Christmas in July!!

Christmas in July is an Etsy community driven event that will be held July 1st - July 10th, 2016.

June 17th is Christmas In July's #EtsyCraftParty!
There are tutorials on this blog and fun give-aways.
Head on over and check it out.
My tutorial is scheduled for 3:00 PM

July 1st - July 10th is Christmas In July 2016!

This is a great team for Etsy shoppers and sellers.

https://www.etsy.com/teams/12798/christmas-in-july

Everyone need a cool treat during June and JULY!!
Enjoy,
Barb

Fun and HOT time BBQ'ing!!

 A rare photo op....so please don't be disturbed.  

I hate my photo taken but even posed for this one because of the aprons!!

My younger, but bigger, brother is an Utah Highway Trooper so he confiscated these aprons.

We were celebration Pioneer Day here in Utah and I have to say with the heat I felt like a Pioneer cooking over a fire!!

I got to be the cop he was the robber!

It was a HOT and HUMID day and my "wonderful white hair" shows proof of the desperate conditions!!

We had a great time and this was the first time we had Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches!

DELICIOUS!!

Today is the last day of my CHRISTMAS IN JULY sale with 15% off on everything in my shop!

EVERYTHING!!

This is for everything in the shop but excludes shipping. 

Type in CIJ2013 to redeem your coupon at check out.

Hope your day is COOL!

Enjoy,

Barb

Chickens Ahead...

 I am not sure why I have a fascination with chickens.

My grandparents had them when I was growing up. 

I remember gathering eggs occasionally but was scarred for life when my grandpa had to cut off the head of the chicken we had for dinner.  

Grandma kept telling me it was not the one that was beheaded....it was the one from the grocery. 

My son was asked to take care of our neighbor's chickens while they were on vacation.  The second day in he and his dad came home with a dead chicken.

We were not sure if it was the heat or being pecked to death....now he, the animal lover has been scarred for life.  But the asking for chickens has some to a complete stop! 

I had a friend in Vegas who loved chickens and her kitchen was decorated so nicely with all manner of chickens. 

I think this is where I notice how colorful they could be and started looking at chickens in a new light. 

Now all these chickens are 15% off at my Etsy shop for Christmas in July. 

I will be having 15% off on everything in my shop.   So if Chickens are not your thing there is plenty of other things to choose from.

This is for everything in the shop but excludes shipping. 

Type in CIJ2013 to redeem your coupon at check out. 

I had no idea I had this many chickens---does this count for owning them but not having to feed or maintain them?  This works for me!!

Now GEESE they are a complete different critter and a story for another time....

Enjoy your day!

Barb

Christmas in July on Etsy

Today is the day!! 

Etsy sponsors a site wide Christmas in July event.  

Many shops will be having specials.

Type in "CIJ" or "christmasinjuly" all one word in the search bar to see all the great creations!

I will be having 15% off on everything in my shop. 

 This is for everything in the shop but excludes shipping.  

Type in CIJ2013 to redeem your coupon at check out.

Still having a fun giveaway on my business Facebook page.

Click on the photo above to take you to the link.

Like my page and leave a comment for a chance to win the above photo.

This is a fun design by Tina Marie Ledbetter.  

It is painted on black screening and framed in green.

Now time to go shopping!

Enjoy your day,

Barb

Let the FUN begin!!

I have started to Celebrate Christmas in July…just a bit early!  

So EVERYTHING in my shop is 15% off!   

CIJ2013 is the code to use at checkout. 

 Those of you who have been following my blog know I have tried to have Christmas in my heart all year so I am trying something new.

I will be having a Christmas in July and in my heart giveaway on Facebook.  

My first giveaway on Facebook so hopefully I will not screw this up too much!

Click on the photo above to take you to my page.

Rules:

Like my Facebook page and leave a comment under the giveaway prize page.

Please share if you would like.

This will run from July 5th-July 19th

Open to USA and Canada

Thank you and Enjoy your Christmas in July!!

Barb

JULY=HEAT=CHRISTMAS!

Can you believe July already!!

I can, only due to the record setting heat we are having here.

 I know I whined about the cold now it is time to whine about the heat!

So what better time of  year then now to celebrate Christmas in July.

Christmas In July is an Etsy community driven event that will be held

 July 11th – July 21st 2013.

