How do your Repurpose a Flower Frog? And What is a Flower Frog anyway????

Flower frogs have been around for many, many years.  Originally  used for flower arranging, they are meant to sit in the bottom of your vase or your bowl and the stems of the flowers are then placed inside the small holes or on the pins.

Since flower frogs have been replaced by a foam as a way to stabilize a flower arrangement here are some great flower frogs and ways to use them today :)

The metal flower frogs with pins (very sharp pins!) are great for displaying photos or vacation postcards, cards, name place cards at a dinner party, holding a recipe while you are cooking....

 

FrenchbyDesign

 westbournegrove

Flower frogs can also be glass, clear or colored with large round holes in them....these holes are great for holding a variety of items....in your office or home...

                                            rosebudshome

littlebyrdvintage

If I collected marbles I would love to display them in a clear glass flower frog!

There is such a variety of flower frogs that no matter your decor there will be one that is perfect....

MySeriousSide





                             

                                                                                              CinfulOldies

 FrancesAttic






                                                           
                                  

                                                                                 chixycoco                                                                   

This is just a tiny selection of available flower frogs, just to tempt you a little, have fun hunting and thinking up a unique way to display some in your home or office...I understand they are the hot collectible this year!

VE                                                                                                                     

Carpet Balls

Many years ago, I was watching an episode of Cash In The Attic and they found these things called Carpet Balls or Carpet Bowls.  OMG, they were amazing and so pretty!  But the antique ones were so expensive!

 

Some of the antique ones go for over $100, so I started looking for newer ones.  I was able to find some in antique shops for about $3.00 and then I came across a bunch of them at my local Christmas Tree Shop for $1.00 each! 

 

Here's a blog post I found from 2008 that shows some pretty colors:  http://seeingdesign.com/etc/carpet-balls

 

                 

 

I have to settle for showing you other people's because I put mine away and can't remember where I put them :(  sigh.  They aren't this pretty anyway.

 

One more, this is an OLD photo from the Internet:

For more regarding the actual game, you can read about it here:     Birkenhead Carpet Bowling

 

RWS

 

Escape For Just a Moment

Ever have one of those days where you want to jump in the car and drive?  Doesn’t really matter where you’re going, as long as the view is nice?  Well, I love to drive, love to take in some of creations beauty, soak in the colors, landscapes and right now, life is just too busy to do that.  So what does a person do?  The next best thing!  Sit in front of a computer and search out as many beautiful nature scenes as possible.  Whether they are real places or in the creative minds of some talented artists, I invite you to take a deep breath with me, and let’s enjoy today.

Summer Sunset by mechase

Gooseberry Falls by ryanacker

Grey Sea by LGraceOriginals

Greenbrier Autumn by TracyWebGallery

The Lighthouse by JimmiesArt

Mountains at Twilight by hobbylady

After looking at any of these, I have a sense of calm and can face the day, no matter what it holds. 

Happy Friday everyone!

Duuude

Cluck Cluck Bawk!

I am not getting too deep today. 

A friend sent me this link once and I found it amusing and fun so I thought I'd give your mind a break and let you just play with the chicken today.

Let's make it a productive, creative, happy day filled with smiles and good moments.

Peggy ~ Goodgosh ~ GG  

http://www.bk.com/en/us/campaigns/subservient-chicken.html

Fun wasn't it?

Snow days

 Snow days…I love the snow.

JuniperHouseStudio

                  

I like the quiet and peacefulness when it is falling, the sparkles when the sun comes out and shines on it.

I love taking a walk while it is snowing at night. (as long as you avoid the snowplows)

It seems like this year we are getting fresh snowfall every few days. This is okay with me. It keeps the snow looking nice and clean. It doesn’t seem to take long at all for the snow to get all dingy and dirty from all the cars.

summerbreeze

I found some snow related  items and pictures to help remind everyone of the beauty of snow.  Even if you are tired of it already and are chomping at the bit for spring to come, you can’t help but enjoy the prettiness of it.

