Announcing.......Laughing Frog Studio

Fineline Antiques is extremely proud to announce a new shop on etsy, "the world's handmade marketplace". We are adding Laughing Frog Studio to our family of online stores. Laughing Frog Studio will join the ranks of Swoonantiques and Lucys Closet Vintage on etsy along with our flagship shop Fineline Antiques.

Laughing Frog Studio is a unique venture into upcycling. What is upcycling you ask?Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials, useless products or castaway items into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. Basically it means taking some trash and turning it into a treasure.

At Laughing Frog Studio we are currently exploring primarily vintage silverplate silverware. We are making many unique things from jewelry to housewares. See below for some examples.

Stop by our new shop and check out all of the beautiful and unique finds. Additionally, like us on Facebook (fineline antiques) and receive 10% off your next item purchase!

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Laughing Frog Studio Bio
WHAT IS LAUGHING FROG STUDIO?
Laughing Frog Studio makes "lemonade out of lemons" or "trash into treasure.” Everything is upcycled from vintage items. The primary medium is silverplate silverware, but at times they work with stainless steel, costume jewelry, bottle caps, beads, buttons, etc. The goal is to make something wonderful out of a castaway item!

WHO IS LAUGHING FROG?
Laughing Frog Studio (LFS) is a husband and wife team that gives vintage items a new life. LFS started as an idea to make some extra cash to subsidize their daughter’s ice hockey dreams. But it turned out to be a wonderful vehicle for Matt to pursue his artistic dreams while still holding down a day job and for Jen to satisfy the “Fred Sanford” (Sanford & Son,1970s) in her heart.

By day, Matt manages computer programmers and extremely large databases. But the core of his being is in creating, be it food, art or programs. He earned his B.S.S. at Cornell College in Computer Science, Economics and Art. Over the years he has dabbled in pen and pencil sketches, stylized doodles, oil pastels, and sculptural art. It isn’t uncommon for Matt to pick up a piece of “found” paper or wire and create something out of it. He once surprised Jen by giving her a dozen flowers – all handmade out of candy and gum wrappers, napkins, and wires & beads.

Jen stays at home with their two kids and wears many hats: chauffeur, tutor, cook, nurse, cleaning lady, secretary, etc. Her passion has always been antiques and she has a difficult time throwing things out; to her everything has value. She earned a B.A. in Psychology at Cornell College (yes, that’s where they met!) and a B.S. in Marketing & Communications at Bradley University. For the past ten years, she has run an online antiques business called FineLine Antiques. In keeping with the “Fred Sanford” in her heart, she has trouble passing by good curbside “trash.” As a child she was often scolded when emptying the trash as she would take out all the “good stuff” and re-use it.

WHY THE NAME LAUGHING FROG?
Well.... “Laughter” is THE best medicine right? Jen loves to laugh and all her life has been known for her distinct giggle. “Frog” is personally symbolic for Matt and represents whimsy and connections with deceased loved ones. Combined, the words represent both of parts of the team. Plus, it sounds cool!

Who'duv Thunk? My shop was included on a Sports Website!

This weekend, I was going through my swooonantiques.etsy.com shop stats (akin to google analytics). This is something I try to do this regularly in order to get a sense of my traffic sources as well as to see what key words bring shoppers to my shop. Typically, etsy and google are my top traffic sources.

However when I looked at my stats in line graph format, there was a noticeable spike in shop traffic from a single source.... a source that I have never heard of. Usually etsy and google combined result in 50-150 views in a day. But on September 14, I had 1,163 views! "What the?!?!?!" (in a good way of course).

So I researched the source of the traffic spike. Surprisingly, the source is a sports website called Uni Watch. In my personal life, sports play a huge role. I have two kids who play competitive hockey and a husband who is a huge football fan and plays hockey himself. Naturally, I thought there must be some mistake. The must have been some huge crossing of wires/life compartments. I couldn't fathom why I was getting traffic from a sports website.


Uni Watch is a unique website, one that I would never have imagined existed. It is a website that devotes itself to the "obsessive study of athletics aesthetics". Here is what they say in their "Here's the Deal"/"About Us" section.

