gouache – Sanae Ishida

April 6, 2018

Happy Friday + A Flower Shower

Happy Friday! I’ve been painting a lot lately, experimenting with the many, many watercolor and gouache paints that I have. I’m in between big deadlines right now so I gave myself a break for the entire month of March to basically goof off. These illos aren’t for any particular project and it’s lovely to just aimlessly sketch.

The plan was to simply read and sort of putz around for a month, but then – as per usual — I found myself making a massive to-do list of sewing, home improvement and other DIY projects. I get twitchy unless I’m working on something. But what I ended up gravitating towards most was my paints. It’s been very relaxing.

I’ve been giving this blog a lot of thought too. I had ambitious blog ideas on my big to-do list, and clearly they didn’t happen. I’m relishing the ease of Instagram right now, and I promised myself not to feel pressured to post on a regimented schedule anywhere online. Super liberating. And I noticed that when I let myself just putter about physically and mentally, I feel more energy and want to make things. This break has done me good!

I’m off to start my weekend and I hope you have a terrific one! I will leave you with this little girl having a conversation with a flower…

Girl: Tell me, pretty flower — what is this luminous shower?

Flower: I am a light tower, a giver of infinite power.

Girl: Oh, tell me more about this power!

Flower: It makes you an allower, a magnificent here-and-now-er!

Girl: …will it take more than an hour? If so, I might get sour and dour.

Flower: Ah, just relax under my bower and enjoy the flower shower…

December 23, 2016

Happy Holidays + Freebie Printables

2016-holidayprintables1

Happy Friday! I’ve been on a mini-wrapping-paper-making bender, my friends. Just in case you are a champion procrastinator like I am, I wanted to offer up these designs for any last minute packaging needs. You can print them up on regular 8.5 x 11″ paper on your home printer, and voila! Instant wrapping paper for those tiny stocking stuffers.

Feel free to download them below (click on image, and right-click to “save as” to your desktop before printing for best results):

Kitties

Hedgehogs

Unicorns

I also made some accompanying tags (click on image, and right-click to “save as” to your desktop before printing for best results):

I think they’re pretty cute, and I hope you like them! Printing the tags on card stock will make them even more legit. I can’t tell you how many times these little printables have saved the day for me.

Well, I’m off to go celebrate with my family. My mom is in town, the tree has been trimmed, gifts wrapped and/or distributed, and I’m ready to sip some eggnog and enjoy the remaining days of 2016.

I’ll be taking next week off and will see you back here in 2017!!! Happy holidays, everyone — wishing you all a spectacular end of the year!

What a year it’s been
Hello, twenty-seventeen
What’s in store for us?

P.S. Furoku members! Please keep your eyes peeled for #22 arriving on January 3rd or before.

August 5, 2016

Happy Friday + Randomness

seattle-japanese-garden-map

Happy Friday! Keeping it super duper short today since we’re attempting to get out of town this weekend. Above is one of the projects I worked on recently for the Seattle Japanese Garden that I believe is already printed by now. I had a wonderful time painting this, and it will be part of their self walking tour brochure. Fun! I hope to work on more maps in the future. I recently saw this book and this book in a store, and deliberated long and hard about purchasing them, but in the end, I left them on the shelf. I heart maps.

What are you up to,
this fine August end o’ week?
Hope it’s full of joy!

P.S. The winner of the embroidery book giveaway is Janice, congrats!

December 28, 2015

2015 RECAP: Sewing for K

Good morning! I hope you all had a restful and celebratory Christmas, and perhaps you too are now looking back upon all the happenings of 2015. It’s been a big year for me: one book launched, another completed. I inadvertently started something that could be considered a side business. My little family of three had highs and lows, but the good times outweighed the bad. I hadn’t been quite prepared for the emotional turbulence that was part of this year, but in hindsight it stretched and pulled me like taffy, loosening me up, adding flexibility.

Given the many life-altering events that happened in the past 12 months, it’s no wonder that my personal sewing took a major hit. But I can’t really blame it all on book activities. The inevitable seems to be happening, and as K grows older, she’s less interested in wearing clothes that I’ve made. She wants to live in t-shirts/knits and leggings, preferably with characters and bright designs on them. “The non-stretchy stuff you make is uncomfortable, Mama,” she tells me.

So it makes sense that I tended to default to stitching up knit clothing, just because that upped the chances of them getting worn. Even so, she’d rather wear the store-bought hand-me-downs from our neighbor — I can understand that.

I’d assumed I made about a dozen things for K this year, but as I looked through my archives, the grand total came out to 27 (if counting each component of her Halloween costume separately). Not too bad! An average of 2+ a month is far more than I thought I could manage.

So here they are by month (surprisingly, the only month I completely skipped was May):

JANUARY

Raglan Navy + Floral

Frogtastic Tee

Perri Pullovers

FEBRUARY

Front Placket Dress (Wool Plaid)

Front Placket Dress (Geometric)

Coral Giraffe Print Top + Leggings

MARCH

APRIL

JUNE

Recital Dress That Wasn’t

White Tee + Nani Iro Knit Shorts

JULY

Bralette

Henry Dress in Gradients of Grey

AUGUST

Bedford in Black and Floral

Rockstar Pants

SEPTEMBER

Ottobre Marja Top

Second Day of School Dress

OCTOBER

Superhero K

NOVEMBER

Faux Fur Vest

DECEMBER

Gilded Recital Dress

27 items! There were a few pairs of leggings I didn’t post, so it’s probably closer to 30. I’m not sure how to approach 2016 and sewing for K… I’m in the midst of making her a puffy jacket — it probably won’t be done until this Saturday — and I will continue to make her necessary clothes, I’m sure. But it’s different from when I first started this blog and I could make whatever I wanted for her and she happily donned the outfits. She’s no longer my dress-up doll, and we are entering a whole new phase of tweenhood and strong opinions and self-consciousness.

I’ll figure something out, though. Maybe 2016 will be about teaching K how to make her own clothes. Now, wouldn’t that be something?

December 11, 2015

Happy Friday + Randomness

Happy Friday! Thank you so much for all the comments from my last post!! I’m overwhelmed by the kindness! Slowly, slowly I’m decompressing after months of chasing deadlines. The upside is that the holidays are going to be a piece of cake – I’ve vowed to really (really!!) keep it simple this year and I’m not ashamed to admit that most people are receiving gift cards. Even kids. Maybe next year I’ll wow you all with an array of handmade presents, but not this year. Now that the Advent Calendar is in full swing (it’s sweet how K puts the flowers in a vase each day) I feel that my elf duties are done. Incidentally, the glitter washi didn’t hold up the flowers all that well, and we kept finding them strewn about the floor, so I had to re-tape them all with not-so-glamorous painters tape. Oh well.

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I’m not sure what the illustration is up there — I’ve been doing this funny thing lately: I take my art supplies with me to coffee shops and paint for a little while. I was sketching the top portion of a coffee grinder at one of the cafés, and then thought of gramophones, and added a few hearts. I like it.

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Have a cozy weekend, all! I’m making my holiday list, checking it off, and reading some books for the sheer pleasure of it. Can’t wait.

Are you making things
for this holiday season?
If yes, then good luck!