Robot In Bloom

The New Website Is Here!!!

2011-05-02T12:13:00.000-05:00

Yaaaaaaay!

It's official!
The awesome team at Destination Moon Designs finished the hip new relaunch of www.robotinbloom.com!

Click the happy robot below to go to the new site!

The blog is now located at http://www.robotinbloom.com/blog.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter, too!

Old and Busted (or New Hotness!)

2011-03-28T09:50:00.001-05:00

Whee!
The new website launch is right around the corner... In the meantime, wanna see the new logo?

Original:

The new logo - made by Destination Moon Designs!

Nice, eh?
Squee about the new design in the comments below!

Artistic Cooperation (or The Multi-Talented Dasha Kazakova)

2011-03-24T15:40:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, I received an order for a set of my paper rose magnets, sans magnets!

Boston area photographer, Dasha Kazakova, asked me to create some earth-tone roses to coordinate with a few brooches she had... I found some chocolate, ivory, and basil papers that I thought would be perfect.

Well, little did I know that she would turn my paper rose "magnets" into this gorgeous brooch bouquet!

Isn't it great what happens when art meets art? (And then gets photographed so elegantly to boot!) I'm honored to have my work contribute to such a lovely statement!

Check out Dasha's blog for more details - I believe that bouquet is still available, and she'll likely be ordering more of my mini-flowers for another one!

'Easy Living' Magazine Is The Best Magazine Ever!!!! (or I'm Big In The UK)

2011-01-12T14:17:00.000-06:00

You guys!
Robot In Bloom was featured in a magazine! A magazine!!
Like, a seriously stylish, fo' realz, Conde Nast magazine!!!

Images scanned from the February issue of The United Kingdom's Easy Living

Notice anything familiar??

Could it perhaps be my paper rose magnets?

Okay, so here's how it all went down...

I was logging into my Etsy shop like I regularly do when I got a message from a customer. She basically said "I found your magnets in Easy Living magazine and I was wondering if you ship to the UK?"

My brain kind of twitched and was all, "Hey, Sandy? Did she just say that our magnets were in a magazine?" So I immediately busted out my ~~Sherlock Holmes~~ Harriet The Spy skills and set ta googlin'...

After a day of having zero luck figuring out how to get my hands on a copy, I decided to appeal to humanity... I did a Twitter search for "easy living" and found some tweets about a @janehamerton being featured in the same issue.

I'm usually a sniveling coward about asking for things, but I figured it was for my business and I'd have to bite the bullet and write an email. (I know, I know... Such angst over an email? If you've ever met me you'd know I care a lot about such things.)

Anyway, I emailed the lovely and lovely and talented Jane Hamerton and she went completely out of her way to help me get my own copy of February's Easy Living. She even scanned the images posted above for me to use until the actual mag gets here!

I love people and how wonderfully generous they can be... Stay tuned for next Wednesday's post devoted to Jane and her charming personalized towels!

Thank you Jane and thank you Easy Living!

Failure Is Not An Option (or My Hero, Princess Lasertron)

2011-01-03T15:20:00.000-06:00

Happy 2011!

I was originally intending to post about Robot In Bloom's news for the new year, when I read this excellent post by one of my design and business heroes, Princess Lasertron (aka - Megan Hunt).

I'll admit, I wasn't brave enough to write about this failure when it happened, but Megan's blog post made me realize that I should share my negatives, especially if they turn into positives!

For those who don't wish to read the entire post (thought you really should), here are a few excerpts to give you the gist of her "failure" story...

I can’t stand mistakes, I can’t tolerate them, but I believe that anyone who claims they don’t make mistakes is not cut out to own a business. The challenge is to be quick to recognize your mistakes, acknowledge them, and find creative ways to correct them.

...

Over 70 hours of painstaking custom work–for brides, no less–lost in the mail and never delivered ... The right thing to do is refund their money for the flowers they never got to use and enjoy, and it hurts me a lot. It’s the first time I’ve ever had this happen, and what makes it most frustrating is that it was completely out of my hands.

...

There is a lesson here and I hate that I had to learn it the hard way. I hate it. I am still sick about it. But the best thing to do is to talk about it transparently and show how mistakes and accidents can happen in any business, and show compassion for the customers who are hurt by the errors.

After reading that Megan - craft business goddess - has problems occasionally, AND was brave enough to write about them, I just had to comment. Usually I just admire her work from afar, but this time I left this comment and I wanted to also share it with my readers:

A similar thing happened to me recently and it truly broke my heart. I create paper flower bouquets for “offbeat” brides and I have the same issues as you – once the package leaves my hands, it’s up to the USPS, etc. to make sure it gets there safely. For one of my brides, her shipment of 80 Oriental poppies showed up with about 40 of them squished beyond repair.

I panicked when I heard the news, but I was really proud of my initial reaction… Immediately, I knew I had to remake and ship the flowers because that’s what’s important to me. Yes, there’s too much expectation of “perfection” on wedding days, but it’s my personal goal to make sure each of my customers gets exactly what they were expecting whether it was my error or not.

It was really cool to find out that, in a crisis, I practice what I preach and that my heart is in my business for the right reasons!

So, yeah... Sometimes you surprise yourself in a crisis, but I think it's an even better feeling when you're NOT surprised at your reaction!

Have you ever had a business take really good care of you? Have you ever had really crummy service? Tell me about it below! I'd like to learn from others' mistakes and make sure it never happens to my brides!

Christmas Corsage (or Etsy Alchemy Is Cool!)

2010-11-29T08:47:00.003-06:00

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...

Side Project Fun (or New Bionic Buttercup Gems)

2010-11-16T08:44:00.000-06:00

Remember how I told you guys about my second Etsy shop, The Bionic Buttercup?

Well, I thought I'd hopefully brighten your Tuesday and post some of my favorite, quirkiest items from my shop!

Like this mirror haunted by a little girl...

this animal cell necklace...

or this altered landscape painting...

Have a unique Tuesday!

Extra Funky Flowers For Extra Funky Brides (or A Sneak Peek At My New Line!)

2010-11-04T12:13:00.000-05:00

These are two of the 3-bloom bridesmaid bouquets...

More to come, my darlings!

Rally to Restore Sanity (or Finally!!!)

2010-11-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

This weekend, I attended the Rally to Restore Sanity.

In all honesty, I'm brimming with desire to post, but I'm not sure where to begin... The rally was an incredibly positive and unique experience that I consider myself lucky to have been a part of. My husband and I went into it (like many people, possibly including even Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert themselves) not sure what to expect.

We don't have cable, but we used to. And when we did, we were huge fans of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report... I don't even remember how I first heard about the rally, but I do know that I immediately HAD to attend. We bought plane tickets before even seeing Jon's "call to reasonableness" video online.

A wee bit early for full leaf-change.

This was a rather unreasonable act for me and Josh because we almost never splurge on anything or make a decision that quickly. But we did it. I don't know why we were so eager. Was it just an exercise in personal spontaneity (Yep. I know.), or was it a reflection of how completely fed up we are with the loud, obnoxious attention that loud, obnoxious extremists are granted by the media at large?

In the weeks leading up to the rally, it seems like America was wondering the same thing: is the rally just a comedy show for anti-establishment slackers who want to thumb their noses at the immensity of the problems in our country? Or is it a serious political movement and a loud message to the media and government that we're not gonna take it anymore? And when I asked myself what I was hoping to get out of it, I came to realize that what I wanted changed from moment to moment. Finally, I just resigned myself to, "Hey, at least I'll get to breathe the same air as Jon and Stephen, and that's pretty cool."

We got on the plane on Friday and found six other passengers in our immediate vicinity that were headed toward the rally, too! My hopes definitely rose. I mean, honestly, I haven't met many people in Houston whose favorite activity is exploring their own beliefs and encouraging others to do the same. So, yeah, I was thrilled!

We got a better idea of how many ralliers were there while riding the DC Metro, but on Saturday morning a quick peek at the morning news showed the National Mall filling up four hours before the start time. It looked like we weren't the only people who believed in... well, something...

