October 9, 2015
Warm Up Your Fall Home Decor with Posterjack
Fall is such a beautiful time of the year with the vibrant colours in nature. Our natural environment makes for beautiful backdrops for family portraits and individual shots. I love heading out with the boys this time of year to catch them in motion against the gorgeous reds, yellows and browns. These photographs make the best home decor decorations, they are personal, have a connection and not to mention visually stunning.
Finding a way to display these shots can be a challenge at times. You want your photographs to be displayed in a manner that encompasses their warmth and spirit without taking away from the natural elements of the shot itself.
So how do we accomplish this?
Posterjack has three simple home decor solutions for you to display your photography that includes canvas prints, mixed material and rustic mantels. Each of these items have their own unique element to help you tell your story.
Posterjack’s rustic mantels includes wood prints, barn wood prints and woodstand prints. Matching this to your home decor or even fall inspired theme decorations will really bring to life the decor while emphasizing the natural beauty of the outdoors.
Posterjack provides you with custom designed canvas prints that displays the rich colours in your photographs to their best advantage. Canvas prints are one of my favourite home decor items, can you honestly see anything more beautiful than the trees below? It is a starting conversation piece – even more so when you can brag that it is an image you caught yourself!
For some added variety and depth, try using mixed art materials that includes metal, acrylic and photoboards to display your work. We have a display above our television and this concept works really well for us. You can also add in some natural elements with fall decorations, pinecones, woods, animals and so on.
Whichever way you decide to warm up your home decor with, Posterjack is there to help you create a unique and meaningful design to complement your home and life.
How do you add warmth to your home decor in the fall?
October 9, 2015
My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games DVD Review and Giveaway
The ‘mane’ six are back in this highly popular television series, with a full length DVD on October 13th, Friendship Games.
In My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games, Canterlot High meets its rival school, Crystal Prep Academy, in a competition that is a long-standing tradition: The Friendship Games. The Friendship Games are a series of competitions that include archery, motocross and roller skating! Sunset Shimmer is charged with keeping magic out of the games to keep things fair, while her and her friends compete against Crystal Prep’s top students who also have an interest in the Equestrian magic, the Twilight Sparkle.
This DVD has all your little one’s favourite Equestria characters and is full of incredible graphics. The colour and design are adorable, and one that many young girls will love. The Friendship Games also teaches an excellent lesson to young children of building trust, friendship and respect. So it is so much more than just a cute movie!
Check out this trailer of the new movie:
My Canadian readers can now enter to win their own copy of The Friendship Games on DVD using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this DVD in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
October 9, 2015
World’s Best Story Contest
CONTEST!
Writers submit your Story
Enter for a chance to join
the House of transmedia stories company
What is World’s Best Story?
“This is not just a literary contest, we’re looking for stories that will be consumed in multiple media formats – from books to the big screen and beyond,” says Vincent Salera, founder of World’s Best Story. “Our goal is to revolutionize the traditional literary contest and identify a story with blockbuster appeal. We’re looking for a story that audiences will love and help authors turn that story into trans-media franchises, which is why we’re empowering readers to judge the contest.”
How does it work?
Readers will vote for stories and awarded judges will declare the final Top 10 winners.
2015 Judges: Warren Adler, Victor Malarek, Tamarra Kennelly, Brooke Burgess, Samreen Ashan, Alistair Cross, Rhonda Hayter
Timeline:
Entry Period Closes/Public Voting ends. (November 8)
Top 10 Winners Announced! (November 8)
Professional Review/Voting (November 8 – December 8)
Winner and Top 10 Ranking Announced (December 8)
What are the prizes?
The top 3 winners will receive a full publishing package by FriesenPress, trademark protection in the U.S. and Canada by IP agency Benoit & Cote, a virtual book tour by Laura Fabiani of iRead Book Tours as well as consulting/marketing services with book expert Anne Chaconas of BadAss Marketing. Busbud and YoDough will be providing lots of goodies for both writers and readers.
How do I submit my story?
To learn more about World’s Best Story, including how to enter, please visit World’s Best Story.
World’s Best Story : [email protected]
See what’s buzzing at World’s Best Story:
How to Get Readers Buzzing About Your Book: Secrets from the World of Book Blogging
Viral campaign with famous characters:
What if Oscar Wilde wrote Sex and the City? (series of posts)
What if Lady Gaga wrote Gone With the Wind? (series of posts)
The Current Top 10 Most Voted Stories
Connect with World’s Best Story:
October 9, 2015
Thirteen by Shannon Peel
Thirteen is an action packed blockbuster, Red Dawn meets 1984. The perfect book for kids 10-14, even those who don’t like to read!
About Thirteen
Jack wants to hang out with his friends but his Mom’s rules keep him grounded. Until one morning, when they wake up to gun fire and their whole world changes. Foreign soldiers have invaded his home cutting off power, knocking down communication and restricting travel. To make matters worse he does not know if is Dad is alive, wounded or dead. He needs to find out but his Mom doesn’t care, the soldiers are in his way and the cop in his life won’t help him.
My Thoughts
I love youth novels, they are always full of adventure and with a different viewpoint that gives great insights to youth and how they connect with their peers. Thirteen is a very age appropriate novel for youths that I believe they can easily relate to (wanting to do more than their age allows them to, wanting and needing to contribute and understanding of world events).