This is a fun event for full out shopping and getting a jump on Christmas gifts or any other type of gift needed!

All shops that participate will have some type of promotion going on whether it be a percent off, free shipping, clearance section, etc.  Make sure to read the shop announcement to see what that shop is offering.

The tag to type in to the search bar for shops that are participating is "CIJ" or "christmasinjuly" (all one word).  

 It is not only Christmas items...I am finding so many fun everyday and other holiday items throughout the Etsy site!

I will be participating in this sale as well!

My sale will go from July 5th--July 26th!

I am offering 15% off everything in my shop, excluding shipping, but to include clearance items, supplies, and patterns.  EVERYTHING!!

The Promo Code to use in my shop will be CIJ2013.

I plan to get my Christmas shopping done early this year and with the heat what better way to utilize your time then SHOPPING!!

Hope we all find that perfect gift!

Enjoy,

Barb

WINNERS!!I

Thank you for all the sweet comments about my daughter and her new do!

She loves not having all the weight of her hair!

Thanks to all of you that stopped by and commented on my giveaway and for sharing it.

I appreciate all of you!

I used random.org and the first winner for the star goes to Karen of Buttons in the Attic.

 The second winner of the "Christmas in my Heart all Year Long" ornament goes to Tonya of Friendship Crossing.

Then just for fun this Patriotic metal flag goes to Carol of Firecracker Kid.

I will get a hold of all you gals so I can get your address.  If you do not hear from me in the next day or two please contact me through my Etsy shop.  Thanks.

I so appreciate all of you that follow along...even if it so boring you have to yawn.  Don't blame you there!

Etsy, site wide, has a "Christmas in July" sale so I will be sharing some details about that soon!

This is differently the time to do your Christmas shopping!

Now back to harvesting peas, beets, cherries and spinach.

Good thing I have young teens around to help me out because I am feeling my age today!

Enjoy your day,

Barb

Tattle Tale Today!!

I was asked to be the blog manager for the OFG Team Blog and boy what a fun"Job"!

I have met so many new and creative people that today I will "Tattle" on two of the fun shops!

Crystal of Em's Prims has some of the cutest critters with such personality!!

She designs her own work!!

These are a few of my favorite!  Click on her banner above to go check out her shop.

She has some love birds in her shop that are precious!! 

One of my other favorite shops is Christi Hocking and by looking at some of her designs below you can understand why.  Her first creation made me giggle out loud.  As you know rare occurrence and children come to investigate to see if I had gone "mental"!

 Click on her banner above to go check out her shop.

As we all know I love a bit of whimsy so I have added a couple of magnets to my Etsy shop for the Christmas in July Sale.  This sale will go until the end of the month.

Free shipping on all ornaments, magnets and pins.

I also have a clearance section with art work marked down 50% (got to make room for the new)!

Click on the banner below to check out my shop.

Hope you all can stay cool in this heat and enjoy your day!!

Barb

Fall and Christmas Celebrations--in July!!

We have been getting more rain but 1-2 inches in 20 minutes has it's draw backs in the desert!

Flash Flooding! 

When we lived in Las Vegas it was really something to see.  The freeway exchange where we lived would be completely under water.  They have since redesigned that section of the freeway.

On a fun note I will be giving away this ornament (still in celebration of the rain dance, Christmas in July and Fall's Splendor Shop Hop)!

Leave a comment here and I will pick a name on Monday morning July 23. 

Any new followers welcome too.

 I am finding that my weekends are spend outside working on the house and I have been caught hiding downstairs at the computer too many times in the last couple of weeks.

Christmas in July Sale is still going on through the month of July with a clearance section you can visit here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/barbsheartstrokes?section_id=11413828

and free shipping on magnets, ornaments, and pins found here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/barbsheartstrokes?section_id=7112403

Fall's Splendor Shop Hop is going on until July 22 at the Old Farmhouse Gathering.

Click the photo below to take you to the rules!

Just a little added fun...if you can find my giveaway for the Shop Hop and leave a comment with the link back I will give your name an extra chance at the ornament giveaway.

Enjoy,

Barb

We are Getting Closer...

Yea, were are getting closer to having this HUGE project done...well at least on the outside!

We had cooler temperatures this last weekend so we were able to put up quite a bit of siding.