We believe in a lot of different stuff!

We followed the masses to the Mall and found the most distinctive crowd ever. It's incredibly rare to have hundreds of thousands of people in the same area and have them all act right, right? Well, not these folks. I've never seen so many people NOT pushing, NOT shoving, NOT jockeying for position... Most people actually said, "Excuse me" if they had to scoot in front of you to get to where they were going! And we were packed in like sardines. It was like rock concert/subway rush hour proximities. No one smelled bad. I only saw two people smoking (and they were on the outskirts of the main crowd). People even allowed shorter people they didn't know stand in front of them if they couldn't see!
It was astounding!

At one point, there was a large sign that was blocking the view of me and many people around me. The guy behind me shouted, "Hey! Guy with the big sign about bears! Can you lower your sign please?" And he did, and we all shouted "Thank you!" No animosity necessary....

Can it be? Are these my fellow non-extreme 80% of the nation? Are they really out there?

It seems so.

From The Atlantic

In a way, the rally was a failure in terms of "rally excitement" because it was full of people who don't really like to clap along to songs, or shout things back at performers who ask you to shout things during their songs. But, like I said, that's MY kind of people and they're awesome!

There were a handful of people that didn't keep with the spirit of the rally. Some chose to dress as teabags or in general ridiculousness, while others made signs that specifically attacked certain political figures. I wondered if these few individuals were unable or unwilling to understand the point. Maybe it was just a Halloween thing.

Then again, it was the leftist organization MoveOn.org who were the douchebags who brought those annoying beach balls (printed with the website name) and unreasonably bounced those around the crowd. Seriously guys, no one likes those.

Another thing I noticed about the crowd was the diversity... Not just racial and ethnic diversity, but also age. My 20-year old cousin drove down from Massachusetts for the rally (sorry I didn't meet up with you, Becky!), and apparently the very elderly Mexican-American man I sat next to on the subway flew in from Seattle. It was great to see that sanity is not the property of one segment of the population.

The Roots were great, the funniness was funny, and the mood was incredibly positive. There were some stand-out moments for me - like when "America's most reasonable-seeming man", Law and Order's Sam Waterston came out and read a fear poem by Colbert, and when Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) and Ozzy Osbourne had a song battle with their respective types of "trains", only to be settled by the O'Jays and their superior "train".

The signs were the real stars in a way. They covered a large breadth of humor from the silly:

to the satirical:

to the ones so simply true, they make you laugh:

All in all, the rally was a huge success and an essential show of positivity for America, all accomplished while walking the fine line of satire and silliness achieved every weeknight by the Daily Show and the Colbert Report.

Jon Stewart did an amazing job of summing up the goals of the rally himself, so please watch this unedited video of his speech.
It's really wonderful and it echoes my final thoughts of the day.

I'm Not Dead Yet (or O Hai!)

2010-10-21T12:33:00.001-05:00

Wow.
It's been a while, hasn't it?

There has been SO MUCH going on in the past month, I've had zero time to tell you about it... but now I can!

First of all, to all those awesome traditional and Offbeat Brides who have been asking about calla lillies I have good news - THEY'RE HERE!

These ivory calla lillies were created for Lika and Joe's November wedding. The bridesmaids will be wearing a beautiful jewel-tone blue and will have pops of brilliant orange and stately silver.

I plan on featuring the full details of their wedding after the big day, so if you want to see how the whole lovely affair comes together, stay tuned! (Also, I can't resist giving a shout-out to my alma mater right now - Go Gators!)

Another piece of big news is the grand opening of my sister shop on Etsy - The Bionic Buttercup!

The Bionic Buttercup is your #1 source for whimsy and frivolity since 2042!

I created the shop as a side project for myself (because I'm apparently not busy???) because I like arts and crafts of ALL kinds - not just posh paper florals.

The Bionic Buttercup is a place of whimsy, ridiculousness, and goof-ballery of all kinds! Each visit to the shop is an adventure where you never know what you're going to find... Don't forget to "like" The Bionic Buttercup on Facebook here.

Currently the shop has necklaces appropriate for the Daily Show's quickly arriving Rally to Restore Sanity on October 30, 3010 on the National Mall in Washington DC.

30% of your purchase of these necklaces will be donated to the rally's official charity - The Trust for The National Mall

I actually have lots more exciting stuff to announce, but I think I'll give you a break right now...

Until next time, my dears!

Robot In Bloom T-Shirts (or Express Your Inner 'Doot Doot Doot!')

2010-09-23T14:15:00.000-05:00

Just a quick announcement today...

You've asked for them and they're here!

Robot In Bloom t-shirts (and mugs and clocks and other stuff) are now available at my Cafe Press Shop.

Get 'em while they're hot!

Charity Chicks Houston - BRAtober (or Boobs!)

2010-09-20T12:02:00.009-05:00

I recently completed a rather fun paper flower project for charity:

Bra art!

Charity Chicks Houston is a local organization of gals (and a few dudes) that come together to raise money and do other charitable work for needy non-profits! It's highly altruistic - no one gets paid and no one is affiliated with any specific organization. It's just a group that helps others for the fun of it!

Last year, the Chicks helped the Save The Tatas Foundation by asking creative folks to create a piece of art out of a bra. The BRAtober event raised over $11,000 for the foundation!

This year, BRAtober proceeds are going to help Bright Pink, a group that enlightens and empowers women about their breast AND ovarian health!

The title of my piece is "Paper Petals, Steel Will".
Obviously, I was inspired by my first official Offbeat Bride Pam's wedding flowers. I also wanted to incorporate pink for obvious reasons. I wanted to use my paper flowers to show the juxtaposition of ornamental beauty vs the beauty of the determination to live.

I hope mine gets chosen to be one of the 50 that goes on display and goes up for auction at the main event on October 1st! It would be quite the honor, especially given the stiff competition that showed up at the BRAtober event last year...

*fingers crossed*

My First Offbeat Bride! (or Pam's Chic Paper Flowers)

2010-09-18T15:19:00.010-05:00

I'm very pleased to announce that I have completed my first wedding order for an official Offbeat Bride!

A number of people have contacted me since the Robot In Bloom ad came out on Offbeat Bride, but Pam's is the first complete order! Whee!

The bridesmaids will be wearing grey and the whole feel is classic minimalism, so Pam asked for 80 individual Oriental Poppies in black and white. I usually use tissue for the poppies, but I opted for parchment to make them a tad more substantial - and I liked how natural light passes through them in person.

Owwwwww... (or Owwwww!)

2010-09-06T15:13:00.003-05:00

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?)

2010-09-03T07:05:00.005-05:00

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!

The Dallas Flea (or What Are You Doing On September 11, 2010?)

2010-09-02T13:35:00.006-05:00

Hey, Dallas!

Gimmie three good reasons that you're not going to come to The Dallas Flea!

See? Exactly! You can't!
It's impossible not to come to this totally awesome, totally interesting, totally rad craft fair extravaganza!

The Dallas Flea has become a huge event in a very short time in the DFW megaplex. It's an upscale craft fair for those who love buying handmade.

Check out this KADF video interview with Brittany Edwards, curator of The Dallas Flea. The video is from a prior iteration, but she does a great job explaining what you can find there:

Back to School? (or Back To Cool!)

2010-08-31T10:56:00.008-05:00

Here are two arrangements from my irreverent "booze series" I've created to sell at The Dalla Flea on Saturday, September 11.

A pandering ode to Texas:

This one is perfect for a college kid going back to school...

Especially if he's Axl Rose.

Great Day Houston (or Doot-Doot-Doot!)

2010-08-25T13:33:00.005-05:00

Whew! Today was a long and awesome day!

For those who prefer their chases to be cut to, here's the video from today's Great Day Houston on KHOU, channel 11 (in the 4th largest city in America!)

Love that freeze frame!

My segment starts at -4:35, but I urge you to watch all of it because Roxy and Lora are awesome!

Soooo, backstory: In case you've missed all my crowing for the past 2 days, you might be interested to know that I was a guest on today's Great Day Houston episode featuring "designing women" in the Houston community.

