displaying photographs - grace grits and gardening

Gracie Lee’s Instagram Party!

December 2, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner 5 Comments

To celebrate December, Gracie Lee is hosting an Instagram party. Of course when Gracie Lee was a kid in the early 1970s, Instagram existed in it’s purest form—as a bulletin board on the bedroom wall. Or a photo album filled with carefully arranged Polaroids.

Christmas was one of her favorite times of the year. From the day the Sears Christmas Catalog arrived in the mail to New Year’s Day, she tried to hold on to the magic of Christmas. It was the one time of year Daddy didn’t seem so grumpy and everyone breathed a little easier.

Plus school was out for three whole weeks.

And sometimes there was snow.Continue Reading

Specimen Frames – Dried Flowers on Display

September 30, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner 4 Comments

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of fall leaves. I collect them on my daily walks. Open any random book in our house and odds are good that a dried leaf will flutter to the ground. And as of late, I’ve become obsessed with specimen-type frames which are ideal for displaying said fall leaves. This one came from Terrain. I’m obsessed with Terrain, too. (But this is not a sponsored post.)

I could say these frames provide a great way to keep fall around year round, or your favorite flower before winter takes it, or a bloom from your birthday bouquet—and all that would be true—but really, I like the overall look of this. Part sleek industrial, part mad botanist, part urban schoolhouse.Continue Reading

a new twist on flower frogs

August 9, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner 4 Comments

This is a frog in a flower.

via Chamomile @ morgueFile

These are flower frogs.

Note the differences. ◕‿◕

I’ve begun collecting flower frogs. (My mother, on the other hand, collects the amphibian sort in her bathroom on the farm—a whole other story.)

Vintage flower frogs are made of metal or pottery. They were originally used for flower arranging (very Ikebana). The frog holds the stems of flowers upright. Placed inside a shallow bowl filled with water (like a frog?), the flowers stay fresh and stand at attention. I put mine in a little creamer for demo purposes. Pretty cute I think, even though the picture didn’t turn out so great.

Flower frogs have become quite collectible (pricey), so if I can find an inexpensive one, I snag it. But instead of using them for flower arranging, I prefer to use them for displaying photographs.

The last few weeks I’ve been decluttering our house, preparing to sell it, preparing to move. The last thing I should be doing is buying something else to tote to our new house. Right?

Right.

Yet I was the highest (only) Ebay bidder on two new frogs. Less than five dollars, I couldn’t resist. They needed a new home, and luckily they will be easy to pack.