Happy First (Week) Anniversary!!!

... to my brother & new sister-in-law! Last saturday was their wedding in Buffalo NY ... held in a vacant lot owned by the non-profit PUSH Buffalo that my brother works for. The day was rainy & gray which added to the fun & excitement in the air.

Very non-traditional ... no wedding dress, or organ music, no minister or priest ... but the most magical wedding I have ever been to - I was so glad my children had a chance to experience a wedding outside the box!

presenting Clarke & Melissa Gocker Kondrak



the nieces & nephews



with great grandma gocker



getting ready for the rain



the look of love





*insert squeal* ... I think they are about to kiss!



of course I had to make something for Eily to wear



our advice to the bride & groom... remember to always have fun!

Here Comes the Bride....

Last fall I was contacted through etsy by a bride-to-be (isn't she gorgeous!)




she was looking for someone to make 2 outfits for 2 young girls - she was using Jennifer Paganelli's Casey Gold Scroll on her tables and wanted to incorporate that into the outfits



she gave me free reign to design whatever I wanted! I had so much fun playing with fabrics - I consulted my online friend Jona of Fabritopia for some help with the coordinating fabrics and then picked 2 of my favorite Euro patterns, the Feliz from Studio Tantrum and the Insa from farbenmix. I had a lot of fun with my artistic freedom and thankfully the bride was equally as happy! She was sweet enough to send me some of the photos from her wedding taken by Tine Hofmann

special order...........

I love it when someone contacts me with a special request .... at the end of the summer a very sweet bride to be saw a dress I had made that was posted on Jennifer Paganelli's blog. She was planning on using one of Jennifer's fabrics...casey gold scroll .... at her reception & contacted me to see if I could make a dress for a 6 year old and a skirt set for an 11 year old that would incorporate this fabric. I was delighted at the opportunity and set to work.

I wanted to share the results with all of you! Fortunately my daughter is a beanpole and was able to model BOTH sizes for me!











the patterns for the skirt and dress were from farbenmix - the INSA skirt and from Studio Tantrum - the FELIZ dress...I love the versatility of both of these patterns and the fact that the style is appropriate for a wide range of ages.

Well...the bride received the package and her response is one of the reasons I love doing what I do....

"Kristen!
Received the dress, skirt, and top today and they are GORGEOUS-!what a great mix of fabrics and colors, and so fitting to the girls' personalities. You have outdone yourself and far exceeded my expectations. Ella tried her dress on immediately and it looks amazing, and I know Hannah will adore hers too when she gets into town next week. I will definitely send pictures and talk up your name to everyone I know. Thank you, thank you!!!!"

thank you Nancy for letting me be a small part of your beautiful day!