Ahhh, the hustle and bustle of live tv!

In 3... 2... and *point*

I kind of have a million things to say about it, but also I think the video speaks for itself. I was nervous, but not as much as I thought I'd be... It was really really fun and Deborah Duncan is possibly the easiest person to talk to on the whole freaking planet! I gave her one of Roxy's pins and a small bouquet of daisys after the show, and she said she'd be interested in having us back before Christmas!

Me and the wonderful Ms. Deborah Duncan

Also, go Etsy Houston! Represeeeeent!

[I have a picture to put here of me, Lora, and Roxy, but it's right before the show and we look terrified!]

So, I guess keep it tuned to channel 11 for further updates!

Great Day Houston: The Prequel (or ZOMG! My 15 Minutes!)

2010-08-23T14:00:00.005-05:00

My my... This is going to be an incredibly exciting week for me and my robot troops!

First of all, my new online friend, Tina Jett of Scatterbox fame, has recently interviewed me for her (totally rad and funny and interesting) blog. The post is hitting the blogosphere (Could there be a more icky term?) on Wednesday! Please please read it when it comes out, and keep reading Tina's stuff. She's really groovy. And I'll soon be returning her interview favor with a bloggerview (Ha! I just made a worse word than "blogosphere") on this blog right here!

Then, on Friday, I've got my super-exciting advertorial dropping on Offbeat Bride on Friday! OBB's avertorials are a stroke of genius... Instead of just buying a boring, static ad, the unique and talented tour de force, Ariel Meadow Stallings and her team review your business for OBB's funky readers. Instead of a simple banner ad, Ariel creates an informational blog post for her offbeat readers (of which there are 200,000 unique readers each month!!)

Then..... The really surprising news!
Okay, so on Friday, I submitted my press kit to be considered for a local talk show. KHOU's Great Day Houston was looking for crafty businesswomen to appear on a show about "designing women". Well, my badass divas over at Etsy Houston let the group know about the announcement, and I applied! The producer called me back but my phone is crummy, so I didn't get to talk to him. After pacing around all weekend, I got the call and they confirmed!

I'm gonna be on tha tee vee!!! Wooooo!

My mind is swimming..... What do I wear? It's LIVE and I just know I'm gonna swear! Can I do my hair and makeup well enough? What if my business doesn't take off from this? What if it does??

Out of the pantheon of problems, I'd say this is a good one to have. :)

Oh, you probably want a picture, don't you?
Well, here's a new piece that will be for sale at The Dallas Flea:

Decorative Wreaths (or Those Door Circle Thingies)

2010-08-14T18:53:00.003-05:00

For the Dallas Flea coming up in one month (one month???!!!), I'm introducing wreaths for the home, decorated with my paper flowers.

There will be a number of styles to choose from...

You like??

Off Topic (or What I Did On My Summer Vacation)

2010-08-12T09:17:00.005-05:00

I just remembered that I was gonna bore you guys with some pictures from my gorgeous trip to Maine!

We stayed in a cabin on a lake and there's this long-winded story about how my dad's parents built the cabin, but then lost it to other family members, blah blah blah.

Pictures!

The lake:

Josh and his summer beard taking me for a row:

Another cabin on the lake:

Damselfly:

Josh out rowing again:

Bumble bee:

Us:

Dad is really excited about his lobster, the Florida Gators, and the Tampa Bay Rays:

This is a real place:

This is a real place, too:

At the lobster co-op:

Steamers at the lobster co-op:

Moonrise over the lake:

You may now return to your regular life.

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

2010-08-11T14:13:00.005-05:00

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!

222 Giveaway Winner! (or Hurrah for Randomness!)

2010-08-03T13:57:00.004-05:00

Here we are again, my darlings! We have a winner for the 222 Giveaway!

Again, the awesome thingy at Random.org has pulled a winner out of its cyber-hat and the lucky winner is...........

Rachel Perry!

Woo hoo!

So, Ms. Rachel... Shoot me an email and let me know what colors you'd like for your 3 parchment roses and 5 (or more!) tissue carnations!

And the rest of you can stay tuned for another giveaway and some awesome/boring vacation photos from my recent trip to Maine! Lucky you.....

222 Giveaway Update (or Vacation, All I Ever Wanted!)

2010-07-23T11:28:00.003-05:00

Robot In Bloom will be taking some time off starting today (Friday, 7/23/10) for about a week or so... I will be abandoning all internet and cell phone contact, so please don't think I hate you if I don't get back to you right away!

In related news: Regarding the 222 Giveaway, if the Facebook page reaches 222 fans (aka: "likes") while I'm off the grid, the drawing will be held as soon as I return to the cyberworld. If there are more people than the 222, only the first 222 fans (minus myself, my sister, and our past winner) will be included in the drawing.

Enough gabbing.
Here's some new pictures!

This arrangement has a new home in the studio of Monkey Tree Photography. The office is decorated in fun peacock colors and this whimsical piece fits right in!

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

2010-07-12T17:16:00.006-05:00

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

Inspiration From Perfect Palette (or Fuchsia and Navy + Yellow and Grey = Love)

2010-07-09T16:03:00.005-05:00

It's no secret to anyone within 50 ft me that I loooooove color!

My apartment is awash in lots of bright shades, my wardrobe isn't scared of mixing bold hues, and even my wedding refused to settle on one or two colors...

One of the main places I get my color kicks is from The Perfect Palette. They help people visualize wedding color palettes with trendy swatches and beautiful inspiration boards. And - bonus! - they're one of my fellow honorees in the Everything Wedding Blog Carnival #6!

One of their recent palettes - Fuchsia, Light Pink, and Navy - reminded me of some blooms I did a few months ago for Lauren Castine of Frecklebug Boutique.

Lauren was definitely ahead of the style curve with that gorgeous palette! (These aren't the actual arragements I made for Lauren's fancy Mother's Day party, but they're close.)

Another recent combo The Perfect Palette put together is one I've been a huge fan of since I was little: Orange, Yellow, and Gray!

Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, I'll admit that orange has been a very recent addition into that enchanting hue group lodged in my heart. And, in the interest of kicking things old school, I made a simple new arrangement in Grey, Silver, and Yellow.

I was thisclose to choosing Yellow and Grey for my wedding palette, but I used it later in my business logo!

What's your favorite color combo??

Austin Wedding Blog (or You Like Me, You Really Like Me!)

2010-07-05T09:56:00.005-05:00

Check it out, you guys!

The hip, stylish Austin Wedding Blog chose to include this Robot In Bloom blog post in the Everything Wedding Blog Carnival #6!

Wheeeeeee!

The Everything Wedding Blog Carnival was started by the incredibly popular, incredibly informative wedding resource, Bride Tide. The honor of choosing features for the 6th edition fell to Rachel of the Austin Wedding Blog, and she chose to tell the wedding world about my flower jewelry!

Which is all in perfect timing, too, because I'm about to fill my Etsy shop with a bunch of new rings, hairclips, and a few other baubles for your personal decoration!

Anyway, thank you so much Ms. Rachel for including Robot In Bloom!

Tulips! (or What's Three Lips Minus One Lip?)

2010-07-01T12:27:00.004-05:00

At the recent request of a Robot In Bloom Facebook Fan, I've finally crafted paper tulips!

I even tried a veriegated one...

Leve a comment and let me know what you think!

Frogs!!!! (or Post-Tadpole Distraction)

2010-06-30T13:18:00.004-05:00

I ask you this:

How is it possible for me to get any work done today when these adorable baby frogs are hopping all over my rainy back patio??

So cute it hurts!

Support Local Grow Together (or High Fives For Houston Small Business!)

2010-06-23T11:40:00.004-05:00

A few months ago, I became aware of an awesome new... well, I guess the only word for it is a new "movement" here in Houston:

Support Local, Grow Together

The idea began in 2009, when JR Cohen looked around and noticed the effects of the recession. Here's a quote from Cohen in the SLGT Blog:

Other coffee shops and businesses were suffering and going out of business; other people working for corporations were losing their jobs. I was watching tweets from people I know who were foreclosing on their houses; people I hadn't seen in awhile because they couldn't afford to come in for a cup of coffee. People were withdrawing and not being as social. So I decided to use social media and the number of QUALITY followers I have, and see what I could do for them.

