Gravy and Dessert

Our Baby Nursery

2013-02-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

As I promised, I am finally posting pictures of our baby boy's nursery! It took a lot of compromising with my husband, he thought everything I was picking out was just too girly. Once he talked to a friend of his who also just had a baby boy and he said, "just let her do what she wants, he's a baby, it's all free game" it became easier to compromise....or not have to anymore! haha Well, he'll be here in about 7 weeks and I think he's just going to adore his new room.

It took us about 2-3 days to paint the room and that included the accent wall, which was pretty easy to paint...just required lots of tape! I also created 4 pieces of custom artwork and bought a few pieces that I fell in love with.

Austin's Room

2013-01-30T18:15:00.000-08:00

I met Austin's mom at the Overland Park Fall Festival last October and she hired me to make a couple of custom art pieces for his bedroom. His dad was pretty adamant that it not be too girly, so I felt like I was really under pressure, haha! I did keep checking with my husband, just to make sure I was keeping it very boyish...I mean, Austin is only 3! :) Here's what I came up with, I really LOVE both pieces!

Nursery Gifts

2013-01-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I have posted, I have good reason though....I am 7 1/2 months pregnant!! We are SO excited and have been really busy preparing for a while now. I will post some pictures of our nursery in another post, it looks AWESOME!!!

This post is actually to show off some artwork I created for a lady at work to give to her nieces for their nurseries. They are both having girls, one has a sock monkey theme and the other flowers/birds. Here's what I created for them, I think they turned out very cute!

Elizabeth and Jeffrey's Wedding Tree

2012-11-25T15:15:00.001-08:00

The Perfect Pair

2012-09-25T19:27:00.001-07:00

Just created this cute postcard for a customer of mine. I think it turned out very nicely!

Sweet find turned LOVE!

2012-09-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

So, it seems like forever ago I posted this blog about my sweet find at my local Goodwill store. It was this dresser, it was rundown and gross....but I could see the potential!

Well, with a LOT of help from my amazing husband it is finally refinished and placed into it's new home in our house! After a lot of Pinterest searching, I decided I wanted to go 2 tone with it. I think it turned out totally AMAZING and I am so happy with it!!

2013 Wall Calendar

2012-09-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

I am very proud to say, my first wall calendar is complete and ready for sale in my etsy store!! It took a few months to make and I had a hard time deciding which artwork to use for each month, but I am so excited about how amazing it turned out.

They will make a great Christmas gifts for friends and family!! I am also going to be selling them at the Overland Park Fall Festival on September 29th. Here's a few pictures to check out:

Pope Pig-A-Palooza

2012-08-08T06:26:00.001-07:00

Come one, come all....get your Pope Pig-A-Palooza shirts here!

Shirts are $10 each and light blue in color with a distressed vintage design. The design is the same on both adult and youth shirts. Please click here to email Alicia Dean to order your tees for the big event!! She can bill you through PayPal or you can send in your payment, shirts will be delivered on the day of the event! You have until September 19th to place your order!!

Adult shirts are available in size S-3X and are Gear For Sports brand

Youth shirts are available in XS-XL and are Champion brand

Fall Wedding Invitation Set

2012-07-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

I recently completed a fall themed wedding invitation set for a bride I met at the Lenexa bridal show. I think the set turned out really nicely and she was very excited when she saw them!

Click here to purchase this set through my etsy store: Fall Wedding Set

It's Out, it's Out!!!

2012-06-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

It's finally out....KC Weddings Fall/Winter issue hit stores today, and some of my work has been featured on 2 pages!! I am over the moon about it and so thankful to my bride, Mindy, one for hiring me and two for being so diligent about my items being in the issue! It's really an amazing feeling to have some one believe in you so much and love your work!

Let's Go Ride a Bike

2012-06-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

I'm finally working on some new art for my store, for a fall show I'm going to be in AND for my 2013 calendar that I'm creating!!! YEAH!!! Here's a sneak peek:

Lucy's Cottage

2012-06-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to tell you all about my mom's new etsy shop, Lucy's Cottage!

She is making the cutest and softest fleece baby and toddler blankets you have ever seen! They are sewn with love and then hand appliquéd and embroidered. And they are totally customizable per your specifications...which is even better! They make great baby shower gifts(yes I have given a few out) or they are perfect for decorating your own baby's room!

She lists the fabric colors she has to offer and there are a variety of adorable hand appliquéd animals you can choose from to decorate your blanket. Here are a couple of pictures of my favorites:

She is also making lovable plush stuffed animals! Also customizable in fleece color and there are no small parts, so they are baby safe. Here's a picture of my favorite stuffed animal:

If you have some time, please check out her new store and pass on the word to your friends! And keep her items in mind for the next baby shower you get invited to, people love hand made gifts!

