Even a Four Year Old...

 

can arrange flowers with a canning jar flower frog!


 

I've seen these lids on etsy and on different posts all over blogland.  Being the crafty sort, and not liking the tutorial I found...(they used pieces of wire and hot glue) I decided to give it a try. 


 

I had the canning lids and bands and a piece of hardware cloth from a project from long ago.
(Carol Duvall had all kinds of crafts using hardware cloth, baskets, candle covers...)
You can find hardware cloth at Ace, but you have to buy it by the roll.  It is handy to have with many applications in the garden.
 

So this is how I made the frogs.  I used a canning jar lid, the part that goes inside and held it onto the hardware cloth.  As you can see it's not cloth at all but a wire mesh.  I used wire cutters to cut a circle out of the mesh, following the lid as closely as possible. 

 Then, what to use to give the wire a domed shape?  I had this wooden bocce ball.  I put the cut circle of wire mesh on a folded dish cloth and pushed the wooded ball into the mesh.  I cupped my hand around the towel, mesh and ball until it took the domed shape.  

I popped the cut and shaped pieces into the band, the part that screws onto the jar and it stayed.  No need for glue.  When the lid is screwed onto the jar it holds it firmly in place.  

I made a bunch as my little bird watched Cinderella...Then we went outside to cut flowers.  She really did make the arrangement.  The frog works especially well for zinnias, since the stems are short and want to fall into the jar without one. A great small gift for friends... who doesn't have a canning jar?

I also made 8 small loaves of zucchini bread yesterday, and still have 2 cups of shredded zucchini for another batch, from my very own home grown zucchini!  No baking today as the temps will be in the 90's AGAIN! 

Which made me think of this...

Think of a wonderful thought

Any merry little thought

Think of Christmas, think of snow

Think of sleigh bells

Off you go like reindeer in the sky...

You can fly, your can fly, you can fly!!!

You Can Fly from Peter Pan

Sammy Fain and Sammy Cahn

Stay cool my friends and have a wonderful day!