SLGT encourages Houston consumers to support local artists, restaurants, and other businesses with "their dollars, their attention, and their referrals." They also ask that local businesses work together so we all can grow and become self-sufficient and thrive locally!

How great is that??

An offshoot of SLGT in Houston is the SLGT Photo Project...
Very talented local photographer and successful blogger, Christine Tremoulet, has created the SLGT Photo Project blog to showcase local businesses and let them either simply get their names out there, or announce specific upcoming events in the area. She travels around, takes pictures of stuff and blogs about it - it's beautiful in its simplicity!

Last month, she came to visit me at the Artisan Market and take lovely pictures of my wares...

There are tons more businesses featured in the SLGT Photo Project, so go there and read to your heart's content - but, more importantly, go out there and support those businesses!!!

Side Project (or My Ridiculous Art)

2010-06-16T09:08:00.004-05:00

So, I'm not totally done with this project, but I can't wait to share it with you...

This past week, my husband, Josh, and I have totally redone our apartment. We deep cleaned, donated boxes and boxes of things that we no longer need, and got ourselves organized. We also rearranged some furniture which (to me) warrants new artwork on the wall! (Any excuse, right?)

My goal was "ridiculous Victorian" and I opted to paint precious portraits of ridiculous things...

I started with some wooden ovals,

penciled in some rough sketches,

mustered all of my rudimentary Bob Ross painting technique and applied it to portraiture!

Taa-daa!

This is my new favorite thing I've ever made for the house, and these little vignettes are going to hang on the wall behind our tv.

In the interest of full disclosure, Josh drew the Ninja Turtle (Donatello, our favorite! He "does machines"...)

All of Josh's 5th grade practice had led up to this momentous tour de force... I'm absolutely blown away by it! Doesn't it look authentic??

Also, we still have one more large oval to do, but we can't decide on what it should be... Any ideas?

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

2010-06-15T15:10:00.004-05:00

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!

Main Site Currently Down (or AAAACK!)

2010-06-10T09:17:00.004-05:00

Apparently the main site for Robot In Bloom is down and I'm scrambling to find out why.

In the meantime, you can feast your eyes on my paper flowers on the RIB Facebook Page! And, hey, while you're there, be my friend!

Photo by Monkey Tree Photography

**UPDATE: The site has been fully restored to all its previous glory. Disaster averted significantly faster than anything BP has tried!**

Wearable Blooms (or Experiments In Epoxy)

2010-06-07T14:14:00.007-05:00

I've had a lot of folks ask me if they can wear my paper flowers as jewelry and I usually say that it's not a great idea, but you can certainly try. If you're anything like me, a big glob of mustard is going to make it onto your orchid brooch by the end of the night, and no one wants that.

Well, I went down to my local Texas Art Supply for some answers and found this:

After reading the very dangerous-sounding instructions (blindness??),

I (bravely) set up my stuff.

Step 1:
Pour one bottle of the stuff into another bottle of the stuff and make these cool-looking crystal snakes!

Step 2:
Stir!

Step 3:
Get tired of stirring just as instructions say to stop. Try dipping a crepe paper flower into the mix. Pull it out and fail at snapping in-focus pictures as the epoxy drips down your hand.

Easy as pie!

Now, as I'm sure you noticed, a very interesting thing happened that I wasn't expecting - the papers turned translucent! The parchment, the crepe, and the tissue papers all became nearly see-through upon dipping.

Parchment rose

Crepe flower and parchment hydrangea

Parchment rose

At first I was a tad disappointed, but as they cured, I started to appreciate the near-clear possibilities.

What do you guys think? Would you wear these sweet little gems as jewelry?
Leave a comment!

Tweaks And Shiners (or ... Cheeky!)

2010-06-02T13:39:00.005-05:00

I've spent the past few days tweaking the Robot In Bloom website - adding lots of new pics by Kasey Marsh of Monkey Tree Photography

Check out the new pics on RobotInBloom.com!

It's not 100% done, so I'm gonna take a break. It's time to kick back and enjoy a nice, tall Shiner!
I'll keep yours cold 'til you get back!

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

2010-05-25T07:26:00.015-05:00

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!)

2010-05-24T11:22:00.019-05:00

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!

Houston Artisan Market This Saturday! (or Come One, Come All!)

2010-05-17T17:08:00.003-05:00

Destination Moon Designs (or TMBG Fans Of A Feather)

2010-05-10T19:50:00.007-05:00

When I meet rad people, I like to let people know about it... and I've recently "met" two totally excellent graphic designers and people -

They're Jen and Alex from Destination Moon Designs.

I ran across these self-proclaimed "designer(d)s" on Twitter at just the right time. As you probably know, I've been scuttling about, trying to organize everything for the Artisan Market on May 22nd (TEN days! Eek!) and I needed major revamping of my logo, and I needed it now!

Luckily, I saw their business name and was naturally intrigued. A devout follower of They Might Be Giants myself, I figured that anyone who would name their business after a TMBG song, has to be cool, right?

(Note: They didn't make that video.)

And I was right!
Not only did they do a great job, but they did it fast, cheap, and were completely flexible!

Hm..... Let me rephrase that: Destination Moon did excellent work on my project.

Anyway, I highly recommend them for your web and non-web based design needs. They're very versatile and will tackle any job - check out their services here.

They're excellent at event-related design, too. They can create your ideal dinner party invitations, a tragically hip wedding website, or elegant thank you cards - anything you need for your special day!

And, the best part for you, my dear readers, is they'll give a 10% discount to anyone who mentions that they found Destination Moon Designs through Robot In Bloom!

Contact them, stat!

We Have A Winner (or Today's A Good Day To Be Named Erica!)

2010-05-02T12:09:00.005-05:00

Hurrah!

The Robot In Bloom Facebook page has reached 150 fans which, as you probably remember, means a giveaway!

Well, if you look at the Facebook page, you might notice that I didn't catch the fan count at 150... but at 152. Not to worry, though, because I think my solution to the issue makes the drawing more accurate:

I am counted in that 152 fan count, and I have no business entering the drawing. Also, my sister is counted in the 150 fan count, and I've decided to take her out of the running because I've already given her free roses in the past and I shan't be doing that again! Tough luck, Christine! :P

So, that leaves us with 150 fans again!

After logging the data into the random number generator at Random.org the lucky winner is.............

Erica Kasprzyk Clements!

Congratulations, Erica! I didn't see an email address on your Facebook page, so please email me as soon as you can to let me know what color you'd like, etc.

In the meantime, I hope all my wonderful little robot minions continue to pass on the good word. Please keep checking back on the Facebook page and the blog because I've got lots of giveaway ideas cooking for the future...

Rose Glamour Shots (Stop And Ogle The Roses!)

2010-04-29T15:38:00.004-05:00

I just took some shots of the roses I'm working on for The Artisan Market, and thought I'd share...

Oh, and don't forget that once the Robot In Bloom Facebook page reaches 150 "likes" (formerly "fans"), I'll pick one of you to win 6 of these classy blooms!

You may now continue your Thursday.

Artisan Market, VIDA, and Earth Day (or Boldly Going Where No Robot In Bloom Has Gone Before!)

2010-04-22T12:48:00.007-05:00

Guys, I'm soooo excited!

The awesome ladies of VIDA Events and Marketing have asked me to participate in a new art and craft event in Houston - the Artisan Market!

VIDA is the up-and-coming marketing team of Carmen Fraser and Brenda Boral. One of the thing I love about their philosophy is that they not only want small business to thrive, but they also seek to do it in an eco-friendly way! They recommend going green for the environment AND for cost-saving measures like reducing the amount of paper your business uses. For example, you can fax a document to the client's computer instead of printing and then faxing. Easy, right?

Anyway, the Artisan Market will be my very first craft show-type thingy and I have a LOT to figure out...

