Inspiration for Christmas Season

This is from Norm Hastings on Youtube. He is an exquisite pianist, and loves God. His music is so beautiful, and I enjoy listening. Be sure to take a listen to his Christmas music which he prepared with Laura Rowzee who has the voice of an angel. Have a little listen and go download this for free here

Life is like Coffee Movie

Life is like Coffee Movie:

Click the title above to watch the movie- enjoy!

Do you know people that just seem to be happier in general?

Do you say to yourself, "I want to be more like them"?

Often, the happiest people in the world

don't have the best of everything...

they just make the best of everything...

After watching this, I think I will call my mom ♥ and have a cup of coffee with her- I don't do that often enough

Carrots, Eggs or Coffee?

Its been a very long time since I blogged.
So to make up for it, here is a treat...be inspired♥ click the next line

Carrots, Eggs or Coffee?

To Armenia With Love: Interesting Facts Besides Noah`s Ark

Why Armenia you ask? Pastor Joseph Hovsepian and his daughter Ruth (Montreal Vacation Rental ) is going to Armenia on a missions trip. Ruth has put together some special facts that you may not know. You can see the details on the blog. Click below:

To Armenia With Love: Interesting Facts: Armenia is a mountainous country in Eurasia, which stands landlocked between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Southern Caucasus. Its...

Yerevan with Mount Ararat in the background.

The Coat of Arms of the Republic of Armenia is as follows: On a shield, positioned in the center, Mount Ararat is represented with Noah's Arch and the coats of arms of the four royal dynasties of the historical Armenia: from top to left - that of the Bargratunides, from top to right - that of the Arshakounides, from bottom to left - that of Artashesides, from bottom to right - that of the Rubenides.
 The shield is upheld by an eagle (on the left) and lion (on the right). There is a sword, as well as a branch of a tree, a bundle of spikes, a chain and a ribbon pictured below the shield. Golden is the main color of the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Armenia. The colors of the kingdoms of the historical Armenia are as follows: from top to left - red, from top to right - blue, from bottom to left - blue, from bottom to right - red, with orange-painted Mount Ararat positioned in the center on a shield. The foregoing colors emblematize the colors of the national flag of the Republic of Armenia.



Eleni got the Cooking Gene!

I have a fabulous sister,aka the creative soul of the family. She is a fashionista, a best friend, a referree, a champion multitasker, but also a great cook. She always has a quick tasty idea to make a budget friendly meal for moms on the go. 

Here are two of Eleni's  recipies for OMG Chicken :

CHICKEN BREASTS

5 breasts

fresh grated ginger and garlic

Fresh chopped coriander
2 tbsp bouillion powder KOSHER NO MSG (ofcourse)

safflower oil

sesame oil enough to coat

mix in a bowl bake st 425 till browned.

CHICKEN DRUM STICKS

10 drumsticks

fresh rosemary 3tbsp

murin 2tbsp

club house cajun seasoning
basil flakes
herbs de provence
oregano
boullion powder KOSHER NO MSG
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon juice

bake at 425 turning once till they look almost cooked then broil last 15min.

I would appreciate your comments to encourage her - she is also shy♥

This is the photo SHE took...Wouldnt you love to eat at her home!

Ten Thousand Villages / Dix Mille Villages in Montreal

A Canadian initiative of the Mennonite Community, this non-profit program buys products from over 100 artisan groups in over 35 countries. You can purchase handcrafted jewellery, natural home décor, and food and skin care products. Through the network of their stores, online shopping, and Festival Sales across Canada they help improve the lives of tens of thousands of people. This income helps pay for food, education, health care and housing.

A great example of this is Jhonson Augustine’s story from Haiti. The beautiful cut metal sign made for the store on Monkland Avenue in Montreal is his handiwork. Cut metal work is a primary activity in Croix des Bouquets, where Augustin grew up.

“Cut metal work represents the wealth of Croix des Bouquets,” said Augustin. “This is what has made the city famous.” Artisans and apprentices make a living from creating art out of recycled metal drums. “Even apprentices can make enough to go to school, or to care for their children if they are parents,” he said. Currently Augustin’s workshop supports some 50 families. Of himself Augustin said, “This is what God gave me to live; I support my family, I am building a house and I am providing work for others.”

