For subtle frog theme, you will want to pick just a few frog accessories such as [...]]]> So… you’re thinking of doing a frog theme in your kitchen? The first decision that you will need to make is whether you want to go for the subtle frog accents or to do an over-the-top all out froggy kitchen!

For subtle frog theme, you will want to pick just a few frog accessories such as frog dishtowels, frog trivets and napkin holder, and some froggy refrigerator magnets.  A frog cookie jar or candy dish for the kitchen counter also makes a nice touch.  Frog salt and pepper shakers are another good choice.

For the truly outrageous frog kitchen, you’ll want to get everything froggy that you possibly can.  Start by painting your walls a pale green, then add a froggy wallpaper border or use a frog stencil to add frogs directly to your walls.  Get some froggy fabric to make froggy curtains and don’t forget to cram as many frog-oriented tableware items as you can onto your table and counters.  You’ll be amazed at how much frog kitchen stuff is out there!

First, take your basket (heart-shaped ones are a nice touch) and line it with either pink and white or red and white tissue paper.  The corners of the paper should stick up around the edges to give it a [...]]]> Here’s how to make a unique and very froggy gift basket for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day.

First, take your basket (heart-shaped ones are a nice touch) and line it with either pink and white or red and white tissue paper.  The corners of the paper should stick up around the edges to give it a festive look.

Now, chocolate is a must for a Valentine’s Day basket.  Get a small selection of your sweetie’s favorite types of chocolate (I say small because you don’t want to make your loved one sick!) and then add some frog chocolates to it as an accent.

If you have any hopes or expectations of receiving a kiss as a thank you for your gift, then you may want to include some frog mints.  (It’s a not-so-subtle way to hint that you would really like a kiss from them…)

The other must is to include a frog plush.  A stuffed animal just cries out to be hugged and squeezed.  Exactly the sort of message you want to send!  The FrogStore has a great selection of stuffed frogs.  You can choose either a Valentine’s oriented frog plushy or just pick a cute one from the stuffed froggy multitudes.

The final must is a froggy Valentine’s Day Card.  Once you have written your heartfelt words of love on it, sign your name and seal it inside the envelope.  Place the envelope among the gifts in the basket and finish off the basket by adding a luxurious bow or a balloon bouquet for baskets with large handles.  If you choose a balloon bouquet, make sure to include at least one froggy balloon!

And, if for some reason your sweetie has a “thing” against stuffed animals, the FrogStore has lot of other Valentine Frogs as well frog collectibles and frog jewelry to choose from.

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day!

No, it is not a fried frog leg with lots of fat.  It is a piece of fabric that is one quarter of a yard with a frog print on it.

Fat Quarters are mostly used by quilters, who often buy small amounts (1/4 yard) of lots of different materials to [...]]]> What is a froggy fat quarter?

No, it is not a fried frog leg with lots of fat.  It is a piece of fabric that is one quarter of a yard with a frog print on it.

Fat Quarters are mostly used by quilters, who often buy small amounts (1/4 yard) of lots of different materials to piece together into a quilt. If you get 1/4 yard from a fabric store, it is cut as a 9″ length of a 44″ wide material. A long skinny piece like that can be hard to use, so instead quilting stores sell “fat quarters”, which are quarter-yards of material that have been pre-cut in the “fat” direction of the fabric.  So, it’s still a quarter yard of material but it’s 18″ x 22″ instead of 9″ x 44″.

The biggest advantage to using fat quarters is that you get more of the pattern on the material in a single block.  This is really useful for fabrics with a large print or when you have a quilt design that calls for one large square of fabric in the center.

You can save a lot of money buying fabric in fat quarters when you only need small amounts of that particular fabric.  The FrogStore has over a dozen different (and hard-to-find) designs of froggy fat quarters.

You will need a bag of marshmallows, food coloring, 1 small paint brush, 3 opaque cups –paper ones work great, and a clean flat surface.

First, decorate a whole [...]]]> Here’s a fun and tasty game for older toddlers and preschoolers!  We call it, “Finding Froggy.”  This game is based on the traditional sleight of hand magic trick.

You will need a bag of marshmallows, food coloring, 1 small paint brush, 3 opaque cups –paper ones work great, and a clean flat surface.

First, decorate a whole bunch of frogs by using a small paintbrush to paint food coloring onto the marshmallows.  Red is great for the eyes, and yellow and green make lovely spots for the back.  Try and prepare these before the day of the party so you don’t get overwhelmed with preparations on the day of.  Alternatively you can just buy colored marshmallows.  Young kids are very suggestible so if you tell them that they are frogs, most of them will happily go along with it even if the marshmallows are not decorated at all!

You can set up either at a table or sit anywhere and use a large cookie sheet for your surface.  Place your three cups upside down and invite the kids to come and “find Froggy!”  It’s best if you use an exaggerated stage magician voice.  Hold up one of the “frogs” so the children can see it, and say, “If you can find the froggy, you can eat it!”  Put the “frog” under one of the cups then quickly begin moving the cups around on the cookie sheet.  Be careful not to squish your frog or tip over the cups! After about 15 seconds, ask the children to guess where the frog is.  The child who guesses correctly gets to eat it.  Make sure you move the winner to the back of the crowd so that every child gets a chance to win.  If mobbing becomes a problem, move to a place where only 1 or 2 kids can get close enough to touch the cups.