The outdoor market is Saturday, May 22 from 11:00am to 4:00pm at 1740 Sunset Blvd. in Houston (West University area). There will be all sorts of artists and crafters and plenty unique, beautiful things to buy.

So, for the next month, I'm going to be making more flowers than you can shake a stick at, getting banners printed, buying a really big table, and generally spazzing out -

Wish me luck!

Or, better yet, come by and see me in action at the Artisan Market!

Paper Wedding Bouquets (or Here Comes The Unique Bride!)

2010-04-19T13:40:00.003-05:00

I just posted two posh paper bouquets on my Etsy page today.

I'm a little sad, though... I really love both of these bouquets and I'm gonna be sad to see them go.

I know, though, they'll go to a good home. They'll go home with someone who loves them just as much - or more - than I do. They'll likely be going home with a like-minded individual, someone who is interested in straddling the line between offbeat and classic. Someone who's a little nostalgia-driven and wants their wedding memories to last more than just one day. Someone with a penchant toward creation and artistry...

But hopefully not too like-minded - I'd hate to know that anyone else on this planet has accidentally put their deodorant in the fridge as often as I have.

Oh, hey! Don't forget about RIB's Mother's Day special!

Facebook Fans (or The 150 Giveaway!)

2010-04-12T09:47:00.008-05:00

First of all, I want to very warmly thank my 116 Facebook fans - especially the first 78 who have helped spread the word to get Robot In Bloom's good name out there!

You guys rock!

Now, as promised, is the announcement for RIB's first Facebook giveaway...

Once the Robot In Bloom Facebook page reaches 150 fans, I will choose one fan at random to win a bouquet of 6 hand painted parchment roses!

Click here to follow on Facebook.

You can choose any color or color combo you like... white, red, peach, yellow with pink tips, lime green with teal tips - anything you can dream up!

Obviously, there is no deadline for the giveaway - I'll draw the winner's name as soon as the page reaches 150 fans, and I'll post the results on the page and in the blog.

So, keep recommending The Robot and keep checking your FB streams!

Mother's Day (or Yo Momma's So Great, She's Better Than That Wall In China!)

2010-04-08T12:26:00.010-05:00

Calling all kids! Mother's Day is only a month away!

Not to worry, though... Robot In Bloom is here to help.

The robots have done a little canvassing of the people and found that moms love nothing more than having something lovely to look at while simultaneously not having to lift a finger to care for it.

This is where Robot In Bloom comes in:

Paper orchids!!!
(Taa-daa!)

These flowers are beautiful, durable, hand-painted, and highly customizable.

Also, the best part is that they last!
If your mom has a "brown thumb" like mine does (which she also passed down to me - hi, mom!), she'll probably appreciate the low-to-no maintenence of these beautiful blooms.

The stems can be shipped directly to your mother, if you choose. Also, you can opt to have a pretty little message card sent inside the box with a message from you!

And, because we here at Robot In Bloom want you to earn extra mom-hugs for getting a great deal, if you order your mom's stem of three orchid blooms before Saturday, May 1, 2010, you will receive 20% off your total (before shipping). At risk of sounding like an infomercial - that's over $7 in savings!

Regular price - $36.00
Mother's Day special - $28.80
shipping - $11.00

To order, please email me with the subject line "Mother's Day Orchids".

I'm willing to work with you to make sure you get the color(s) you want. Call me, send me pictures, email me, whatever you need to do - we'll get your mom the look she loves!

Contact me today!

Unveiled - Bridal Style Revealed (or Kind Of A Big Deal!)

2010-04-06T12:00:00.004-05:00

Oh, to have been in attendance at this lovely bridal show... I would have been in style heaven!

I mentioned in my last post that I was hired to design some posh florals for a swanky LA bridal show, right?

Well, here it is!

The event is called Unveiled - Bridal Style Revealed and it looks fabulous! I wish I could have been there in person. They have some of the most sought-after wedding and event planners in attendance - it's almost enough to make me get divorced and remarry Josh all over again!

The amazing folks over at Classic Party Rentals hired me to help provide decor for their display tent. The tent also featured the event resource services of The Bridal Bar.

I really like that they chose a mix of my paper creations as well as fresh flowers. The great thing about my flowers, though, is that Classic Party Rentals can use them again if they need them for individual place settings, scattering across a large banquet table, or another floating tent display!

I'm so honored to have been a part of that gorgeous booth at such a luxurious event...

Fashion Club Pre-Debut Party for the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Los Angeles (or, Sorry The Photos Didn't Come Out So Great...)

2010-03-29T09:11:00.007-05:00

Whee! I'm expanding my business!

Robot In Bloom is now offering posh paper floral designs for your big event!

Naturally, weddings are included under this umbrella, but I can create for anything - corporate events, anniversaries, mitzvahs, birthdays, quinceanaras... you name it! Also, I will be offering premade arrangements for home decor and various well-wishes for your loved ones.

Please click here to see a few of the individual flowers I have available.

Lately, I've been designing flowers for an awesome company in Los Angeles - Classic Party Rentals. These folks are excellent at what they do! In fact, their company is the one who designed the decor for Jason and Molly's 'Bachelor' wedding on ABC. Please take a look at their photo gallery and be in awe of their design skills, just like I am...

They recently commissioned me to make some black crepe gardenias to help complete the "vamp" theme of the event.

The photo quality leaves much to be desired, but I'm just excited to see my work at such a top-notch bash!

The event was for one segment of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.

More of my work was also featured at their booth at an LA bridal show this past weekend. I'll definitely post pictures of that once I get them!

Stay tuned!

Side Projects (or Dang! My Hands Look Old!)

2010-02-23T11:34:00.008-06:00

I know I've been rather silent on the blog front lately, but I've been quite busy trying to revamp the website for my upcoming (very exciting!) news...

In my down time, to unwind, I've been creating silly things to start selling in my brand spankin' new Etsy shop!

I decided to try my hand at polymer clay sculpting, and these are a few of my jewelry-based results...

I've recently taken to wearing large, ostentatious rings and sculpted a few for myself. With the leftover clay, I also sculpted a few more to sell to any like-minded soul who just couldn't live without a ridiculously huge carrot on their hand.

And, you know, that's pretty much everyone, right??

I'm not sure what other types of crafts I will be selling in the future. It'll probably be things that I've made for myself and liked so much that I made a second one to sell. My place is so full of crafts and craft supplies, I may as well pass them along to those in need....... of sushi on their finger.
Hm.

Anyway, I guess I should get back to the website-revamping grindstone.

Stay tuned for some exciting news, my darlings, as the robot army marches forward with their flowers of peace, harmony, and awesome photo albums!

Adieu, Roaring 20s! (or Guten Tag, Dirty 30s!)

2010-01-26T10:41:00.006-06:00

I turn 30 in 10 days.

It's nice being born toward the beginning of a decade. It makes it a lot easier to remember how old you are...

In honor of my upcoming milestone, I want to do one of those year-end recaps bloggers and 13 year old LiveJournalers are (were?) fond of. But I'm gonna do it about my 20s.

There's a lot of time I wasted and wish I could salvage from those years. Is it possible to get a decade do-over? A mulligan?
I suppose not.

Time cycles on.

Anyway, here goes...

1.What did you do in your 20s that you’d never done before?
Oh my... lots of things. Most importantly - I fell in love and got married.

2.Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Um... this doesn't really fit my decade theme, so I'll say that I achieved vastly different goals than I assumed I would have achieved by 2010/30. And, yes, I have goals for my 30s, too.

3.Did anyone close to you give birth?
My sister. Twice.

4.Did anyone close to you die?
My grandmother. I was quite close to her and it was weird how easy it was for me... No regrets, I suppose.

5.What countries did you visit?
Pathetically, I've still no use for my passport. I was supposed to study in England for a semester in college, but things didn't quite work out. That's the closest I've come.

6.What would you like to have in your 30s that you lacked in your 20s?
Enough money, self-assuredness, and peace.

