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.

my first commissioned work!

I recently had the opportunity to design a mug for my friend to gift to his girlfriend.

The verse he chose serves as a reminder of why she studies law (hint: because God is good!). It's such a sweet gesture – she's a lucky gal!

"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause." Isaiah 1:17 (ESV)

The other side includes the verse reference.

So, friends, if you would like me to help you create something, please let me know! I love being creative, with a purpose.

updating the look of my phone.

I was itching to change something on my phone. I've had my phone for about a year and a half now, and other than changing the wallpaper, I haven't made many changes in a while.

When I first got my phone, I learned that there are many options to customize the phone. I used to be an iPhone gal, so this was *super* cool. I downloaded the first thing I saw, and I haven't changed much since that day (mostly because I was too lazy to set everything up again). But, like I said, I wanted to change something on my phone, and ohmygosh, I'm having a ball :D

Check it out! New launcher, icons and wallpaper.

    

The lock screen, and the default home page.

The pages on either side of the default home page. One has a clock, and the other my calendar.

I keep my screens pretty empty, and have frequently used apps in the dock (which scrolls and has 3 pages), leaving the rest in the app drawer. I like how clean it is, and it lets me see the wallpaper too! The wallpaper reminds me of the verse, "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10) But it's also just a really pretty background :)

I used to use Atom launcher, but Apex has way more functionality. I much prefer it. It feels much less cumbersome. Yippee! A+

Launcher: Apex // Icon Pack: Numix Circle // Wallpaper: Julie Song for designlovefest

DIY: the creative process.

I recently did a few paintings and I wanted to share with you the creative process I take to get there. I'll use this painting as an example.

First, to get inspiration, I look everyone on the internet. I got the ideas for this particular project on pinterest, and from the facebook page of one of my favourite blogs, a cup of jo.

this painting


this quote

Once I figured out what I wanted to create, I made a plan. What did I think my final project would look like?

As you can tell, my plan looks a little different from my final product. First of all, I didn't recreate the different coloured painting effect in my plan (just wasn't worth the effort), but also my quote ended up being too long for my canvas, which was a-okay! It's better this way.. less words, therefore simpler! And we all know what a big fan I am of simple!

This is generally how I create most of my crafts. I start with a concept, pulled from inspiration from the internet. Then I create a plan.. and hope for the best! Sometimes it's better to stick to a craft with great instructions, but when you create something of your own... well you can truly call it your own.

I guess the biggest thing I learned from this was to have a plan so I know which direction I'm heading, but to be willing to change the plan if need be. Be prepared, but be flexible!

Happy crafting!

DIY: revealed quote painting

It was raining over the weekend, so I painted 2 different paintings (check out the first one I did!).

This painting is very simple in concept, but a little longer in terms of steps. First take your colours (whichever colours you'd like.. I chose green, blue and grey) and paint them along your canvas, covering the surface. I left some of the canvas exposed.

Using removeable vinyl letters, place your words on the canvas. I put them onto a piece of painter's tape first, so I could arrange the letters before placing them on the canvas. This worked out well for me since the word 'Everything' was a little longer than I had expected. Having the flexibility of moving the letters was very helpful.

I removed the tape, and put the letters right on the canvas, exactly where I wanted the words to show up, and taped a herringbone pattern on the canvas as well.

Using white, I painted over everything, making sure no edges were lifting up, covering the entire canvas!

Lift up the tape and the vinyl letters to reveal the final product. Wow!

Here are the two paintings I did. It only took me a morning, not very long at all. I hope you enjoyed following the process! Painting was a lot of fun.

DIY: geometric art

For my 19th birthday, Rosemarie got me the BEST PRESENT EVERRRR. She gave me all the materials I needed for something I pinned on pinterest: canvas, paint, tape, brushes.. all of it. Makes my life so easy! {I am now 20, so she gave this to me not this past summer, but two summers ago..!} I pin lots of craft projects on Pinterest, with the best intentions. They are there as inspiration for an art project that I will attempt.. some time.. in the near far future. I just finished doing two of the simplest paintings ever, using 2 of the 4 canvasses Rosemarie gave me (I will show you the first now, the other later). Man, I'm slow! Anyway, onto the art.

This painting was super simple, and doesn't require many steps. It is simply this. First, cut thin strips of tape, and tape them across your canvas all over the place. Start with one paint colour and paint some areas. I used grey as an accent colour (much like the original pin), so I only painted a few of the shapes grey.

Paint the rest of it a different colour (blue blue blue!)

...and peel the tape! This is the funnest part!

Wasn't that simple? Rose gave me all that I needed and it took me this long to do. Um, I fail.