Quick and easy variation:  Use frog gummy candies instead of marshmallows.

Healthy variation:  Use raisins instead of marshmallows and tell the kids that they are very hungry frogs and that the raisins are yummy flies!

Our official time estimates for US shipments are 6-12 days for Standard shipping, and 2-5 days for Premium shipping. Canadian shipments are not covered in this post.

- – - – - – Shipping Speak – - – - – -

Shippers almost always cite [...]]]> How long will it take your order to arrive?  There is no simple answer.

Our official time estimates for US shipments are 6-12 days for Standard
shipping, and 2-5 days for Premium shipping. Canadian shipments are not covered in this post.

- – - – - – Shipping Speak – - – - – -

Shippers almost always cite time in transit in terms of Business Days. If a FedEx 2nd Day package is shipped on a Friday, it does not arrive on Sunday, but instead arrives the following Tuesday.  Saturday and Sunday are not counted as days.  Holidays are also not counted as days.

Usually, shipper estimates start on the day the order is shipped, not when the order is received.

- – - – - – Frog Store ‘Standard’ Shipping - – - – - –

Orders with Standard shipping will often, but not always, arrive quicker than
the 6-12 day estimate.  Reasons include:

• Lightweight orders are shipped by either USPS First Class or USPS Priority Mail.  Priority Mail claims 2-3 business day delivery.  First Class varies more, but usually arrives within 5 business days.

• Heavier orders ship by FedEx Ground from Oregon, so the closer you are to Oregon, the quicker your order will arrive.  At minimum, heavier shipments from our warehouse in Oregon arrive at US eastern locations in 5 business days from the day that we ship.  This means that the shipment will always wrap a weekend, so the quickest a heavy Standard shipped package could arrive is 7 calendar days if we pack and ship the order the same day it arrives, which is not normal.

• We use USPS Parcel Post shipping for heavier orders going to addresses FedEx does not serve (PO Boxes, for example) and “Delivery Surcharge” areas (rural and some downtown city addresses) where FedEx charges extra.

• How to get the maximum 12 day estimate?  You live in the Eastern Time Zone, you order Wednesday, we are so busy we can’t ship until Friday, and the following week includes a holiday which causes 2 weekends to occur during transit.  Voilà!  12 days.

- – - – - – Frog Store ‘Premium’ Shipping - – - – - –

Orders with Premium shipping normally arrive in 2-3 business days, which most of the time will be 2-5 calendar days.  Premium orders always go to the front of the line and ship at the first opportunity.

Our Premium shipping methods are:

• For heavier orders, we use USPS Priority Mail.  The USPS claims, but
  does not guarantee, 2-3 business day delivery from the day we ship.  In
  our experience, they make the 2-3 day claim good a high percentage of the time.

• For midrange weights in smallish boxes, we will use FedEx Express Saver, which arrives in 3 business days from the day we ship.

• For lightweight orders (eastern US) to midweight orders (west coast US) in smallish boxes, we use FedEx 2nd Day shipping.  Again, the 2 days is from the day we ship and counts only business days.

• In unusual cases, we will use USPS Express Mail Flat Rate Envelopes.
  This is for small lightweight shipments usually being shipped on a Thursday.  In most cases this results in Saturday delivery, which would be better than FedEx 2nd Day delivery the following Monday.

- – - – - – Frog Store ‘Custom’ Shipping - – - – - –

On customer request, we can usually ship by any method that FedEx has to the customer’s location if the customer is willing to pay the extra expense. We will usually charge the quoted FedEx charge plus a service fee for the
special handling.

The USPS has a classification for commercial shippers called First Class Parcel, which is what we use.  We [...]]]> When you make an order for a small item and select standard shipping, your order will most likely ship by US Postal Service (USPS) First Class Mail.  Letters and bill payments that you mail go by First Class.

The USPS has a classification for commercial shippers called First Class Parcel, which is what we use.  We want to have ALL orders that we ship be trackable, and First Class Parcel mailing allows us to use USPS Delivery Confirmation for tracking.

Deep within the USPS rules are definitions about what can and cannot be a First Class Parcel, and one of the rules is that the package has to be at least 3/4″ thick.  Even if we pay the extra cost for Delivery Confirmation, the package cannot be sent as a First Class Parcel if it does not meet USPS rules.

When we first started shipping using our current system, we would sometimes have a package returned, or a customer would be asked to pay postage due.  Most of our ‘flat’ First Class Parcels made it through the mail ok, but in a few cases those eagle-eyed postal employees spotted our too-flat mail pieces and tagged them.

So now when we ship using First Class Parcel, and we ship using a bag or an envelope, and the package looks too thin, we add in a little foam thickener to make sure the package meets USPS requirements for First Class Parcels.

It seems silly to have to do this, and we would like the USPS to change this requirement, but don’t expect them to.  It would make too much sense to do that.