7.What dates from your 20s will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 1, 2000 - Y2K and tending to/bonding with my future husband
September 11, 2001 - Duh
December 20, 2003 - Graduation from the University of Florida
December 26, 2003 - Moving to Houston
Early 2005 - The night my future husband told me how he felt
March 15, 2008 - Wedding day!
Summer 2009 - Quitting my lame job and branching out on my own to start Robot In Bloom

8.What was your biggest achievement of the decade?
I think if you look back at the dates I remember, you'll see a few.

9.What was your biggest failure?
Not to be obtuse, but trusting the wrong thing and not trusting myself.

10.Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing hospital-worthy. Well, I had my wisdom teeth out, but whatever.

11.What was the best thing you bought?
Well, I want to say something wedding-related, I guess... but probably my DBA. And these sunglasses.

12.Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My husband is the greatest person on earth. He is excellent every day!

13.Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Hm....... I will plead the 5th on that.

14.Where did most of your money go?
Flying to Houston. Living expenses. Moving in and out (and in and out and in and out and in and out...) of apartments. Buying goofy things from the Dollar Store. Craft supplies.

15.What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Moving onward, upward, and getting lots of support. Also seeing Paul McCartney live in concert. And the NKOTB reunion concert.

16.What song will always remind you of your 20s?
Yikes........ I'm gonna have to go with a seemingly random song and say, "I Don't Know Much" by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt

17.Compared to this time last decade, are you:

Happier or sadder?
Happier. By far.

Thinner or fatter?
Shhhh....

Richer or poorer?
Richer.

18.What do you wish you’d done more of?
Positve thinking. Being brave.

19.What do you wish you’d done less of?
Sniveling. Wasting time in detrimental company.

20.How will you be spending Christmas?
Probably flying home to Florida again?

21.Did you fall in love in 2009?
I fall in love with Josh every day.

22.What was your favourite TV programme?
Of the decade? I'll have to say 'The Office' and 'So You Think You Can Dance'

23.Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last decade?
Hate, schmate. I've merely moved on.

24.What was the best book you read?
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, the Harry Potter series, a Dorothy Parker collection, Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

25.What was your greatest musical discovery?
Of Montreal, Lady Gaga, Eminem, the Grass Roots (Actually, I've always known who they were, I just didn't know all those songs were theirs), and Shocking Blue

26.What did you want and get?
Love, support, independence, a job I love

27.What did you want and not get?
Total satifaction

28.What was your favourite film of the decade?
Fight Club

29.What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I don't really remember any of my 20s birthdays

30.What one thing would have made your decade immeasurably more satisfying?
Not sure... probably the total satisfaction thing.

31.How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
"Screw this. I'm gonna wear what I want to wear. Who cares if people think turquoise and purple are too loud??"

32.What kept you sane?
Josh. I don't know what I did before him.

33.Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Lady Gaga, I guess? She inspires me to be more individual and not to worry. She also seems to really care about her fans and what she does.

34.What political issue stirred you the most?
I'm stirred by quite a bit. I prefer not to discuss it in public, though.

35.Who did you miss?
My grandmother. My BFF Val.

36.Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009
Life is too short to waste time in a job you hate!

38.Quote a song lyric that sums up your decade
"Colors of the world, spice up your life! Every boy and every girl, spice up your life!"
Which, come to think of it is from the 90s......

So I'll go with, "Why-oh why-oh, why-oh-why-oh-why-oh, are we so in denial when we know we're not happy here?"

Poe Tribute (or The Pit and the Tentacles)

2010-01-21T09:32:00.007-06:00

I, much like the errant Poe Toaster, should have delivered this entry back on Tuesday, January 19. Alas, I have only now to try and make up for my mistake.

Inspired by an episode of 'Gilmore Girls', I decided to embellish my two couch pillows.

I burned a quick stencil and went to work with my fabric paint.

The second pillow was naked, so I stenciled an octopus.

Tentacular!

Also, I'm quite excited to announce that fun things are brewing in the Robot In Bloom album design universe... As soon as everything is finalized, there will be a cool development coming in the next few weeks.

Hope you're as excited as I am!

Hmmmmmm....? (or Wedding, Schmedding)

2010-01-20T07:17:00.005-06:00

Okay, so I'm well aware that I've been featuring my almost two-year old wedding in my blog waaaaaaay too often.

However-

Have you seen the new Alfred Angelo TV ads?
Click here to see the whole spot on Facebook.

Look a tad familiar??

I assume either someone at Alfred Angelo saw my write-up on Offbeat Bride and deemed it a groovy jumping-off point...

Or I'm not a unique a beautiful snowflake and maybe I should hook up with that Alfred Angelo marketing person so we can conquer the world with our similar tastes.

Either way, I love it!

(Oh, and I'm also jealous because no one had that gorgeous shade of purple two years ago! I might just go out and buy myself a bridesmaid dress now, just to have it!)

Wall Letters (or No, That's Not Supposed To Spell Anything.)

2010-01-11T10:34:00.005-06:00

I really need to get better at taking pictures of my craft projects as I do them, not just posting the final results.

So, I know that hanging letters on your wall is "OMG SOOOOO played-out!!!!1!!" in certain interior design circles, but - in the interest of Project: Swagga - I decided to go for it anyway.

My local Jo-Ann's has a great selection of papier-mache and wood letters. I've always been a fan of the look, so I decided to finally update my living room wall.

I'm pretty satisfied with my "two-thousand-and-late" look...
What do you think?

2010 "Project: Swagga" or Boom Boom Pow!

2010-01-08T10:07:00.004-06:00

This year - nay, this decade is going to be the year to increase my amount of swagga! (That's "swagger" for the uninitiated.)

To me, this means upping the degree of style in my life. Taking inspiration from creative women like Lady Gaga and Princess Lasertron (two folks I admire on several fronts), I'm going to start injecting much more individual personality into everything I do.

This is not a New Year's resolution. I've been thinking about this for a long time and the inception just so happens to coincide with January 2010. This is not a fleeting thing, a quick promise at the start of a year that is forgotten by February. This is a new mission for my time left on this planet.

For much of my life, I've felt that my creativity was stifled directly and indirectly. "You can't wear those colors together!", "That's not how to draw a tree... This is how to draw a tree!", "That's weird... Why would you make a ____ out of a _____?", along with the obvious realization that no other kids are wearing suspenders, their dad's vest, and 15 watches on one arm.

From now on, I vow to be brave. I vow to be true to myself and my asthetic. I vow to wear my art on my sleeve, if you will pardon the pun.

I think, like so many excellent things in my life, the real turning point from mere yearning into visible action began with my wedding.

Photo by Monkey Tree Photography

I saw it not as "bridezilla" (a term I detest, incidentally) kind of day, but I did view mine and Josh's wedding day as a vehicle for our style. More pointedly, I felt that the day required thoughtful personalization. What is the point of staging a wedding and inviting spectators if it the multitude of options available, from ceremony to decor, don't express who you are? And since your love is a big part of who you are, what better day than your wedding day to express yourselves?

Photo by Monkey Tree Photography

As you can see from our write-up on Offbeat Bride, these decisions did not mean style for shock's sake. Part of who were are includes being sensitive to others' needs and desires. I really loved the balance we found.

Photo by Monkey Tree Photography

So, yeah... With that being succesful, coupled with more recent inspiration (like this excellent message from Lady Gaga on The Ellen Show), I've decided to up my swagga!

Stay tuned, 2010! Holla!

Photo by Diana Becker

Signs Of The Times? (or H1N1 and Omega 3's!)

2009-12-14T07:54:00.005-06:00

As previously promised, here's a stenciling job I did on a clock a while back:

At first glance, plague doctors seem rather ghoulish and scary, but I've always found them oddly comforting... They were the ones who stuck around, still trying to heal the sick even in the darkest days of the Black Plague.

I think he looks quite fetching in my favorite color combo of the day: grey and yellow.

And, on a lighter note, here is my first foray into the polymer clay world.

Is it time for lunch yet??

Ladies' Night! (or, Fun On A Tuesday??)

2009-12-01T10:08:00.006-06:00

I'm excited to be attending Kasey's shindig tonight!

I'm also excited to wear my new borderline-Lady-Gaga-faux-spats ankle boots while I'm there!

