paying for the full banner, you might as well make every square inch work for you.

For our Paineland event, I filled that extra space with our custom welcome sign and Paineland logo so I could print multiple decorations on the same banners. I’ll include a photo of the files I ordered for reference, but my downloadable version only includes the teacup artwork so you can customize the remaining space for your own event.

The Paineland logo shown above was printed right on that same banner paper and mounted to its own piece of foam board, using the same method as the teacup. If you’d like tips on designing a custom logo like this one (I made ours with ChatGPT and Canva), I walk through the whole process in this post.

Why This Project Uses Two Prints

The finished standee is approximately 4 feet tall by 4 feet wide, making it too large to fit on a single 24” × 72” print.

To create the oversized design, I divided the artwork between two banner prints.

When I prepared the files in Canva, I intentionally included a slight overlap where the two prints meet. That overlap makes it much easier to line everything up during assembly and helps hide the seam in the finished prop.

Pre-Cut the Banner Pieces

Before mounting anything to foam board, I rough-cut each banner piece with scissors, staying just outside the design line. A sharp X-Acto knife cuts through foam board beautifully, but it doesn’t glide through the banner material quite as smoothly, so trimming away the excess with scissors first makes the final shaping cut (once everything is mounted) much easier and cleaner.

Assemble the Foam Board

Begin by taping together enough Dollar Tree foam boards to create a surface slightly larger than each printed section.

To apply the first print, peel away the backing and press it onto the foam board, starting at one edge and working gradually across to the other side. Working slowly like this helps prevent wrinkles and air bubbles. The repositionable adhesive is strong enough on its own, so no extra glue is needed, though it will let you lift and reposition the print slightly if you need to make an adjustment.

Next, line up the second print using the overlapping portion of the artwork.

Take your time during this step. The slight overlap gives you room to make small adjustments before pressing the adhesive into place permanently.

Once both pieces are attached, cut around the outside of the design using a sharp X-Acto knife.

If needed, lightly sand any rough edges with fine-grit sandpaper for a cleaner finished look.

Add the Stand

Use leftover foam board scraps to create triangular supports for the back of the standee.

I attach mine with masking tape so the supports can fold flat after the event, making the prop easy to store and reuse.

If you’d like more detailed photos of this process, you’ll find them in my How I Make Giant Foam Board Props for School Events and Parties tutorial.

How We Used It

My original plan was to place the teacup in front of our giant “it’s a small world” backdrop as part of one large photo area.

Once we started decorating, though, the scale didn’t feel quite right.

Instead, we moved it beside our pink arch backdrop — made using this arch stand and this pink fabric cover — and created a completely separate photo opportunity. The arch stand folds down flat for storage and works with covers in all kinds of colors and fabrics, so it's become one of my most-used pieces for school events and parties since it can be restyled for pretty much any theme.

Looking back, I think that was the better choice. It balanced the room nicely and gave our staff two unique places to take pictures throughout the week.

Sometimes the best decorating decisions happen during setup!

The Paineland logo sign also ended up on that same pink arch during final setup. Since it's a separate, smaller piece rather than a big freestanding standee, I mounted it a little differently: I hot glued a few magnets to the back of the sign, then used matching magnets on the backside of the fabric arch cover to sandwich the fabric between them. It held strong through the entire week without any tape or pins.

Budget Tips

As with all of my large-format props, I recommend waiting for a CVS coupon before ordering your prints.

The regular price for a 24” × 72” repositionable poster is around $51.99, but I almost never pay full price. CVS frequently offers 60% off coupons, and if I’m planning well in advance, I can often take advantage of 80% off promotions.

I also try to maximize every banner by filling any unused space with additional decorations, signs, or graphics. It takes only a few extra minutes in Canva and can save you the cost of ordering another print later.

Final Thoughts

This oversized teacup standee became one of my favorite decorations from our Paineland Teacher Appreciation Week. It was lightweight, inexpensive, easy to store, and created a fun photo opportunity that perfectly complemented our Disneyland-inspired decor.

If you’re following along with my Paineland series, be sure to check out the other tutorials where I’ll show you how we created the Mickey Ferris wheel backdrop, Ear Welcome Wall, custom signage, themed centerpieces, and many more Disneyland-inspired decorations. Together, all of these projects transformed our space into our own version of the “Happiest School on Earth.”

**I have included affiliate links to the products I used and can receive a small commission if a purchase is made after you click on a link in this tutorial. All items used in this tutorial were purchased by me and I did not receive anything in exchange.

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