These are handwoven baskets and wall hangings.

These candles are just so unique!

Etsy Greek Street Team



The Greek Street Team is a group of artists and crafters who sell on Etsy and are located in Greece or related to Greece by heritage.


They are so exceptionally talented, and their shops are so attractively priced. I have bought so many gifts from them and have always been delighted.
In addition, I am featuring Antigoni Creations on my blog....I have alot of her jewelery, you can see me wearing some on my facebook pic. I am always featuring a Greek Team seller on my blog, so dont forget to check them out.

Happy 4th of July to my USA friends & followers!

Canada and its citzens are so fortunate to have the USA as our neighbour and we join with you in celebrating! Happy 4th of July♥ 

Vote for the Etsy Greek Street Team List for the Handmade Top 10

Click on the orange banner to get into the EGST list and vote for your
favorites!

Happy Canada Day!

From Etsy!



I am very fortunate to be celebrating this day. My family came here from Greece in the late 1940's. This country embraced us, gave us opportunity, and blessed our family.

Anne Renaud: Montreal Children’s Author

She is passionate about writing for young readers on subjects that are of historical and cultural value.


Her workshop at Imagine A Story on May 28 was about Writing for Magazines. Indeed this is how her writing career began. It was an affirmation that her stories were of interest to young readers. In fact her first book: A Bloom of Friendship: The Story of the Canadian Tulip Festival began as an article she wrote which has a personal connection:

Here is an excerpt from an interview with Anne Renaud:

“My uncle, Thomas Delaney, was one of the thousands of Canadian soldiers who fought to help free the Dutch during World War II. On the morning of April 8, 1945, my uncle was shot in the hip by a German soldier. He was recovered by members of his platoon and hidden in a barn to avoid capture by the enemy.”

Her uncle travelled to Holland in 1995 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of The Netherlands. While there, with the help of a local historian he located the barn. There is more to this story; it’s worth a trip to your library.

In addition her book lets Canadian children learn about the history of the tulip festival and what the Dutch children in the Netherlands do to honor the sacrifice made by Canadian soldiers during World War II.







Her latest book: The Empress of Ireland was a Canadian Pacific Railway ship which is famous for sinking in only 14 minutes in the early morning of May 29, 1914. There was a greater loss of passenger life than Titanic.


However the ship’s legacy is far greater than that. She brought thousands of immigrants to Canada, who greatly contributed to the development of Western Canada. There are more than a half million Canadians who can trace their beginnings in Canada to the Empress of Ireland.

She includes several photographs of the life of the Edwardian liner, and preserves the stories of the passengers.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Besides hundreds of magazine articles, she has several books to her credit, 4 of which were nominated for notable book awards.


Anne writes:
My readers often ask me why I write books. I tell them it is because I like to do creative things and I find writing to be a very creative exercise. It’s also because I can’t dance well and I can’t sing well, so I try my best at writing well. I hope my books educate, entertain and inspire children.

Kevin Sylvester in Montreal for Book Week!

It's Children’s Book Week in Canada. Montreal‘s YesOuiCanscaip meeting featured Toronto’s Kevin Sylvester. Outside was rainy and glum, but inside our meeting was full of enthusiasm for the very special craft of writing and illustrating for children.

Kevin began by telling us that he has always been an avid doodler, crediting his grade school teacher who encouraged him to bring a sketch book to math class. This of course kept him from doodling in his math text, and saved his parents lots of money.

We got firsthand look at how his first picture book “Splinters” was developed including the layout and the “geometry” of illustrating. Kevin answered questions about the process, using his rough drafts as examples. “Splinters” is about a young girl who only wants to play hockey, but the mean coach and her daughters won’t let her. Can her fairy goaltender come to the rescue?

The inspiration for his Silver Birch Honor award book “Sports Hall of Weird” came from personal childhood reflections. Kevin explained that the success for this book was based on his own memories of reading the back of baseball cards. 