If I teeter into the onion dip, please pretend it was all part of my act.
Thanks!

My Favorite Photographer (or Kasey Marsh: Cool Gal Extraordinaire!)

2009-11-18T12:02:00.015-06:00

So I thought I'd take a moment to acquaint you with my favorite photographer, Kasey Marsh. Kasey owns Monkey Tree Photography here in Houston and is definitely one of the most excellent people I've met since moving here.

As you can probably guess after seeing the Style page at RobotInBloom.com and previous blog entries, I met Kasey when we hired her to photograph our wedding.

It was funny, actually - Josh and I had met with a pretty big handful of photographers before we found her, but none of them seemed quite right for our wedding. I liked the name of her business and what we saw on her website, so we made plans to meet her at a local Panera. We talked for a few minutes, flipped through her sample albums, did the whole photographer-bride-groom-discussions thing, and Josh and I tried to play it cool. We're not ones to make snap decisions, especially on something huge like our wedding photography.

Acting like ultra-savvy business people, we told her we'd think about it and let her know. We got just outside the front door, literally stopped, turned to each other, and said, "So, you wanna go with her?"

We waxed poetically and excitedly in the doorway for about 20 more seconds about how much we liked her work and how she was a great mix of confident and laid-back. She seemed like a great fit for the mood we wanted for our wedding. And her work looked like she'd catch all our special details and shmoopy expressions.

We walked right back into the restaurant and dorkily said, "Can we sign a contract with you right now???" blowing all our steely negotiating cred right out the window.

Her work was excellent and she was a total pro. She somehow managed to blend into the day, while also successfully wrangling guests for the formal shots. Honestly, I barely remember her being there - which I guess is actually a compliment in the wedding photography world!

After the wedding, I opted not to have her create an album for me. One part control freak, one part confidence in my design skills, and one part wanting waaaaay too many images and pages than is feasible for a flush-mount album, I decided to have a go at designing my own album through Blurb.

I'm incredibly glad I did it that way because I caught the album design bug!

I had so much fun designing my own album, I decided I wanted to do something, anything like that. No more secretarial drudgery for me!

But, I didn't know where to start, and my mom suggested I contact Kasey to see if she could offer any insight into that world.

Kasey's help and generosity was a total bolt from the blue!

She met with me, looked at my album, and asked if I'd want to use her computer and her software to help her with her workflow.

She taught me all sorts of things from the software to running a business. She's given me insights on running an art-based/creative business that you really don't get in regular "How To Run A Small Business" by I.M. Boring* books at Barnes and Noble. Not to mention she's totally relaxed and funny and fun to hang out with!

(*Not a real book, but could be.)

Now, though, I'm on my own feet. I have my own office, and she's recently leased a fabulous new space in the middle of Houston's hip Rice Village.

Her new place looked great for the open house, and I'm really looking forward to her upcoming Fancy Facebook Ladies' Night.

Fox Clocks (or Glitter Felt... Again!)

2009-11-10T10:31:00.009-06:00

I wanted to share with you a clock I made about a year ago...

I was inspired by some excellent deep blue glitter felt (Moi?? Attracted to glittery felt?? Perish the thought!) at the craft store one day and thought it was a perfect setting for an adorable fox.

I didn't catch any shots of myself drilling the center hole into the wood base, but here's what it looked like after a few pieces of felt and some strategic cuts.

I started with fabric glue, but quickly found a hot glue gun to be the path to felt-gluing salvation.

Sir Foxington the VII proved to be a challenge, but I think he came out as close to my vision as 20 cent felt and a pair of nail scissors can get.

What a handsome devil!

The finished product.

I never did decide if I want to paint the hands... White? Perhaps a bright red? Maybe orange with white tips like Sir Foxington's tail?

I've been toying with selling my extra creations on Etsy just for fun, but I'm hoping I can find the strength to let them go to new homes.

Stay tuned to see a cheerful fabric necklace I finished yesterday, and a ghoulish plague doctor clock from last year.

Diversions of a Vaguely Halloween-ish Nature (or More Coveting)

2009-10-30T08:19:00.005-05:00

Stupid Houston flooding.
I wasn't able to go to the Finao Playdate last night and I'm quite upset about that.

The radar looked pretty much like this last night - the blobs were about an inch or two to the left, though.

To help relieve my disappointment in missing out on last night, I'm browsing on Etsy.

Now, I ask you, have you ever seen a more gorgeous hat?

Made by Baroque and Roll, purveyor of various glamorous head-things.

I also found this excellent alternative to wallpaper, by Byrdie Graphics.

And who doesn't need a good pair of spats? (And a reference to Skeksis?)

Spats of all kinds are available at Straight Razor Slasher Designs.

And, finally, a subtle crow fashioned from an old vinyl record, by Prefectly Random Designs.

Have a lovely Halloween weekend, kiddies!

Very Exciting Things (or Happy Birthday, Website!)

2009-10-29T13:11:00.002-05:00

The air around here is buzzing!

Not only is it getting closer to Halloween, but the air is getting chillier, the wind is getting gustier...

Oh, and did I mention my website is finally done??

Yes, kiddies, www.robotinbloom.com is finally, officially ready for the world!

You can get to it by clicking the links above.

And, not only is my site done, but tonight is the night of the Houston Finao Playdate, hosted by Christine Tremoulet.

You can just feel a palpable thrum of tension in the air!

It's either all this awesome business excitement....
or the fact that all I've eaten today is trick-or-treat candy while the fighter pilots of the 25th Annual Wings Over Houston Airshow are buzzing my apartment building, practicing for the show this weekend.

Either way, my blood's a-boilin' and I'm jittery with excitement!
Wheeee!!!!

So loud!

Those buggers are hard to catch!

Networking (or Cupcakes)

2009-10-23T09:19:00.005-05:00

As I posted on my Twitter account yesterday - "Today would be ideal for a deus ex machina-style assist..."

That holds true today. Seems I was overlooked by the fates yesterday.

I'm racing to finish my website by next Thursday so I'll have something substantial to show the fine folks at the Finao Albums Playdate in Houston. It'll be my first real networking event since starting my business... (I only received my business cards in the mail a few days ago, so it's all gonna be fresh and shiny!)

The event is hosted by Houston photographer Christine Tremoulet. Judging by her online portfolio, she does really excellent work. I'm excited to meet her and hopefully make a few new friends in the Houston photography scene.

Also, I hear there will be cupcakes!

Friday Kvetching (or Weekend Dreaming)

2009-10-16T10:51:00.007-05:00

I'm really looking forward to the weekend!

This week has been a rough one - dropping a chunk of cash on lawyer services, continued wrestling with my site's HTML, and perpetually watery eyes because certain plants have decided to propogate their species lately.

On the bright side, though, I got my new business cards a lot earlier than I thought (exciting!), tonight's episode of Star Trek: TNG is the one where Data and Lore hang with Dr. Soong (goofy!), and our latest Netflix shipment looks promising - The Wrestler, The French Connection, and Breaking Bad: Season 1.

In the meantime, I'll let you greet your weekend with pictures of amazing cut paper artwork by Michael Velliquette.

Incredible!

Please go to his website. Those pictures are just the tip of the iceberg!

Color Your World (or My Apartment Definitely Needs Therapy)

2009-10-12T10:43:00.002-05:00

I'm totally plotzing over the entries in Apartment Therapy's Room For Color 2009 contest.

Oh, how I'm dying to paint a room so boldly...

In my current apartment living situation, I'm quite prohibited from indulging in the world of creative wall paint. Hopefully, I can change that soon.

"Contractor Beige" is the worst, don't you think?

Great Minds Think Alike (or JimandPamandJimandPamandJimandPam!!)

2009-10-08T21:50:00.007-05:00

Pam made paper flowers for her wedding, just like me!

