ANOTHER REALLY GOOD GIVEAWAY (OF COURSE, IT'S SOMETHING I WANT;)

Beach Tote Giveaway @ Reckless Bliss

Heidi at Reckless Bliss is sponsoring a beach bag giveaway for

Outer Banks Trading!

Head over and enter for a chance to win!

LET'S START MY "RETURN" WITH A FABULOUS GIVEAWAY!!

Cheryl at Tidy Mom is having an amazing giveaway of the SILHOUETTE machine +!

The SILHOUETTE is sleek and compact and can be used to cut vinyl, make cards and use it in your scrapbooking, plus even more!

Their website is full of help and their customer service is awesome!

The SILHOUETTE hooks up to your computer and cuts out the shapes/letters that tell it to.

There is also an online image store where you can purchase many different useful items!!

So, I would encourage you to hurry over to the Tidy Mom and enter my name (or your name if you must). On the site you will see the ways that you can enter this giveaway.

You will also love the Tidy Mom website. I've become a big fan of hers!!

Blessings to you all,   jan

I'M SO EXCITED TO TELL YOU THAT I HAVE A WINNER!!

All parts of having a giveaway are fun for me.

....the entries....counting up the number of entries.....going to RANDOM.ORG for a fair pick of the winner....and then telling everyone who the winner is when I don't even have a clue at this point! It's just so exciting.

Okay, RANDOM.ORG was fed the number of entries and it picked #12!! So, I'm going over to my blog post to see who #12 is....back in a second....just hold on....

............AND THE WINNER IS....................

YVETTE from THE CHARM HOUSE!!

Congratulations, Yvette!! Just email me at polkadotbarn@gmail.com and give me your mailing address and I'll get the book and the other loot in the mail to you!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE OF YOU

that took the time to read my post, leave the sweet comments, and pray for me. This giveaway just gets me so excited. It's April, the tulips are blooming and I'm feelin' pretty darn blessed!

XOXO,
Jan

I'M DEVASTATED & MY HEART IS BREAKING - I HOPE HAVING A GIVEAWAY WILL HELP

Just when I think I'm going to get a break

God throws me another life test.

I wonder how many I'll have to experience

before He thinks I'm all that I should be.

Actually, I know the answer to that.

It will be until the day I die and join him in Glory.

March of this year has been an adventure.

An adventure on top of five years of medical adventures.

(Don't age. It's not worth it.)

I long for April and tulips blooming.

April will be better even with a cast and

no weight on a leg instructions.

I long for April.

March. . . . .

I passed out and fractured several bones in my right foot and tibia.

That's adventure no. 1.

My studio has a mind of it's own

and is determined to keep that crack house persona.

That's adventure no. 2.

I checked a give-away today that I participated in;

it was so involved and so very time consuming.

I thought I would win something.

I didn't win squat.

That's adventure no. 3

Adventure no. 4??

We must have our most precious

 Ben put down in just a few days.

*Now I'm crying

and I didn't even cry in the hospital when

I found out that I couldn't be discharged until

I pooped.

And that took three delightful days.*

I digress. Back on point. . . 

You know Ben.

My studio dog.

Always by my side.

He never did learn that if he laid that close

to my chair that he'd be told to

"jump up" when I had to roll down my work table.

Up and down, up and down, all day.

Remembering that makes me smile.

He came to us from the Humane Society Animal Shelter.

When I adopted him, he had had heart worms twice.

He was adopted and returned twice

because his new owners thought he was too aggressive.

He was older, no longer a puppy.

He was a yellow lab mix.

I adopted him.

He isn't too aggresive.

The UPS man is afraid of him,

but I like that.

When he doesn't think I'm home

he'll throw my packages onto the

office porch if Ben's outside.

He doesn't know I've seen him do that.

That makes me smile as I cry.

Ben is very protective of me.

He loves me unconditionally.

He never judges me.

He always wants to be with me.

He's a dog, not a person, and that's why.

I wonder if

that make sense to anyone but me.

That's why I rescue shelter/abandoned/mistreated/etc. dogs.

And my beautiful master bedroom smells like a kennel.