And by "WE" I mean my husband!  I am on clean up duty.  I don't usually mess that up! 

We did get more rain and that was a good thing even though it brought the project to a halt. 

 

My kids were outside jumping on the trampoline and found a little humming bird in her nest.

They had a great view of her (sorry my photo is not so good) but them jumping near the tree was making her nervous so before I could get up there and take a photo they had moved the tramp.

Probably a good thing: me+tramp=pain!

So while I was outside I took a photo of our 2 day lilies.  Our yard has suffered this year with no water and no attention due to the work on the house. 

I am hoping that we can finish the outside this next weekend and then the excitement will begin on the inside.

OFG Team is still having the Fall's Splendor Shop Hop.

Click the image above to go to the OFG Team blog for the rules.

I am still in the middle of Christmas in July Sale were

I have free shipping on all magnets, ornaments, and pins during CIJ!

Plus a clearance section with 50% off during the whole month of July.

Wishing you and enjoyable day!!

Barb

Rain Dance Giveaway!!

This was our view while watching fireworks on the 4th of July. These are images I borrowed from the Internet because I forgot my camera. 

I was more intrigued by watching the fire move up or down the mountain then the actual fire works.  Our little town does it up but this was something to see. 

Luckily Mother Nature took pity on us and yesterday we had a huge rain fall.

For us it was a mixed blessing.  I am glad to have the rain but my husband and I were out at 6am to put the last of the tar paper up on our house before the rain came  down. Hopefully our house will survive all of this.  

In the happy spirit of RAIN I will be having a quickie giveaway of these watermelon magnets.

I love watermelon!!  So refreshing!

The only rule is to leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner Saturday the 7th of July in the evening. (After a long day of working on the house.) 

Just a quick reminder of the Christmas in July sale I am having at my Etsy shop.

I have free shipping on all magnets, ornaments, and pins during CIJ!

 Plus a clearance section with 50% off during the whole month of July.

Click on the link above to go to my shop.

Good luck to all and enjoy your day!

Barb

Christmas in July Sale at my Etsy Shop

Christmas in July Sale going on now through the month of July.  Please refer to my clearance section where my art work has been marked down 50% from the original price.

Located here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/barbsheartstrokes?section_id=11413828 or click on the collection of photos to take you to that section.

Also all Magnets, Pins and Ornaments will have free shipping during the month of July.

Located here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/barbsheartstrokes?section_id=7112403 or click on the collection of photos to take you to that section.
It is house cleaning time on Etsy to make room for some new inventory!
If you have any questions please contact me.
Enjoy,
Barb

Celebration!!

It has been a fun month with all the Celebrations going on.

The Old Farm House Gathering Team has been celebrating Fall.

The Primitive and Folk Artist team has been celebrating Christmas in July.

I am going to be Celebrating right along with both of them and the artwork above is my giveaway!

This is the reason for the Christmas Season!  I will be giving away a painting of the Holy Family framed in rustic barn wood.  It measures 11 1/2 x 9 inches and has a 1 1/4 inch depth.  It has been painted on fiberglass black screen with acrylic paints and then finished with a matte spray.  It has a metal hanger on the back.

Sorry but there will be rules-always in life.

Must be a follower of this blog.

New followers always welcome.

Must live in the USA or Canada-sorry postage is a stinker.

If you do not have a blog please leave an e-mail so that I can get in touch with you if you win!

For extra chances:

Post to side bar or make an actual post about this giveaway.

Visit each of the blog sites and join.

Visit Etsy to see the fun items in the OFG Fall Fun teams FFOFG page and then tell me which one is a favorite.

Visit Etsy to see the fun items in the PAFA Christmas in July page and then tell me which one is a favorite.

One of my favorites from the OFG team is this wonderful pillow.

And I could not resist this Cat!

Then the PAFA celebration some of my favorites are this sweet little mouse.

Who could resist this stitchery!?! 

Also remember to sign up for the Christmas in July giveaway at the PAFA.

Let me know how many you do--I know it seems long and involved.  You can always come back and leave a note when you have done one.  You have until July 31st.  The winner will be announced on August 1st.

One of my kids-who ever is good that day-will draw a name out of the hat.

Thanks for visiting and playing along!

Barb