52 hand-lettered project: 12 | 52

[ 12 | 52 ] lyrics I love

Look, ma! I used colour!

The hymn Before the Throne of God Above is definitely one of my favourite hymns. It's my go-to whenever I get either discouraged or cocky. The hymn is basically telling me, "Look what God has done; Jesus died on a cross for you, my dear. It is finished. Sin has no hold on you. You are forgiven. God loves you."

52 hand-lettered project: 10 | 52

[ 10 | 52 ] home is..

This is my favourite piece to date! I had so much fun making this. I used my new dip ink calligraphy pen, and a Speedball B-4 nib. I also played around with ink splatter too. It was generally just a lot of fun to make, and I’m very happy with it!!

When I read the prompt, I naturally thought to complete the sentence with the lyrics from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ song Home. It’s such a catchy song. But I actually have a very convoluted idea of home, at the moment. As a student, I move so often that the physical building that I live in changes every year. I make my home, and then I leave and have to make another place my home. So I’m not sure what home is anymore.

But, I am reassured because the Bible tells me that my true home is in heaven with the Lord, “for our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

52 hand-lettered project: 9 | 52

[ 9 | 52 ] how I like my coffee

I love a good mug, just as much as I love a good cup of coffee, if not more! I also take my coffee with milk, but no sugar. This also happens to be the way I take my tea, too! Oh, coffee and tea, how I love thee  ❤.

Happy March everyone! I hope this month brings more warmth, as I am officially done with winter, and cannot wait for spring!!

52 hand-lettered project: 8 | 52

[ 8 | 52 ] things that soothe

I'm not sure if I get stressed out easily, but I do get stressed out a lot. I guess that comes with the territory of being a student. With tests, assignments, extracurriculars, and responsibilities galore, these things keep me centred.

Also, the background image I chose is of a sandwich I had from Art-Is-In Bakery this past summer. If you ever find yourself in the Ottawa area, you must go! Hands down, my favourite bakery. Just thinking about their food soothes me.. Mmm...

the 52 hand-lettered project.

I decided recently that I would participate in the 52 hand-lettered project on Instagram, as a challenge to myself. This year, I would really love to get my creative mojo back, and there really is no better way than to practice, practice, practice!

Armed with my gel ink pen (yep, that's it, really!), I am tackling this challenge head on!

Since I am starting late, here are weeks 1 through 7:

A photo posted by simply steph (@simplystephstudio) on Feb 24, 2015 at 9:39pm PST

[ 1 | 52 ] my mantra for 2015

[ 2 | 52 ] summer love list

[ 3 | 52 ] one thing to do more often

[ 4 | 52 ] a summer memory

[ 5 | 52 ] places to visit

[ 6 | 52 ] a quote about love

[ 7 | 52 ] my everyday essentials

While I'm at it, I'm also hoping to up my photography game. I would love to be able to compose better images to share my work. I have discovered that my home has awful artificial lighting, and I tend to work at night, where that light is all I have.. so it has become a personal challenge to wake up earlier and take advantage of the soft morning light, or at least take photos in the afternoon when the sun is still shining.