Christmas Corsage (or Etsy Alchemy Is Cool!)

I got my first request via Etsy's Alchemy service the other day.

The customer requested a corsage with blooms similar to my Christmas wreaths. Here's the resulting holiday joy!








Despite the nearly 80 degree weather and 90% humidity outside, this corsage is putting me in the Christmas spirit!

Oh, and don't forget about my HUGE clearance sale right now in my Etsy shop - 50% off all existing wreaths and arrangements...

Owwwwww... (or Owwwww!)

In case you haven't seen on Facebook, I've been stricken with an infection in my arm that makes it incredibly painful to move it. So, if you have contacted me by email in the last few days and I haven't gotten back to you, that's why. I am returning emails as fast as possible, so yours should come soon!

In the meantime, here are some more pictures of paper flower pieces I will be showing off at The Dallas Flea this Saturday!















These are daisies and abstract flowers made from my Ikea catalogue!


























These can be worn in the hair or as a brooch.


See you at the Flea!

Quelle Surprise! (or Orange You Glad I Didn't Tell?)

This arrangement was planned and purchased by my friend as a surprise for his wife.





It wasn't her birthday, it wasn't their anniversary, he didn't screw up... Take note, couples of all types - he did it for her just because! Can you believe it?? I LOVE happy surprises - especially when I get to help surprise the surpriseee.




Apparently they were a huge hit. What a guy, eh?
Tomorrow, though, I'm sure it's back to him belching and scratching as usual...




Happy Friday, kids!

It's A Girl! (or NOT "It A Gril!") *

Since so many of my friends (5!!) are having babies this month, I was inspired to make a baby arrangement.



I think this would be perfect for a bridal shower, or a gift in the hospital on a little one's birthday...

Ooh! Or even a fun way for a woman to tell her partner the baby's sex!





Then it can be repurposed as a decoration in the baby's room.
(On a high shelf, please! Little ones don't need to be trying to eat the paper.)





I was really happy to find that gingham tissue paper - I hope I can find a regular supplier of it so these arrangements won't be a limited engagement!

And I really like how the rainbow-y cellophane adds a festive bit of sparkle to an ordinary Chinese take-out box...





Let me know what you think of the baby box!
I'll be starting on a blue one soon...


* A special thanks to Cake Wrecks for introducing the world to "It A Gril". If you don't know, you'd best educate yourself about Cake Wrecks!

Robot In Bloom Paper Flower Jewelry Debuts Today! (or I Finally Updated My Etsy Shop...)

In a minor flurry of activity, I updated my Etsy shop today to include a few pieces of paper flower jewelry I've been working on...

Enough talk.
Pics or it didn't happen!



Trendy Pink Paper Flower Ring




Ivory Gardenia Ring




Pretty Pink Paper Flower Ring




Orchid-Colored Paper Rose Ring




Lime Green Paper Poof Dangly Earrings

Facebook Fans Giveaway #2 (or The 222 Giveaway!)

Hello, robot minions!

Currently, the Robot In Bloom Facebook Page has 175 fans, and I've decided it's high time for another giveaway!



Photo by Monkey Tree Photography


This time, once we reach 222 "likes" (formerly known as "fans") on the Facebook page, I will choose one fan at random (using a random number generator) to receive a bouquet of three hand-painted parchment roses (example pictured above) and at least five tissue carnations (example pictured below) in any color or color combination you choose!


Photo by me.

(I promise at least five carnations, but possibly more if I find that my artistic muses demand more than five that day!)


Just like the first time, there is no deadline and I'll draw the winner's name as soon as the page reaches 222 fans, and I'll post the results on the page and in the blog. And, again like last time, I shall remove myself and my sister from the list of 222, as well as the winner of the first giveaway, Erica Clements. (So I'll really be drawing from a pool of 219.)

Super easy, eh?

So, keep recommending Robot In Bloom to your friends and keep checking back to see if you've won!

Artisan Market Wrap-Up, Part 2 (or Different Awesome People, Same Awesome Day!)

OMG, how good does that look??
Well, once I saw the adorable packaging and sampled it, I just HAD to have a bottle of Te House of Tea chai for myself. The flavor is very complex, yet light, and it has an extra little punch of spice at the end that keeps you coming back for another cup!



Te House of Tea was started by Connie and Alyson who wanted to create a community space in Houston that provides organic and fair-trade teas, delicious food, and local entertainment. Josh and I can't wait to visit!


At the next booth was the adorable and talented Rosa Yoo.



Rosa creates all types of cakes for all types of occasions...



Obviously this gal knows what she's doing visually, but she's also an excellent baker! I tried a sample of her red velvet cake and it was, hands-down, the tastiest red velvet cake I've ever had.