CozyGirlDesigns

HappyCloudMoment

                                     

So sit back and take a moment to look at the pretty side of snow, and forget all the shoveling, digging out, commuting …the ugly side of snow.

shabbychicskiboutiq

Carynbay

NatureMandala

                 

theaterclouds

(jj) 

( I apologize for being a little late with the post today)

I've Been Playing

Two weeks ago I posted how to make the paper blossoms, and since then I've been playing. My idea is to take this blossom and create a complete line of products from this one "creation". So far these are what I've come up with.

                                                          
                                                                   The gift bag...

                                                                   The gift tag...

                                                                 The blank card...

                                                                Thank you note...
I've also been playing with the color. Using the computer to do this is so much more fun and so much easier than doing each individual blossom and stem by hand. Not as original, but makes for better cost management.
 

I want to try a tee shirt and a tote, but don't have them ready to post today.  Does anyone have other ideas? I'd love to see just how many products can be made from this one little blossom.

Pepper/Helmet Head

Online Shopping for antiques and vintage treasures???

Yep! Yep! Yep!

I have some favorite antique and vintage shops that have an online presence also, some are new and some have been around for a couple of years...some I have known about for awhile and some I just discovered...

Let me introduce you to a few of my favorites :)

   Old Crow Antiques

Old Crow Antiques is a very new online shop specializing in fun and funky vintage collectibles....keep an eye on this one folks, the owner has a great eye for the interesting and the unusual...

                                          Thea's Interiors

Thea's Interiors is the new online presence of a wonderful B&M shop in Portland, Oregon.  Thea has been an Antique Dealer for several years and in addition to her shops she sells at Antique Shows and in her spare (?) time  does interior decorating.  This shop not only has a selection of fabulous antiques but she also showcases special hand created items from gifted artisans.

                                               Siettela

Siettela is a shop located in Japan.  I first met the young man who owns this shop when he purchased items from us at an Antique Show....you may even find some of those items currently for sale in his shop!  He travels the world purchasing unique and functional items and I love the way he showcases each one.

Em's Heart

Em's Heart has some of the most beautiful antique linens available online, each one has been carefully laundered and pressed and the descriptions are like a small history lesson....she also sells acid free tissue paper and a linen wash to help you preserve your antique linens....

                                    
                                              Factory20

Factory20 is a shop I just discovered today, it specializes in vintage and antique industrial style furniture...can  you say zinc tables!  I love this look....so check out my newest discovery!

I hope you enjoy visiting some of my favorite shops and checking out their goodies!

Happy shopping!
VE

ACJ Crew Shops on Etsy

This slideshow design personalized with Smilebox

Flying Blind!

These are something I collect that I can't find any information on, there's no books, no reference sites, no history at the company site, nothing.

So, you listen to what people tell you, some of which you try to keep a straight face while they are talking and some that does make sense and see where it leads you.

I've found that most people consider these cactus planters.  I think they are cotton ball holders.  Although a small cactus might be cute in these!

This is an unusual one, I've never seen another one like it.

A lot of people lump this one in with the others but truth is, it's called Pencil Pete and I know this only because I've seen them with the original tag still on them.

Now, let's get to why I'm writing this post!

These are Airwick air fresheners!  Different from the cats above because the hole is smaller.  You would pour scented oils into the well, insert the wick and the oils would absorb up through the wick and give you a scent of your choice!

I believe these to be hand painted.  You can get two of the same color but the facial features are different.

Just this one still has part of the original tag on it!  It reads "The Majic Kat".  I'm thrilled to have it in my collection!

Bring on the dogs!

Obviously, other companies came along and tried to copy the idea.  This is a rarer Scottie Dog.  I've never seen another one like it in my travels.

Dogs are harder to find than the cats.  I set a limit on what I'll spend on one of these and I can still find them within my limit, although you will see some that are overpriced!

Not one of these has any kind of markings on them.  I guess everything was put on a tag that would fall off the second you washed it.

Have a great day!

RWS