flea market frog art

My sweet friend, Thiam, and I spent the day at the Long Beach Antique Flea Market yesterday. The day started off with some rain, but turned into a BEAUTIFUL sunshining day! The two of us strolled along the rows and rows of vendor booths, looking at all the fabulous items we'd love to have but refrained from buying. We were very wise with our money (I don't have any to spend right now anyway! lol). I did, however, buy a couple items that I haggled for.

* never buy anything at the asking price at flea markets...they will always go down if you ask, even if its not as low of a price as you'd like. But don't offer too low of a price, you don't want to offend them...then you definitely won't get it at the price you hoped for.

At the beginning of our day at the flea market, Thiam and I saw this booth that had the cutest little crafts. At $20 a pop, we decided it was something we could make ourselves at half the price. So we were determined to find the pieces as we continued on our hunt for the day. Low and behold, we found all the supplies we needed. Thiam found enough to make each member of her family one, and then I found what I needed too.

And here it is...my vintage frog art:


If you don't know what a vintage frog is...its the base of the piece with the spikes. It is known as a flower frog. You put them in vases and then the stem of the flower when being arranged is pushed into the frog spikes...that way the arrangement will stay exactly as you designed and won't move around at will. Frogs range in price depending on the size, age, material, and uniqueness. I was able to get this one for $3 (instead of the asking price of $5).

We had to dig through boxes of letters to find the ones we needed to make our names...it took awhile, but it was worth the work. Because of the number of tiles bought, he gave us a good deal. Me = instead of $8 he asked for, he gave it to me for $3. Thiam = istead of $50 he asked for, he gave it to her for $30. I'm so excited to see all the ones she makes for her family. I decided not to write out my name 'Jody' because the o and d looked too similar, so I did my initials...I thought it looked more unique too.

So to wrap up...instead of buying a $20 item at the flea market, I made the same thing, customized to me, for only $6!! It literally pays to be creative and make things yourself! So get out there and get crafting!