"Uni Watch is a media project that deconstructs the finer points of sports uniforms in obsessive and excruciating detail. It has nothing to do with fashion — it’s about documenting and maintaining the visual history of sports design, and about minutiae fetishism as its own reward. If that concept doesn’t make sense to you, no problem — Uni Watch definitely isn’t for everyone, and there have always been people who Don’t Get It™. But for those who understand the pleasures of detail obsession, programmatic classification systems, information overload, and sports history, you’ve come to the right place."

So I read through the website, particularly the posts from the day which caused my traffic spike. "EUREKA-I found it!" The author of one of the articles referenced an item I had in my shop, the only sports-related item I (currently) have listed. The reference is buried deep in the day's post in an article called the "Collectors Corner" by Brinke Guthrie. If you read far enough you will see that he took a moment to go onto etsy and found several vintage sports items including mine. In his article he referred to my item as "some old-timey sports decals".

Phew, mystery now solved; I now know the reason for the traffic spike. I am grateful for the additional traffic and exposure that I received. I must go and thank Mr. Guthrie. Additionally, I found unique and extremely interesting website that I never knew existed. I will be sure to share it with all of my sports fan family and friends.

The "old-timey sports decals" have not yet sold - now is your chance!

Virtual Food Drive

As I made my daily Starbucks run, I was listening the radio. There was an interview with a person from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. They were talking about the need for donations, particularly in today's economy. Apparently more people are turning to soup kitchens and food depositories for help; people you wouldn't expect, even those with college degrees.

Here are some stats from the Greater Chicago Food Depository:

• Thirty-nine % of the households who receive food from the Food Depository include at least one employed adult
• About 33 % of the people the Food Depository serves are children under 18
• 10 % of study respondents were 65 and older
• 25 % of households served have at least one family member in poor health
• 22 % of clients surveyed live in the suburbs
• 10 % own the place where they live
• 9 % of clients are homeless

In the past my daughter and I would do a door-to-door food drive in our neighborhood that I would then take to a local food pantry. As the kids have gotten older, life has taken me in every other direction and we have gotten away from that tradition – it’s time to return course.

So I have decided to hold a Virtual Food Drive with Greater Chicago Food Depository (a charter member of America's Second Harvest national food bank network). You can:

• donate whatever you want
  
• spend however much you want
  
• you don't even have to leave the comfort of your desk chair!
• it's tax deductible!
  

Food Drive - Click Here

When you click on the link, you will be taken to a secure server where you can shop for the foods you want to donate. You money goes a long way because the The Greater Chicago Food Depository gets a special rate on the items you select; your money goes farther with this process that it would if you shopped for the food yourself.

So if you, like me, have a very crazy life, but long to help others, together,let's get out the virtual wheelbarrow... please consider donating to the Greater Chicago Food Depository with me. Tis the season.

The Pot Luck Dinner - Not your usual article about hosting a potluck.

This article about enjoying great food and friends without spending too much money. It is beautifully written, inspiring and uplifting particularly in these uncertain times. It happens to be written by one of my oldest and dearest friends Susan Buchanan. But the fact that she is my friend does not negate the validity of the thoughts or the beauty of the writing. She does a great job of writing about food and painting a vivid mental picture while inspiring and informing you.

To read the rest more articles like this, please go to www.VenusRisingMagazine.com

Food for Soul: Spread a Sense of Abundance by Hosting a Potluck Supper By Susan Buchanan of Venus Rising: A Companion for Living

This year we are entering the tunnel of winter during one of the darkest economic moments in recent history. Feeling insecure about the future, many of us are beginning to tighten our belts and think of ways to cut corners. However, in the midst of this economic stress, it is more important than ever to eat well and find ways to feed the soul. In order to do this, we need to remind ourselves where there is abundance in friends, family, and food.