I don't care because

they love me every day

all day

and all through the next day.

Ben is my dog.

He's always been "my" dog.

And early this week we have to have him put down.

I'm crying again.

He has been sick for a while now.

We knew something was wrong,

just not what.

He's going downhill so quickly now

that I constantly look at him

to see if he's breathing.

He has lymphoma.

"Oh, God", I cry

"my heart is breaking and I hurt so badly."

And, I wonder if Ben

hurts as much as I do.

Is he in pain?

His lymph nodes are enlarged.

He never whines.

But, he's not eating or drinking

much so I wonder

in my heart of hearts

if putting him down isn't the

best gift I can give him.

So, pray for me, won't you?

Okay. Deep breath.

So. I thought I'd have a giveaway

to take my mind off of things. *happy face*

I love to have giveaways and

I haven't had one in quite a while.

And, I'm going to make this really easy

so that lots of people will enter

without having to spend hours

jumping through hoops

in an effort to win my giveaway.

Claudine Hellmuth.

One of my artist queens.

I'm going to gift one special

reader of my blog, her amazing book,

Collage Discovery Workshop,
along with lots of treasures. Lots!

I ordered it 'specially for this giveaway.

I love this book and wasn't

willing to gift mine to anyone, so,

you're getting a new one.

It's a virgin and you don't find

many of those anymore.

All you have to do to enter is

to, well, enter. *smiley face*

If you want to start following my blog

because you read a couple of posts

and think it would be a good idea,

then I can't wait to get to know you.

If you want to be a fan of my blog

on facebook, I thank you.

If you want to sign up for

the newsletter that I have yet to start,

thanks.

If you say something about it

on your blog, let me know and

I'll throw in another entry for you.

If you buy something in my Etsy shop

then it will help me afford

to go junking when I'm allowed to walk

again.

See? it's all good.

Life is good and I am so blessed.

You have until April 1st to enter.

That's when the tulips will be blooming.

xoxo,

Jan

MY BUD, ANNE, IS HAVING A MOST FABULOUS GIVEAWAY!

Oh, yeah, this is a good one.
My sweet friend, Anne of Fiona and Twig, is having a wonderful giveaway over on her blog.
Of course, the fact that I donated some of my best vintage linens has pushed her giveaway over.....the.....top.
Of course.

And, then there was the amazing donation by Jackie of Bliss Farm Antiques, of a generous amount of French ephemera.

Now, to get you to go over to my bff's blog and enter her giveaway, I'm not going to tell you what she's putting in. It's going to be a surprise.

Yeah, a surprise and not a bad surprise like you're driving through the vastness of west Texas on Hwy. 10 in the middle of nowhere and you suddenly have to *whisper* "go not #1".

Anne's giveaway is a good surprise so get over there and enter my name so I'll have a better chance of winning my linens back.

Who loves you?? I DO!

xoxo,

....Jan

GARLAND, GARLAND, WHO LOVES GARLAND??

Well, I do!
I love garland!!
I love them so much that I have a "MERRY CHRISTMAS" garland hanging in my studio year round. It was a gift from my friend, Keesha and I would never take it down; it would feel like I was totally taking Keesh down to the basement. I have other garland in my studio, too. Some from friends and one that I made ("NEST" - precious and always for sale *hawk - hawk*).

I love garland so much and I love you so much that I'm going to tell you about a garland giveaway. I know, I know, I'm too nice.

Before we get to the giveaway may I just say that I wish I was the one that thought of this?? Why couldn't it have been me??
Okay. *deep breath* I feel better............now for the giveaway:

GIVEAWAY - Gorgeous Kristina Marie Recycled Paper GARLAND As Seen in Martha Stewart Weddings (Don't you just die for Martha?)

KristinaMarie is the amazing Etsy shop where the most beautiful recycled paper garlands are created.


Kristine Osborne's gorgeous work was recently featured in Martha Stewart Weddings Spring 2010 issue as a stunning example of an amazingly unexpected way to decorate ceremony chairs. (featured in Martha??? Dying. I'm dying.)

