7 is a lovely number ...

... and Sarah tagged me in a fun game of 7 random facts about you, so I thought I'd play along! So in no particular order, here are 7 little pieces of me ~

1. I think this place has the best coffee in Montreal, and their hot chocolate is made from real chocolate ... yummmm. On a cold November morning there is nothing better than a warm drink.
2. She inspires me beyond belief. I could listen to her music all day long, everyday, for the rest of my life. Seriously. I discovered her music way before she ended up on the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack and I love that she's so committed to remaining an independent artist.
3. I visit this website every single day. Love the recipes, the craft ideas, the cute home decor inspiration.
4. I am sooooo in love with this television show. He's cute AND talented! Bonus!
5. Everytime I go to New York City, I try and make sure I take time to stop by this fab restaurant. Their desserts are to die for.
6. Note to anyone who has yet to buy me my Christmas present: I want this.
7. And, last but not least, this is my favorite Bible verse.

So now it's your turn to play along! If I tag, here are the rules you must follow:

1. Link to your tagger (that's me) and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'm tagging ...

Jessica
Melody
Alecia
Zoe
Holly
London
SJ

xOxOx

I lost my rainbow ...

I'm not sure how it happened, or when it happened, or why it happened. It just happened. I lost my scrappin' spark. I lost my creative energy. I lost my rainbow.

I realized the other day that somewhere along the way, I lost sense of the purpose behind my scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is a hobby, but it's also an art form and to quote one of my art teachers from high school: "you can't make art if your soul isn't singing". I became so fixated on the newest products, the latest techniques, the newest gadgets and tools that I forgot that scrapbooking is about preserving your memories and expressing yourself on paper. So I'm taking a little "time out" from scrappin' to get things right with my creative soul again. And as soon as I do, I'll be back here posting layouts that actually MEAN something to me.

In the meantime, I'll keep you posted on my everyday life (it's kinda boring but it's better than nothing) and random tidbits of inspiration I find online. And please, send positive creative vibes my way!

toodles
xox

PS - The picture above is a print I bought from an artist in Portugal. I fell in love with it. Those who know me know that I feel called to work with young women who are going through tough times, and I love how the girl in the painting is crying but still holding on to her rainbow ... her hope. Jesus offers the ultimate hope and I love this verse from Psalm 130 that says: "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits ... and in His Word, I put my hope." This painting reminded me of that verse and of what I feel called to do for God in this world.

Thanksgiving Challenges ...

I had such a lovely Thanksgiving. Soooo much food, wine, good conversation and quality time spent with my crazy beautiful family. I hope you all had a great long weekend too. I can't believe it, but I actually found time to scrap! I managed to complete 2 challenges on one layout - The Pretty Committee's 2nd October challenge and Rough Draft's first sketch challenge. I used this Rough Draft sketch by Jemma:

... to create this layout about what makes me beautiful ....

I finally got to play with my Pink Paislee paper and my Heidi Swapp mirrors! So much fun. Sorry the photo quality of the layout isn't the greatest - my camera has been playing mean tricks on me. :o(

xOxOx Stephanie

fall photos & other randoms ...

It's official. Summer's gone and fall is here. You know autumn has arrived when the UGG boots come out of the closet. *happy sigh* I just LOVE this time of year. My church went apple picking awhile ago, and I thought it would be a fun opportunity to work on improving my photography skills. I *love, love, love* photography and would love to take a course someday ... I'm such a newbie. But I'm pretty pleased with the photos I took and the way they came out. My cousin Tara was my little model. Isn't she gorgeous?!

I still have SO MUCH to learn about photography, but I am just in love with it. I'm also in love with two new songs: "Gone" by TobyMac (a song he wrote to a guy who mistreated one his girl friends. I can relate.) and "Slow Me Down" by Emmy Rossum (which is just so lovely and uplifting, I love it. It reminds me of Enya, only better). Don't you just love finding great music?! *happy sigh again*

Anyways kiddos, I'm off. I hope all you Canadians have an incredible Thanksgiving. We really do have so much to be grateful for ... I'm grateful for my family, my friends, my country, my church and my faith. Mmmm ... I sense a mini-book coming out of this!
lol

xOxOx

Stephanie