A potluck is an easy and affordable way to enjoy good food and spend quality time with others. A potluck may remind us of an odd mixture of foods that don’t complement each other. In fact, the term potluck was coined to represent the luck a guest would have when she showed up at a neighbor’s house around dinner time. The visitor ate whatever her host happened to be cooking, whatever she had in the “pot” on the stove. There were no special preparations made for the visitor. As such, one may get lucky and have a feast, or one may be stuck eating less than exciting leftovers.

The potluck expanded to its more modern concept – a gathering with everyone bringing food to share – through churches in the late 19th century, when potluck became “potluck supper.” Potluck suppers were also formats for community dinners put on to fund raise. With this newer meaning, the “luck” part may still represent how good the food is that comes to the table, but it is also the recognition of the friends and people we have to share it with.

With a little more control than the church sign up sheet, you can designate a certain number of salads, main dishes, and desserts and create a potluck supper that truly makes everyone feel rich and lucky. You can also make it more interesting by designing a theme that everyone works into their dish such as southern comfort, Italian, Thai, or California fusion. Here are some ideas to give you and your guests inspiration.

Salads - Reinvigorate the potluck salad. Use lettuces that are bright green or red and add additional color with dried berries and red and yellow peppers. Give it an Italian flair with shaved Parmesan or a Greek tone with Feta. Toss with toasted nuts and a simple vinaigrette when ready to put it on the table. Change the traditional cold broccoli salad to an Asian inspired salad by lightly pan frying fresh broccoli until crisp and tender and drizzling with a blend of sunflower oil, a touch of sesame oil, and soy sauce. Toss with sesame seeds and sprinkle some of those seeds on top when you put it out to serve.

Main Dishes - Refresh the dreaded overcooked pasta goulash to a real Italian staple. Serve fresh spaghetti in a large bowl, coated with just a little high-quality olive oil and sea salt. Along side the pasta, have a bowl of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese with a small serving spoon and a peppermill for guests to adorn their spaghetti themselves. Potluck goers will feel like they are in an Italian restaurant rather than a church basement. Alternatively, challenge yourself to redo the dreaded tuna casserole. Add the best quality Italian canned tuna, fresh peas, chopped sautéed spinach, cremini mushrooms, and a homemade sauce, avoiding the canned cream of mushroom soup. A simple cream sauce can be made with butter or oil, flour, and broth or milk. Just Google or look up béchamel sauce and search for a method that seems simple to you. Skip the rice casserole and opt for risotto instead, adding seasonal veggies and using a touch of wine in the cooking. Certainly a good beef stew is still great potluck fare but try chicken instead of beef. Boneless is easiest to serve and eat at a potluck so choose boneless chicken breasts and thighs and stew with sweet potatoes, onions, and rosemary. Serve with crusty bread and you may have found a new potluck staple.

Desserts - For dessert, revive the ambrosia salad. Surprise the potluck crowd with fresh pineapple, fresh clementines, toasted coconut, and almonds and a mixture of strained Greek yogurt and honey as the dressing. If you can’t imagine this grandmother’s recipe without marshmallows, go ahead and put them in too. I doubt anyone will object. Or, on a large plate, display bite-sized pieces of star fruit, mango, Asian pears, and kiwi. Place a small bowl or two of canned lychees or pomegranate seeds on the plate. Aside from fruit, the potluck dessert could entail any matter of bar or brownie. Of course, people will always love brownies but try to optimize your opportunity to make decadent bars, something you might not do for your family. Fancy blondies, with macadamia nuts and white chocolate, would be a not-so-everyday bar exceptional for a potluck. Or, be like the smart lady coveted by the church crowd with her layers of chocolate and butterscotch chips, nuts, coconut, graham crackers and sweetened condensed milk. The seven layer bar may become your signature creation.

With everyone contributing something, prepare your table for the riches that will adorn it. Make it special with a pretty table cloth; use your good table ware and cloth napkins. Make sure you have a centerpiece, whether it is fresh greenery, varying sizes of candles, a plant or a carved pumpkin. Once the people you care about show up and the food is displayed all together, you have a recipe for thumbing your nose at these ominous times, defying them by your mere act of gathering to enjoy a meal together to celebrate your good fortune.