Flower photos by Kasey Marsh of Monkey Tree Photography

Plasticland (or When I Close My Eyes, I'm Joan Holloway)

2009-10-07T12:47:00.003-05:00

Taking a little break in this super crazy day today (Seriously, what's with that?? Today seems like an avalance of hectic-ness for everyone...), I decided to windowshop at one of my favorite sources for eye candy online:

Oh Plasticland... How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I can be Joan Holloway

Or Brigitte Bardot

Or even Twiggy

These are largely pipe dreams due to my lack of bravery - not to mention that working from home means having very few occasions and places to wear excellent clothes.

My cowardice didn't stop me, though, from ordering a fabulous winter coat from them this summer.

I know, I know... "It's Houston! Why would you need a winter coat? Especially in the summer?"
Well, a) It's actually snowed twice in the 5 years I've lived here.
b) It's an excellent coat... Come on. Look at it.
c) I needed it to keep my 4 other winter coats company.......... (So maybe I have a coat addiction. So what?)

Anyway, that coat is gorgeous! The color is vibrant and unique, the wool is somehow light yet warm at the same time, and the lining is so soft I go into my closet just to touch it sometimes.

And the folks at Plasticland are totally professional and accomodating. There was a weird shipping fluke when I ordered my coat, but they handled it immediately and straightened everything out.
Awesomeness!

Go shop there!
Unleash your inner Mad Men!

And In The End (... Or Is It?)

2009-10-02T08:04:00.003-05:00

I finished my recent foray into the embroidery world a few weeks ago, and thought I'd share the pictures with you.

I tried my hand at some free-style embroidery, inspired by the excellent book, Doodle Stitching.

And, quelle suprise! A robot somehow found his way into my coaster set. And on glitter felt, nonetheless. Hmmm... I'm sensing a pattern here.

Diversions (or Things I Covet)

2009-09-29T06:43:00.005-05:00

There is so much awesomeness online, I can't help but feel compelled to share some of my findings with you. I spend way too much time on the Internet to not do something at least partially constructive with the list of treasures I find...

If you're at all concerned with building a stylish, small, and temporary nest for yourself, I'm sure you're heard of Apartment Therapy. They're the harbingers of design who, in their own words, are "saving the world, one room at a time."

Yesterday, they featured some art that I just refuse to accept as paintings.

I mean, that's got to be a photo from the 70s, right?
Artist David Imlay is clearly a master of the brush. Go read the write-up at Apartment Therapy for more paintings and information.

Also, in keeping with my my love for all things whimsical, bizarre, hilarious, and vaguely old-timey, there is this:

This dandy Boxer dog is the brainchild of The Utilitarian Franchise. Please go check out their Etsy shop. You won't be disappointed.

And finally, here's a picture of an awesome glittery purple skull I bought yesterday.

No, no 99 Cent Store... Thank you!

Butterflies (or Flutterbys)

2009-09-09T10:02:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, my husband and I took a little trip down to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Though this place is practically a second home to us, we have somehow managed to bypass the Cockrell Butterfly Center every single time.

Huge mistake.

Upon receiving free passes from Josh's mom, we figured we'd finally give it a shot. (If it's free, it's for me, right?)
I'm so glad I'm a cheapskate because words really can't express how beautiful this place is!

A three story waterfall serves as a centerpiece to the rainforest under the massive glass dome. This lush rainforest provides a home for tons and tons and TONS of butterflies!

You can't not find a butterfly at this place - they're everywhere! I don't think there's a square foot that's not occupied by at least 2 butterflies at any given time. I think my previous butterfly garden reluctance was due to another garden I'd been to many moons ago and my 7 year old self was highly disappointed when the butterflies were basically nowhere to be found. A let-down indeed.

I was especially lucky that day, though - one landed square on my head!

He was a cool guy...

We hung out a surprisingly long time before he had to go. He said had to meet his publisher for coffee and then get his kid from daycare. He was a sweet guy.

Anyway, if you're ever in Houston, this is the absloute best place to go. You won't forget it!

Code Blue (or 1998 HTML Skills, Don't Fail Me Now!)

2009-08-27T17:34:00.003-05:00

Urrrrgh.....

I've been trying all week to get my website up and running - digging through rusty memories of my freshman "English for the Digital Age" class, copious amounts of HTML help sites, emails to my computer friend halfway across the country. It's been an interesting process.

I felt an odd combination of depression and triumph working for hours on a bit of code, only to find out that the reason it's not showing up properly is due to an errant ">". Or, when I got frustrated with my FTP client, I had to fire off a big, complicated email to my computer friend... Only to have him gently remind me, hey, I'm typing in the address wrong when I go to check it. (Thanks again, Jeff!)

Rookie mistakes, to be sure, but it's nice to know that I can still do it, you know? A gal whose formal programming training was one semester, 11 years ago. And that, no matter how much aggravated time I put into it, my site is at least a tad better than it was this morning.

But miles to go, my friends, before the Robot can sleep.

Crafts (or I Love That Goat!)

2009-08-26T12:41:00.007-05:00

I have a confession. I'm crazy. But it's okay because Josh is too.
How does our insanity manifest itself?

Goat love.

In a field near our house, there is a goat. This goat has no idea, but he has become our little mascot. Our own little folk hero, even.

He's adorable. He likes to stand on top of an old rusty truck in his field. He spends most of his time eating grass with the grey donkey. He has a brown head. We've named him Bartamus and have ascribed many outlandishly untrue (Or are they??) character traits to him including, but not limited to, Bartamus being a secret breakdancer who goes out and busts his moves on the weekends at many fine Houston nightclubs.

He's the source of many ridiculous, hilarious converstaions between me and my husband.

So, as a tribute to him, I sewed some coasters!
(Hey, you accept the creative spark wherever you can get it, right? Plus, I'm trying to get better at embroidery.)

I didn't take very good pictures of the process because I didn't think about it until too late. Regardless, in this one, you can see mine and Josh's attempts at drawing goats on neon Post-its. Very technical stuff. (Mine is on the left, Josh's is on the right.)

Goats are really hard to draw, by the way. Try it. It's nearly impossible to stop them from simultaneously looking like dogs, deer, and horses. I think we did okay, though...

A closer look at my novice embroidery.

So, yeah. That's Bartamus.* I hope he likes being immortalized in felt.

Oh, and I made a spaceship, too, because I like spaceships. And I had glittery felt.

* Well, that's felt Bartamus. I'll post a picture of the real one as soon as I get up enough nerve to stop the car near the field and get out. I'm kind of worried about invoking 'Deliverance'-style farmer wrath...

Design Genesis (or First Contact)

2009-08-20T10:22:00.002-05:00

Well, here I am. Sitting at home on the first Thursday of my new life. Happy as a clam.

I recently quit my job and have decided to Fosbury Flop my way into the world of sole proprietorship. I've always had a passion for design (which is the classy way to say that I like how stuff looks) and now that I'm barreling my way toward 30, I decided it was time to stop fuming at my desk all day, get all Oprah-y on myself, and try to live the one life I have in the awesomest way possible. I'm now a freelance wedding photo album designer, and I'm incredibly glad about that...

I started my wedding-related career as most folks in the wedding world start out - by holding a wedding of my very own. Josh and I were married in March of 2008. I know it's cliche to say, "OMG muh wedding wuz teh best thing evar!!1!" but it really was. I won't go into details about how awesome our marriage is and how Josh is the best husband (and person) in the world, because as much as I want to say them, you might lose your lunch... So I'll just focus on the more digestable superficial aspects:

Photo by Kasey Marsh of Monkey Tree Photography

I love color. And I love balancing wacky fun with timeless class. I'm also incredibly indecisive and can see beauty in all styles of design... Hence, our wedding style.
As a result of our (relatively) non-cookie-cutter approach to tradtion, we were featured on Offbeat Bride. (You can read our write-up here.)

Anyway, that's all I'll say for now because I really do have a ton of work to do. Being the boss and the employee is a new concept for me. Plus, it involves a lot of reading in the beginning as I've found out this summer. That's okay, though. I'm looking forward to my upcoming visit to Amazon to obtain more literature on how to propel myself into the entreprenurial stratosphere. Also, I'll probably pick up the ~~'Mama Mia' soundtrack~~ new Wilco album.

Photo by Kasey Marsh of Monkey Tree Photography