Instagram

2012-05-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

So, I'm addicted to Instagram now! I have seen all these people using it and and I finally gave in and downloaded the app...I'm loving it! My user name is ajodean if you want to follow me...I currently have 0 followers! ha!

Lettuce!

2012-05-18T19:58:00.002-07:00

We had our first harvest form the garden last week and the winner was: Lettuce! We actually had fresh from the garden lettuce 2 times last week and a few leaves of spinach! Delish!

Dining Room Art

2012-05-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

I finally found the perfect art to hang on the wall in my dining room! I have only been looking for 9 months and I finally found it! I found the small frames at a garage sale yesterday, the large frame is from Ikea and the flowers are from an artist I found on etsy.

Here's the before:

And the after:

Red and Black Invite Set

2012-05-08T10:38:00.001-07:00

My baby tomato!

2012-05-07T18:56:00.001-07:00

I'm SOOO excited, look at my first baby tomato!!! My whole garden is going crazy, we have been getting so much rain! I think my first harvest will be my lettuce, I can't wait...I'm going to give it a few more days! I'll let you know how it goes...

Chevron Save the Date

2012-04-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

Here's one of my newest save the date orders from etsy. I love the colors she is using, these just turned out really nicely! Here's the listing in my store: www.etsy.com/listing/91281701/100-chevron-save-the-date-postcards

I also updated tons of my pictures in my store, it's been a long time coming!! I have just been so busy I have been neglecting my store, it's a wonder how I have even been getting orders with how badly it needed updating! I'll be doing more spring cleaning on it over the next few weeks, so stop by and give me your comments on how it looks!

Watch My Garden Grow II

2012-04-30T18:22:00.002-07:00

It's been raining a lot the past few days and my garden is just going crazy! I can hardly wait for the first harvest!!

Below is the close up of the beans and peas!

And Here's my little helper, Atticus!

Watch my Garden Grow

2012-04-13T21:30:00.001-07:00

It's amazing the things that make me excited at this point in my life! I don't remember dreaming about having a garden and thinking how fun it would be, but the last couple of years I have really been wanting one. When we were looking for a new house last summer, one of my main focuses was having a garden and finding a house that had a yard that would allow one.

I have fond memories of when I was a kid and my mom had a big garden, I would help her tend to it every once in a while...I remember it being sort of fun. I think I enjoyed the flower gardening more back then though, I even used to take my flowers to the fair.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a few days off work to get parts of our back yard in order. I completely demolished a flower bed, leveled it and then rebuilt it. I planted some bushes and a lot of flowers in it, I can't wait until it grows in this summer! I also went to Sam's and bought 2 garden box sets. Each set contained two 3.5 foot squares, so I have about 14 ft. of garden. It was about 90 degrees that weekend, so I decided to go ahead and plant everything! I didn't really put much thought into there possibly being another frost, so keep your fingers crossed!

Here's what all I planted: corn, carrots, green beans, snap peas, lettuce, spinach, okra, tomatoes, peppers and strawberries. I know that I planted WAY too much in the space that I have...but maybe that just means more of it will live! haha! It's growing in really nicely so far, here's the first picture of the season...I will post more as it grows! I can't wait to show you all the first harvest of my crop! :)

Here's a close up of my green beans and snap peas box...I'm pretty excited about this section of the garden. I plan on eating these right out of the garden...raw and maybe not even washed! :)

Leaf Wedding Invite

2012-03-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

Here's another custom wedding invitation set I just created for a customer! Love how it turned out!

Guest Book Tree for a Birthday

2012-03-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

This is a guest book fingerprint tree that I created for my Grandmother's birthday party. I normally make them as wedding guest books, but this turned out great for the birthday party....it could also be used for anniversary parties, baby showers and family reunions! The possibilities are endless when it comes to guest book trees!

If you are looking for one for your event, check out my listing on etsy and just contact me for the event you'd like your tree customized for!

Blue and Champagne Wedding Invite

2012-03-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

Unexpected Surprise

2012-03-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

My husband brought in the mail tonight and handed me one of the best surprises I have ever gotten! It was a thank you note from a bride who's wedding invitations I just completed!!

I have never had anyone HAND write me a thank you note for an order that I did for them. I mean, I've gotten quick emails and nice feedback through etsy, but never a hand written note! It just makes up for all those problem orders or difficult people that come around every blue moon.

Anyways, she really made my day today and made me realize that I love making invitations for a reason!

Lenexa Bridal Show

2012-02-26T17:50:00.000-08:00

The Lenexa Bridal Show was today and it was a great show! It was the first time I have ever participated as a vendor in a show like this and it was a really great experience. I hope to get lots of sales from participating, I'll let you know how it goes!

Here's a couple of pictures of my table, they aren't the best since I took them with my phone. :(