Recently, I asked my 13 year old grandson if he knew what a flower frog was and what it did. He didn’t, but after showing one to him, he had some fun and interesting ideas for its use. I then gave him the challenge of finding several in my home...explaining they were not all shaped or made from the same material. We had fun with the scavenger hunt!

Cage, pin, class and figurine styles!

Basically, flower frogs are functional and fun to collect because they are made from several different materials and a variety of styles. Flower frogs date back to the 14th century. The Japanese used them to help in creating flower arrangements. They are made of glass, pottery, ceramic, wire (hairpin), metal, stone and plastic.

Many believe the word “frog” is used because it sits in water inside the container/vase. They became popular in the United States during the 20s and 30s. Once the water absorbent foam was invented, frogs lost their popularity for function.

In recent years, they have become quite collectible and have found other uses for decorating. The flower frogs with holes or the cage style can be used to hold pens, pencils, makeup and artist brushes. The metal pin/spike style frogs make great picture or business and post card holders, and since they come in many sizes, you can stack them to create a “frog” tree! Extremely old ones are cone and mushroom shaped, while others are figurines with holes in the base for the flower stems. All styles come in several different colors which adds to the fun of collecting and decorating with them.

Do you have a collection? Tell us how you use them or display them. If you are intrigued by these fun flower frogs and decide to hunt for them, we always have a good variety at Freakin’ Antiquin’ Vintage Market. Come see us at 2259 E. Bennett, Springfield, Missouri. Let us know you saw this article and if you enjoyed it.

Melissa @ #FreakinAntiquinVintageMarket