Not only does she make cakes, but she also makes empanadas, docinhos (a Brazilian sweet), and even taught me the word "fuxico" - which are little decorative scraps of fabric that American's sometimes call "yo-yos". (I was wearing an applique I made that day. You can see it toward the end of this post.)


My neighbors across the way were definite craft mavens...
What Texas craft event would be complete without girly cowboy hats?



Nakoa Holder of Nakoa's makes the cutest, funkiest hats and jewelry!



I think what I like best about her work, other than the explosions of color, is the sheer size of some of the pieces. I'm a gal who likes her jewelry chunky and bright, and so does Nakoa!




Her craft booth neighbor and friend was Stephanie Brennan of Maddy Lou's.



Stephanie creates all sorts of adorable things, like these amazing flower bows for girls!



She also had some beautiful flower fascinator headbands that would be perfect for a spunky vintage wedding - or for daily wear for a gal like myself. (Yet another item I had to tear myself away from!)

I'm hoping that Stephanie and I can collaborate and make some really unique flower pieces once I figure out how to make my flowers wearable.



Now, last but absolutely not least, I got to visit with the women of the day: Sheny and the awesome team at VIDA!



The Artisan Market was held on Sheny's property in the gorgeous, tree-lined West University area of Houston.



Sheny is yet another accomplished jewelry artist who not only creates her own designs, but she also can up-cycle old pieces and make them new again!




Her shop carries her work as well as work from other artists - even her own daughter! Lucia is the multi-talented artist of bLuGrn Design. She does everything from jewelry to graphic design, and currently has an awesome line of Alice In Wonderland inspired jewelry that I just adore!



Finally, it was time for a photo-op with Brenda and Carmen of VIDA Events and Marketing.





The ladies are total sweethearts and I really look forward to participating in the Artisan Market again, and other events they have cooking around town!

(PS - Sorry, ladies. I tried my best to edit the heck out of us so that we didn't look all shiny and tired from being in the 94 degree heat all day! :)
PPS - Did everyone else notice my fuxico??)

A great day, indeed!

Artisan Market Wrap-Up, Pt. 1 (or Awesome People, Awesome Day!)

I learned two important facts at the Artisan Market on Saturday:
1) There are some really talented, creative, friendly people in Houston!
2) It's very dangerous to let me attend a craft fair because I'll want to spend all my profits on others' handiwork!

As for the day's specifics, let's start with me, shall we?



The day started out with quite a bang.
As I was setting up my booth, a lovely woman named Helen happened to jog by and bought all my tissue poofs and half my "wacky" flowers! She rode home with the flowers nestled inside her bicycle basket. Tres jolie!

After we finished setting up, to prime the pump (as it were) Josh and I added a few fake addresses to the mailing list sign-up sheet. See if you can guess who they were for... (Leave a comment if you think you know!)





I soon decided to wander around and look at my fellow artisans' wares.
The first place I stopped was Crossroad Creations by Kelley.
Robin Kelley and her husband work together to create crosses out of stone, wood, and metal.



Many of their pieces include chips of amethyst, turquoise, and other gemstones to give the rough-hewn stone pieces a bit of sparkle.
Humble, yet special... I love it!




Next up was the lovely Ana Maria Sanchez of Amaria. She creates luxurious, feminine jewelery that would be just perfect for any bride! Obviously, they'd be lovely for anyone, but I think brides could particularly benefit from her talent.



Many of my favorite pieces were her pearl ones.



Check out her Etsy shop for more examples of her finery!





Arlinda Smith of Quilt Addiction does superior quilt work, but there was one quilt that I really had to tear myself away from:



Not only is the color combo right up my alley, she also told me that the fabrics were recovered from Galveston Island after Hurricane Ike. How cool is that??

I also really liked her fabric bowls...







Right in front of Arlinda's display was Matt Slimmer, metal artist.



He doesn't just do small stainless steel sculptures like the ones at the Artisan Market...



He's also an accomplished Art Car artist! If you don't know, art cars are kind of a big deal here in Houston and there's an annual parade for the local artists to show off their creations.



Matt made the "Toybota" car/boat featured in the Readers' Digest article referenced on this site.



My booth neighbor was the adorable Mandy Welch of Help Me Pledge.



Mandy's business offers a really unique way to help fundraise for charities...



Help Me Pledgewill come and set up a booth at your charity's fundraising event and will donate 50% of the day's profits to the charity - with no cost to you!

A creative gal with a creative business idea!



Okay, that's probably enough for today...
I'll post the rest tomorrow. Tomorrow will have more excellent jewelry, excellent edibles, and one picture of me looking mega-funky after a long day in the heat.

Stay tuned!