“Game Day” is a look behind the scenes at sporting events. Kevin interviewed twenty fascinating people – from Zamboni drivers to anthem singers.

As a young boy he read the Hardy Boys, which served as a foundation on which to build his YA book “Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders”. Neil is a 14-year-old super-chef from Vancouver who solves mysteries on the side for the Vancouver Police Department. Super-chef Gordon Ramsay calls the series “Good Fun” and it had garnered critical praise and sales!

 He is a strong believer in illustrations, strategically placed in each chapter of the Neil Flambé series. This is great because who doesn’t like to see the bad guy with the mustache lurking in the shadows? Book #2 in this series is “Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction “and Book #3 “Neil Flambé and the Crusader Curse”.

If Kevin Sylvester’s name sounds familiar it’s because he is also a broadcaster. In fact the character Neil Flambé was originally used by Kevin during a CBC summer morning broadcast of his ongoing story Neil Flambé and the Case of the Caustic Cumin.

He has been a broadcaster on national radio in Canada for years and years and has covered eight Olympic Games. He also produced documentaries on topics ranging from racism in hockey to the history of church bells in Canada.
He now splits his time between his attic studio in Toronto and the radio. He was named a Massey Journalism Scholar in 2007 and used the time to study theology at the University of Toronto.

Kevin gives amazing presentations for schools, career days, and illustration workshops. You can contact him here.

Illustration Friday....topic is Bottled !

So here is my submission for this week...of course, being Greek, this is what I came up with :)

Imagine a Story 2nd Edition!

Imagine a Story 

On Saturday, May 28th, 2011, Yes Oui CANSCAIP hosts "Imagine a Story, a one-day conference for emerging and established creators of works for children." The event will take place at Dawson College (3040 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal)

Author Brian Doyle (Quebec), author Marsha Skrypuch (Ontario), picture-book author Elizabeth Bluemle (Vermont), editor Peter Carver (Ontario), children's poet Ted Scheu (Vermont), and author-illustrator Willow Dawson (Ontario) are just a few of the individuals scheduled to speak at the event.
Don't miss our early bird special which ends March 28th!
Early Bird Special:
Pay $100 (instead of $110) if you register by March 28th.

Get your registration package here:
YesOuiCanscaip

The Quebec chapter of the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers / Section québécoise de la Société canadienne des auteurs, illustrateurs et artistes pour enfants

Mend it dont end it ♥

A music video on my facebook page is about a husband taking an honest look at his marriage, and how he turned things around.Sometimes a song can speak words that you cannot. Here's the story behind the song:

Library of the Early Mind

Attention All Children’s lit. enthusiasts!

Thursday, May 19, at 7:00 pm

Selwyn House School is hosting the screening of this documentary film :

Library of the Early Mind-

It will be held at Selwyn House School in Coristine Hall

95, ch. Cote St. Antoine, Westmount QC H3Y 2H8

Admission $10 • for information and tickets contact:

Carol-Ann Hoyte • hoytec@selwyn.ca or (514) 931-9481 #2241

http://www.libraryoftheearlymind.com/

“Library of the Early Mind” is an exploration of the art and impact of children’s literature on our kids, our culture, and ourselves.

From the first stories we hear told to us to those childhood heroes that stay with us a lifetime, the impact on our culture runs deeper than what we might expect.

“No one suspects the children’s writer,” says author and illustrator Mo Willems, a former 'Sesame Street' writer.

The film features nearly 40 prominent authors and illustrators talking about their work, its genesis and its impact. The number of books in print by the authors in 'Library of the Early Mind' exceeds 240 million.

Edward J. Delaney, director and co-producer of this documentary is (born in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1957) is an American author, documentary filmmaker, educator and journalist. Delaney received a 2008 Literary Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts

Steven Withrow, co-producer, is a poet, playwright, fiction writer, teacher, and author of six instructional books meant for visual artists and storytellers: Toon Art, Webcomics, Character Design for Graphic Novels, Vector Graphics and Illustration, Secrets of Digital Animation, and Illustrating Children’s Picture Books.





Giveaway!

I have a Giveaway to offer!

