Friday, February 17, 2012

Floral Frogs

When I first came across these...
 





...in my thrifting and antiquing adventures I had no idea what they were and quite frankly I wasn't interested in them.  I thought they were kinda ugly and cool to look at the same time....but beyond that I was done.
I'm not sure what all of sudden caught my attention one day...  I just remember that about a year ago I became interested in them and started doing some research.  One thing I found out was the word flower and floral was interchangeable when referring to these "frogs".


These are floral/flower frogs.  Huhhhh???? what the heck is a floral frog?  Well, let me tell you.



Floral frogs hold individual flowers in place. They sit in the bottom of a vase.  They have been around since the 16th century. It wasn't until 1870 when flower frogs began to be made of glass, because it became possible to get a patent for glassware that year.  Some say they are called frogs because they sit in water.

I found this interesting... (you will too if you look at all the different types of flower frogs out there). There are two types of flower frogs: pin-holders (the wire looking ones) and glass or porcelain frogs. Pin-holders allow flowers to be arranged at any angle, which makes them the most versatile flower holder. Glass or porcelain holders just have holes placed on the surface.

As the years passed we figured out how to make pretty much anything synthetic and we created floral foam.  Foam holds water and works great for the flowers we stick in them.




I truly appreciate and use floral foam every season and every opportunity I can.  HOWEVER I have come to love the old fashioned floral frogs.  They are so much more interesting and so much prettier than foam.  They also look a heck of a lot prettier sitting on a shelf than foam would.


Here is how I have used them in my home.




This is my favorite collection.  I love the iron wire frogs  (these are the ones you can manipulate the stems to go any way you want).


 I use them for other uses....
empty frog...




Add a base


Add some nice soap


Place soap on a frog


yes yes yes   so really nice



Completely upside down.  This pic won't rotate even if I offer money.

The rest of my collection is purely decorative...
I placed ribbon through these glass frogs, added a flower and poof, they are gorgeous hanging on a wall.




Once again, rotation is being as stuborn as me.


















These are my favorite., the iron wire ones



Some have notches so you can add more




Add a photo, business card, recipe...

These can be found pretty much at all thrift, antique shops.  Once you see one, you see a bunch!
Comments make my day!!  Really.

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the lesson. I never would have guessed what they were used for. I really like your ribbon and flower idea for the glass ones. You are so creative!

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    1. Thanks Michele. One day I was sitting at my dining room table and had my new glass floral frogs from a recent antique adventure and tons of crafting supplies on the table. I spotted the ribbon and put it through the frog and loved the look. I think it would be so pretty on a girl's bedroom wall or even a bathroom wall.

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  2. Had no idea what these were! What a great find, what great uses for them, and how how cute hanging on the wall! as always, it was an inspiring read! - Tricia

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  3. I would never have known what they are...fascinating and multi funcitonal! Thanks for your funny comment, needed the laugh!

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    1. Hi Tina! So happy to have made you laugh! But seriously, I need the keys to your house! Hand em over.
      Thanks so much for visiting my blog.
      -Lisa

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