The plot really makes you think, could something like this happen in present day Canada? We are accustomed to our security and safety but will this always be the case? Jack struggles in this novel with wanting independence but wanting security from his Mother, wanting to help but the terrifying reality of war scares him. He is a young man who is almost lost in how he should behave and how he can protect his Mother. Throw in a divorce and separation from his Father and you have a young man who many youths could relate to. He is confused, proud and wants to enjoy his social life.
Shannon writes very well and the novel is easy to follow from start to finish. With the adventurous and thought-provoking plot line, it was easy to not put my book down!
You can purchase a copy of the book on Amazon.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Shannon grew up in Enderby, BC where her family roots run deep. She relied on books and imagination as a child to escape the world beyond. She went to UBC and earned a BA with a concentration in Political Science and Economics. World events, social justice and human motivations became a passion of hers. This passion is a driving force in all her stories.
After a career in the financial field, she decided to stay home and raise her two children until school age. She currently resides in BC’s Lower mainland with her two teenage children. Thirteen is her debut full size paperback novel.
October 8, 2015
Take Your Education Outside with Scenic Caves Nature Adventures
I am a visual and hands on learner. I have to touch, see and do things myself to really grasp what I am being taught. This is why I love museums and traveling so much, nothing brings a textbook or story to life more than seeing it in front of your eyes.
My children are very much like me in this way. They like to touch, hear and see what they are learning up close and since they have so much energy, if I can get them outside it’s even better!
Scenic Caves Nature Adventures, located in Collingwood, Ontario, provides individuals of all ages a rich history and educational experience in a unique, natural environment that encourages learning and stepping out of your comfort zone.
Explore the geography of the Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment stretches some 725km from the Niagara Falls area to Tobermory, which began its formation 450 million years ago. This area was once under water. I know when we looked out from the top of the mountain, it was hard to imagine that the area was once covered in water but fossils in the rocks prove that this is true! (Scenic Caves Nature Adventures).
The caves are great examples of fissures, where pieces of the escarpment would ease away from the Escarpment. Scenic Caves was an incredible experience to hike through; we went up, then down a little bit, peeked over an edge, crossed a bridge and then finally descended into the caverns. It may sound odd but we hiked up the mountain, only to hike down at the top into the caves!
It was an incredible experience to stand in the middle of the Escarpment and just look up. It really brings home how powerful our planet truly is.
Learn about the historical roots of this area.
The Scenic Caves Nature Adventures sits on lands that has a rich and deep history, from Native Americans to settlers from the 1800s. There are several signs along the path pointing out historical points (Suicide Point, where a young woman threw herself off the side of the mountain) to the caves that sheltered the people during attacks.
It is so important for children (and even adults!) to understand and appreciate this history. You can even follow-up this experience with learning about the area and the Native Americans from this area online or in books.
Experience engineering marvels!
Scenic Cave Nature Adventures is home to two incredible structures: Suspension Bridge and the Thunderbird Twin Zip Line.
The Suspension Bridge is the longest in Southwestern Ontario, a fact our boys were quite proud of once they crossed the whole bridge not just twice but four times! They were determined to race across all 126m, shaking it for their poor Mother who felt almost sick with the slight sway they caused! The swaying was well worth the views that literally stole my breath away. You can view right out to the Georgian Bay and up the mountain, with beautiful forestry surrounding you.
Want an interesting fact? No one knows quite how much weigh the bridge can hold but they do know that their can never be too many people on the bridge! The bridge can hold people standing front to back, shoulder to shoulder and stacked four high the entire length of the bridge!
The Thunderbird Twin Zip Line is the longest zip line in Southern Ontario and the longest twin zip line in Canada. It stretches half a mile long! Located at the very top of the mountain, this was the best way for my boys (husband and eldest) to make their way back down the mountain. They literally soared over top of the trees, feeling like they would touch the tree tops at any time but could control the speed at any time. There is an age and weight requirement for this ride (which is for your safety) so make sure you meet these requirements before making promises to your children.
Get Active!
With plenty of space to move around, walk, jump and explore, Scenic Caves allows your children the freedom to learn while burning some of their energy. We hiked through the forest for roughly thirty minutes which looped back onto the hills to hike up to the caves.
Just remember to wear proper running or hiking shoes as well as bring a re-useable water bottle. Even with the fall weather, we all worked up quite a sweat hiking through the hills!
Play time!
Every child likes to play right? Once we finished up with our exploring we headed back to the main area and had a quick picnic lunch by the playground before the kids went on a train ride through the grounds.
Scenic Caves Nature Adventures also boasts a Gem Mining activity near the entrance, that allows your child to mine for gems just like they did in the old days! Both boys enjoyed this immensely and couldn’t wait to wrap up their goodies. We then headed off to play mini golf. Which was the best way to end our day, especially since I won! Just joking, all three of my boys beat my score.
Scenic Caves Nature Adventures is an action packed, educational experience for the whole family. Make sure you plan to spend at least three hours, we were there for just under five hours and the children would have stayed longer if we had brought along more food with us!
How do you take education outside?
Disclosure: I received passes to Scenic Caves Nature Adventures to facilitate this post. All opinions expressed are my own.