WHAT YOU GET:

One lucky winner will receive this Gorgeous Recycled Hymnal Paper Garland Strand in Color - 10 feet / as seen in Martha Stewart Weddings Spring 2010!

Go over to  olivebites blog to enter the giveaway! (And while you're there, check out her blog - you'll have a great time!)



Only because I love you all so much!
. . . . . . . ..xoxo, Jan

BEST GIVEAWAY I'VE EVER SEEN!

Here is an awesome giveaway I stumbled across! One with TONS of chances to win!! What will you win, you ask? Well, look below!

The Office Box is a new piece at The Original Scrapbox!

And a signed copy of Wrong Number, the newest Thriller from Rachelle J. Christensen!

Here is a trailer to find out more...

I SPENT 40 MINUTES TRYING TO GET YOUTUBE ON THIS POST.

I GIVE UP!! SO, CLICK ON YOUTUBE AND WATCH THE TRAILER

(a trailer for a book....who would'a thought?)

This is a fabulous giveaway - you'll be glad you took the time to check it out.
There's several places to enter, why don't you start with Heather Justesen's blog?

See?? Even though I'm "down" I have still found things to do. LOL

XOXO, JAN

A REALLY GREAT GIVEAWAY SOMEWHERE ELSE!

There's a great giveaway (why am I telling you this???) at http://mysocalledjunkylife.blogspot.com/.

It closes on October 10th.

Hurry over and enter my name.

XOXO, Jan

Mmmm-mmmm, somebody owns a vintage purse and brooch! AND THE WINNER IS.....................................

Do you remember these? This vintage brooch and vintage evening bag?

They were in my "it's my 24th birthday again and I have over 100 followers" giftaway!

So, tonight I'm going to draw for the winner. I am using the http://www.random.org/ to draw the winning entry.

Oh, this is so exciting, I can hardly stand it! I wonder who won???

Oh. Oh. Guess you're wondering, too. I should step it up, huh.

So, I forgot, I wanted to tell you about my birthday!

What? You don't want to hear about my birthday???

Well, then why are you here?

Ohhhhhh, I remember! The giftaway! heeheehee

Okay, so here's the random number thingy and the winning number is.....55!!

Let me go count down and see where that lands - remember, you earned all kinds of extra entries for different and wonderful things that you had done or were dying to do...

I'm going to count RIGHT NOW (scroll down for results...........so exciting!). And the winner is.................................*drum rolling*..................................IRMA of http://irmasrosecottage.blogspot.com/ !!! Yea for Irma!

I want to thank everyone that took the time to enter my giftaway, visit my blog and leave such lovely comments. This has been such a blessing for me. This giftaway was one of the many blessings I received on my birthday.

.

XOXO, Jan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AND PRESENTS FOR YOU!

I'll be 56 on September 1st. Or, you can think like I do - my 24th birthday is September 1st because I look just like Barbie. Either way, I'M HAVING A BIRTHDAY!

And, what could be better than to gift y'all??!! So, keep reading and you'll see just how you can be the one to receive gifts on MY birthday! This is just so much stinkin' fun!

Oh, my gosh, I almost forgot! The reason you're getting two gifts is because I'm also celebrating the fact that I have OVER 100 FOLLOWERS! I feel like a celebrity. One hundred followers is, to me, a really big deal. I'll probably keel over if I ever get over 200 - that would be rad!

The first lovely gift is a very cool vintage brooch that I bought at an estate sale. In the photo it looks about as big as my bum, but it's really just regular size - about 2 1/2 inches across, I think. It's simply gorgeous - not a stone missing. Just think of what you could use this on!

AND, you will also receive the gift of a vintage evening purse! It's made of black velvet and has intricate designs sewn on both sides with seed beads. It's absolutely fabulous! I bought it at an estate sale, also. I bought both the vintage brooch and the vintage evening bag especially for this giftaway. I wanted two very special gifts for you.
See how it opens? Very cool. It opens with some kind of spring thingy that bends in the middle so it's really easy to get into. The lining of the evening bag is black satin. It's just beautiful!
Now, this giftaway is not only for having over 100 followers, it's for my birthday so that I can gift you, my readers.

