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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

2014 Summer Sewing Plans

May 28, 2014

It's another installment of unrealistic sewing planning -- one of my favorite activities! Over the last year or so of sewing for myself, I've become enamored with dresses. I just love the ease of slipping a dress on, ready for the day in an instant. And now that I've survived looking through thousands of images of myself and have become truly and deeply okay with my "giant squash legs" as K likes to call them, I'm intent on adding a lot more frocks to my wardrobe. I lean toward simple lines ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration, sewing, watercolor • by sanae • 26 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

May 23, 2014

Happy Friday! A little watercolor painting of a coral today -- I really enjoy drawing sea life and I've been doing a lot of it lately. Speaking of enjoying things, last week while driving into downtown to run an errand early on a Saturday morning, I saw a man swaying his arms to and fro in exaggerated movements as he walked. The traffic light turned red, and I had the chance to observe this youngish man who looked decidedly un-homeless. Medium-build, glasses, sweatshirt and jeans. And massive, ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration, life, watercolor • by sanae • 12 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

May 9, 2014

Some prep sketches for the book. I've been loving this handmade paper for its texture and I've been having a blast with all my watercolor/gouache paints. It's nose to the grindstone time (but in a good way), friends, so I best keep it short today. ********************************** K: You know, Mama...you're actually really, really funny even though most people would think you're totally boring if they just looked at you. Me: ...thank you? ********************************** Happy ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration, watercolor • by sanae • 8 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

May 2, 2014

Happy Friday! Boy, am I glad it's the end of the week. I caught K's stomach bug and spent all day Wednesday in bed and part of Thursday feeling mildly queasy - I got about 20 hours of sleep though, and thankfully, it was a 24-hour thing so I'm back to my normal self today. The goldfish illustration is truly random, but I did feel like I was underwater whilst in in the grips of what felt like food poisoning. I've come to the conclusion that M must not be human because he never gets ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration, life • by sanae • 10 Comments

Poppies + Distractions

April 22, 2014

It's good to be back. Taking a week off of blogging was rejuvenating without a doubt, but I also discovered how much my days are anchored by creating my posts, buoyed by the interactions I have with you. Beyond Tuesday of last week, I was completely in a time warp. Spring break was amazing. So good, so good. Because many of our friends were out of town, K and I spent the bulk of the week with just each other (M made guest appearances in the late evenings and on weekends, but he works a lot). ... Read more

Filed in: black and white, gouache, illustration • by sanae • 24 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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