LivingInspired is offering two Original Fine Art 8 x 12 Photographs, both of which were exhibited in a gallery collection!

They are printed on professional, acid free, archival paper that produces sharp details and luscious color with a matte finish.

To enter the giveaway and win your Original Fine Art Photograph by LivingInspired, you just have to:

1.Leave a comment below & pick a number between 1 and 25 

AND

2.To gain one additional entry,

Follow Inspirations by Stella blog or Facebook Page

And please mention it in your comment of my blog.

The winner will be picked next month February 16th, and I will post the winners name, and send a notification mail. Good luck to everyone!♥

Below are the Giveaway items and the artist’s bio. Thanks so much for your participation!

 Pray For Us









Serenity



My name is Ariella, and I am the creator behind my two Etsy shops: Piece of Peace and Living Inspired.
People often ask me, “How did you learn how to do that?” I don’t believe that anything in life comes easy. We find something that calls out to us, and we practice it until we develop a certain proficiency in that area.

As a child I was very inquisitive and curious about life and cultures. I always felt I was different. I loved old movies and often felt I was born in the wrong century. I loved creating things with my hands; anything from potpourri sachets for my drawers, hand dipped candles, baking, sewing, and even sewing my own vintage inspired clothing.

For the past 4 years I have been kind of obsessed with “inspiration”. I could feel that the inspiration I was gathering from the blogs, from Etsy, and from the online craft and photography communities were filling me up, and that they would soon spill over. For me, that gathering and processing component is so crucial.
When I decided to sell my jewellery on Etsy, I became increasingly frustrated that my pictures didn’t turn out the way I saw them through my eyes, so I started to work on my photographic skills. After two years of feeling the limitations of my little Sony Cybershot, my sweet husband bought me a Nikon SLR for my birthday. Then I took some photography courses to learn how to use the camera.

So, that’s where you find me now…a thirty something Mom with a full family life, trying to carve out time to nourish my creative spirit and always looking into the future at the next creative challenge on the horizon.

What is Yes Oui Canscaip!

The Quebec chapter of the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers /

Section québécoise de la Société canadienne des auteurs, illustrateurs et artistes pour enfants

Our chapter includes authors and illustrators who are at various stages of their careers from those who’ve had several books published to those who are not-as-yet published. Though most of our chapter’s participants write or illustrate children’s books, others create material for kids in other formats (ie. magazines, music, film, television, storytelling, and theatre).

This is an initiative of a friend of mine who is a true-blue KidLit fan: Carol-Ann Hoyte.

She is a published poet, and here is her blog: Poetry In Bloom

Our next meeting is :   A Tale in Two Languages

Monday, January 31st @ 7 p.m.

Westmount Library, 4574 Sherbrooke Street West,

Come and learn about the world of children's book translation from various speakers including Anne Renaud (author and translator), Christine Jutras-Tarakdjian (poet and translator), Caroline Larue (translator), and Hugh Hazelton (professor and translator).

Since I dont have an official group photo of us...here is a pic of a couple of of us.
This is me and Carol-Ann in Vermont during our Vermont College of Fine Arts Special Event Day.

The Weaving

This is a poem that Corrie TenBoom used to illustrate life's experiences. I read her book the Hiding Place♥

This is a page from my Sketchbook Project .

New Beginnings - Happy New Year

ew Beginnings for 2011.

"The artist is a servant who is willing to be a birth-giver...but the artist must be obedient to the work, whether it be a symphony,a painting, or a story for a small child."

From Madeleine L'Engle "Walking on Water Reflections on Faith and Art"
She speaks to the creative soul, offering a gentle invitation to believe, celebrate, and create.

This is intense reading, as I am preparing for a more creative 2011, I am taking this little book one chapter a week.

It has been a very personal delight to discover that she begins her book with a trip to Ayia Napa, in Cyprus. My late father's sister lives there, and I have been there many a summer as a child.

So from the get go I see this as divine inspiration. Already I have re-read paragraphs I have highlighted - the little book is aglow with colors.

Anyone thinking of the same goal? Would you like to share your own "walk" with me on this? It might be a fine thing to share...contact me at inspirationsbystella@gmail.com