How To Make A Flower Frog With Clear Tape

Today I'm sharing how to make a flower frog using clear tape. It's a quick, inexpensive and easy way to create a stunning floral arrangement, no matter the size or type of flowers or vase. 

This post contains affiliate links. A purchase of any one of these items helps to support this blog and its creative efforts at no cost to you. To read more, please see my disclosure page.

But first, I'd like to introduce you to flower frogs in general. 

I'm a collector of many things, including flower frogs. While original flower frogs are from a very different era, they're still being made and used today. 

What Is A Flower Frog And What Does It Do?

 

Most flower frogs are either metal, glass, ceramic or brass. Once placed in the bottom of your vase or container, the flower frog's holes or pins keep your blooms in place, guaranteeing an attractive and sturdy flower arrangement.

They're both practical and decorative, as well as eco-friendly (taking the place of floral foam). In addition, many of the older flower frog designs have become collectibles!

Types Of Flower Frogs 

Martha Stewart: A Guide To Collecting And Using Flower Frogs

There are many different types of flower frogs -- both in size and shape. There are ceramic and glass ones with holes, pin cup holders, and the most common -- the kenzan, (metal disc with pins) which means "needle mountain" in Japanese.

Tower of my vintage kenzan flower frogs

It's always fun to create seasonal displays with metal flower frogs. Many people stack them up to look like Christmas trees during the holidays, and sometimes use them to hold pictures of cherished vintage post cards.

Amber glass flower frog

Flower frog pin cup holder

Some even come with their own matching vase or container -- a set, if you will. Like this gorgeous Viking etched crystal flower frog and bowl that sold right away in my Etsy shop.   

The glass flower frog with holes fits right inside the top of the etched glass bowl to create a beautiful unit.

 

I filled the holes with faux greenery and threw in some sugared berries on sticks for a beautiful Christmas arrangement. 

And those styles are only a sampling. So as you can see the number of flower frog styles out there is amazing!

Where Can I Find Flower Frogs?  

Vintage flower frogs (my favorite kind!) can be found at estate sales, flea markets, vintage sales and thrift shops. But they can also be found online as well -- both old and new. (Yes, they're still being made today!)

For more contemporary flower frogs, I've compiled a list of some favorites that are available online. You can even purchase flower frog "kits" to get you started. Read to the bottom of the post for recommendations and links.

History of Flower Frogs

Flower frogs have been around for centuries, as far back as the 14th century in Japan. They are usually associated with Ikebana = the joyful art of flower arranging. I don't think I could describe it better -- because that's what I get when I work on a flower arrangement filled with beautiful blooms: pure joy.

How Do I Make A Flower Frog?

While having flower frogs on hand is great, you might not always have just the right size and type of flower frog to assist you, depending on the vessel you are using and the particular flowers in the arrangement. That's when this flower frog hack comes in super handy!

All you need is your container or vase, some clear tape, water and your flowers, of course! This hack is used by florists everywhere when they have a particularly challenging floral arrangement and/or container, such as a wide mouthed vase or a low, bowl-type of container. Their goal is to make the flowers stand up, rather than droop over the sides or get "swallowed up," in a way, by the container.   

This pink tulip vase is one of my absolute favorite vases, and these garden zinnias are some of my favorite flowers. The only problem is that to fill the large mouth of this vase with zinnias, I need an awful lot of them! So in order to limit the number of blooms needed to create an arrangement in this vase, I rely on this flower frog hack:

First, fill your container with the appropriate amount of water and any flower preservative you may be using. Be sure to then dry the vase around the rim so the tape will stick to it properly.   

Then use your clear tape to create a “grid” across the top of the vase. How much tape you’ll need depends on the size of the vase as well as the size of the flowers you’re using for your bouquet. I used three strips of tape going across the mouth of the vase in one direction and two pieces of tape going across the mouth of the vase in the other direction.

It allows me to spread the flowers out across the mouth of the vase and give the arrangement a fuller look than it would have without using the tape grid. It serves as a scaffold, if you will, for the flower arrangement.   

In smaller vases like this one (with smaller openings) I don't need to use the flower frog hack. My zinnia bouquet fits inside this vase perfectly. I also added some garden basil, thyme and lavender to fill out the arrangement. 

I loved the look so much that I also created another flower frog with clear tape atop one of my favorite vintage chinoiserie pieces -- a tall chinoiserie tea pot, sans lid. 

The tape grid helped me arrange the tallest of my zinnias into a cohesive bouquet, avoiding it merely being a grouping of some long, lanky flowers.

Like the smaller, square-shaped chinoiserie vase above, this donut teapot does not require a flower frog grid made of clear tape. The opening is so small that my semi-dwarf zinnias fit perfectly inside it. 

Where To Get The Goods

Stainless Round Kenzan Flower Frog

Stainless Round Kenzan Flower Frog 3-Pack (3 sizes)

Wazakura Minoyaki Series Japanese Ikebana Essential Tool Kit 

Clayflag Ceramic Flower Frog

Square Hairpin Ikebana Flower Frog

Rectangular Brass Hairpin Flower Frog

Four different vases, two different arrangement approaches. I love all four bouquets, and I'm looking forward to having many more of them this summer since I have three raised garden beds filled with zinnias! 

Well, that's it for today, friends! 

I hope you've enjoyed reading about 

How To Make A Flower Frog With Clear Tape

and that I've inspired you in some way.  

Don't Forget To Pin It! 

Be sure to stay in touch:

Click HERE to subscribe. 

Don't miss another thrifty, 

DIY home decor post!