And, I'll be adding a lot of extras to this giftaway to make it REALLY special!!

I've given so much thought as to how I wanted to do this.....did I want to just take comments as entries since these are being specially gifted to you? Or did I want to have the odds tilt towards the faithful readers that have stuck with me over time?

Let's see what I decided as you read...

rules of the giftaway:

1. Leave a glowing (LOL) comment = ONE ENTRY

2. If you are already a follower of my blog = TWO MORE ENTRIES

That's right - you get two more entries if you're already a follower of my blog.

3. If you sign up TODAY to follow my blog (see the right column of my blog) = ONE

MORE ENTRY

4. If you already follow me on Facebook = TWO MORE ENTRIES

That's right - you get two more entries if you're already a follower of me on fb.

5. If you sign up TODAY to follow me on Facebook (see the right column of my

blog) = ONE MORE ENTRY

6. If you leave an enticing post on YOUR blog about this giftaway = TWO MORE

ENTRIES.

That's right, sweet ones, two more entries.

(BE SURE AND LEAVE YOUR BLOG ADDRESS SO I CAN VISIT IT AND SEE YOUR
ENTICING POST:)

.

7. If you send me a very nice birthday present you automatically win. hahaha

(JUST KIDDING!!)

Okay, that's it, girls! I hope you have as much fun reaching for the gifts as I have had creating this giftaway!

REMEMBER TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU QUALIFY FOR WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR COMMENT.

AND, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!

Thanks so much everyone for entering! You know what I always say, the more the merrier - that's what makes a great birthday party!!

XOXO, Jan

Brynwood Needleworks BLOG GIVEAWAY

Mmmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmmm. It's another fabulous blog giveaway. It's at Brynwood Needleworks to celebrate her 100th blog post! The drawings will be this coming Friday, August 14th.

MY HUGE BLOG GIVEAWAY

If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you remember that in June I promised two give-aways in July because I just couldn't get it done in June! It was a crazy month!

So, as I've been thinking about what to offer, what two items, I decided that instead it would be a lot of fun to give away ONE REALLY COSTLY ITEM. . .

Meet the SPRING BANNER, retail cost $68.00 (includes presentation and postage).

It measures 36" across *not counting the ribbon for hanging*, each flag is 5" x 8" and, the flags spell out the word "SPRING".

You will love this banner!
It's light and sweet and each flag is a delightful piece of art in it's own right!

There are glittered pastel yellow and green eggs hanging by different trims between each flag. And the ribbon stringing the flags is pale pink satin.

Pay attention to the detail put into each flag including sewing, scalloped edges, etc.

I hope you like my choice.

I absolutely love this banner.

THE DEALINE FOR ENTERING

THE GIVE-AWAY IS

SUNDAY, 10 p.m. CST, AUGUST 2nd.

All I ask that you do to be eligible for this drawing is

1.) leave a comment and be entered ONCE.

2.) if you're not already following my blog, I would love

for you to - if you sign up to follow, let me know that

(and let me know if you're already a follower) and

I'll enter you in the drawing TWICE.

3.) And, last but certainly not least, if you post on your

blog sending your readers over here to enter, let me know

that and I'll enter you THREE times.

You must leave me your blog address so I can visit it.

Gosh, this is so exciting for me! I've never given away anything worth so much nor do I remember ever asking for more than a comment in a give-away (I'm relying on my memory - ouch).

A special shout out to my loyal readers that I can always count on to keep up with me by regularly reading my blog. I think y'all are absolutely the best!

And, a shout out to my lurkers...I know you're reading, just not commenting, because I am able to keep up with my numbers. Y'all are shy, but really important to me!

Today I ask you to consider stepping up and start leaving a comment when you read my blog - it makes me feel very popular. heehee

XOXO, Jan

BLOG WINNER A-A-A-N-N-N-N-D DON'T FORGET TO LOOK UP!

May's blog giveaway was this precious stamp set below - oh, how I love it!

