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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Counting Beads

November 7, 2012

The other day K and I went to a beads store, and this pretty stone caught my eye (on sale!). The brass Japanese seed beads seemed like a natural fit, and a few minutes later I had a necklace. I might have discovered a new hobby...   ... Read more

Filed in: crafts • by sanae • 3 Comments

Halloween Tattoos

October 31, 2012

For all of my Pinterest-ing and grand planning, I've been kind of a slacker in the Halloween department. Pumpkins: not carved. Candy: not purchased. Fancy Treats: not baked. Costume for K: totally dialed it in (cat ears purchased at a drug store, leotard and tights re-purposed as-is from last summer's ballet camp). However, just in the nick of time, I did make some cute little Halloween tattoos... I used Silhouette's printable tattoo paper, which is so much fun. The downside is ... Read more

Filed in: crafts, illustration • by sanae • 2 Comments

Halloween Yummies

October 30, 2012

As October 31st draws near, I have been thinking about making fancy Halloween treats for K, and here are some fun ideas I've been gathering...oh, so many choices! Trick-or-treat cookies by notmartha DIY mini caramel apples via Classic Play Black cat cookies via Land o Lakes Spooky ghost pizza via She Knows Chef Mom Handmade bat treat boxes  via craftgawker I hope everyone in NYC is doing OK in the wake of Sandy...best wishes to all. ... Read more

Filed in: cooking, crafts • by sanae • 3 Comments

Impromptu Art Project

August 22, 2012

Painted City

A while ago, I purchased this very cool papercraft book, which I promptly whipped out when we had a free afternoon last week. However, K wanted none of it. Instead, she rummaged around the house and found some cardboard packaging and got to work decorating it. Pretty soon the paints came out, and she was barking out orders ("The hospital is here! No, that's the amusement park!"). And lo, we have a painted city: This is the view from top. Here is the front view with the purple castle, ... Read more

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Crafts: DIY Scratch Art

August 13, 2012

Scratch Art 1

I'm generally geeking out on making scratch boards these days...do you remember these? You take a sheet of paper, cover the surface with as many colored crayons as possible, then slap a layer of black paint on top. Once the paint dries, take a toothpick or skewer or even a coin and scratch away to reveal the mystery colors beneath. Fun, fun! I even bought a package I found at a local art store and though the texture and color are definitely better (it's the square one on the right above), ... Read more

Filed in: crafts • by sanae • 2 Comments

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The holidays are upon us!! 🎄🎁 I’ve posted The holidays are upon us!! 🎄🎁 I’ve posted this year’s free printable holiday tags on my blog - link in bio! Can you believe I’ve been creating these printable tags for over 10 years?? This year I included outtake illustrations from my book SHIBUI so these tags and bookmarks could be used for gifts all year round. I also painted a few holiday-ish ones too! Enjoy, and have a lovely and celebratory season! I’m taking my usual winter social media break, and I’ll see you back here in 2026 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡
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