I did the drawing last night with the help of my best friend, Annette (she picked the number - always helping; that's just who she is), and the *excited* winner was CAROL O'CONNELL of Vintage Crafter! Yea for Carol!! And, she's from Canada which I think is so cool (well, until I get to the post office) - I'm making friends all over the world with my giveaways and that's the most wonderful thing! (I wonder how far away my farthest away reader lives???)

Oh, and don't forget that I have decided to have a giveaway EVERY MONTH!

Big WOO HOO!!

.....And, now the second part of this post............a fascinating story follows. LOL

Frank the Tank has been out of town this week so I've been in charge of watering his babies......his tomato plants (oh, please). So, I'm standing there watering them, probably not the right way, the gentle way...........I simply laid the hose in the container and let it fill with water and then moved to the next container. (DON'T TELL!) Anyway, I'm standing there just thinkin' about important stuff...you know, stuff like 'do these tomato plants make my butt look big?'...'what excuse can I think of to get out of making dinner? "oh, darn, Tank, I was with the tomatoes so long that I didn't have time to cook! *shrugging shoulders pitifully* I guess we'll have to order in" '...'this chore is great for fluffing'...and, pondering such serious dilemmas as erectile dysfunction.

Okay, I'm just kidding. (Well, not about how I watered them...) What I really noticed was the view towards the highway and how green the plowed and planted front field was and how gorgeous the hills across the highway are and how blessed I am to have that view. And, as I was thinking these things I thought about all of the things of beauty we miss because we don't look up! Like the hills across the highway - not something I see very often because I don't look up.

So, I went inside and grabbed my camera so I could share with you some of the beauty that is all around me. Now, you may not think my "views" are beautiful because we all define beauty in our own way. But, my views are awesome to me - they're bits of life that make me smile (fyi - glitter is a bit of life, too:) and a LOT of them make me smile because they make me think of God and how He is the one that has given us all the beauty that is around us!

I took the picture of the oh, so revered tomato plants, the view towards the highway and now I'm going to show you the view to the left of where I was watering the revered ones - you're looking at the barn area. When I look that direction I am flooded with memories of the boys when they were growing up!

And, so, these are the round bales from one of our hay fields. They'll feed the cattle during this drought and through the winter. The boys and their friends used to climb up on them (the hay bales, not the cows) and play 'keep away' while running down the rows and jumping from row to row! They also make a great background for target practice (so they say).

A close up of some of the barns (you're missing the hay barn - hey, hay barns are important AND they're honkin') and the pens. Oh, my gosh, talk about God's beauty! A lot of the beauty is in the memories of the parties we've had down at the barn - behind the small barn that eventually became my first studio. And also, looking at this area is a reminder that the barn was built in 1890 and that the ranch has been a working ranch owned by the Thomason's since 1890. Wow - now that's vintage and I LOVE vintage!

Oh, this is so cool! I see this beauty every time I take the curve coming up our lane - the wicker settee, fence gate and yard chandelier hanging in the ancient pecan tree. I love this little bit of "me" that you see as you're approaching the house and after you've seen the beauty of the pink bicycles lined up along the fence at our entrance...

See? The yard chandelier! Doesn't it make you smile?

Beauty.

Oops! I need another yard chandelier!

This little sitting area is just outside the fence that runs around our yard. It's crazy *meaning more pink on a ranch*, but it's so me:)
As I was walking around the front yard to get this one last picture for you I passed the front door....my lovely front door that no one ever sees because everyone that comes to our house uses my studio door (go figure). I think my front door is beautiful and I was so glad I looked up and saw it as I walked by!

Ahhh, my favorite place in our yard....the swing. I love to sit in it and gently rock back and forth as I look out at my favorite view.

I always look up and see this view! It's my special place where I can be calmed when agitated, blessed when I am troubled, cooled down after a long bike ride, and simply at peace while I am gently rocking back and forth.

You know what? There is beauty all around us; we simply need to look up from our busy-ness and see it! Even a parking lot is a thing of beauty to me if I find a rusty smished bottle cap! Texture, color, faded color, vintage buildings, children, all of God's people, and let me not forget the horizon - what do you see when you look towards the horizon?

I simply adore all of you, my readers. There's such beauty in your comments.

xoxo,

. . .Jan