Showing posts with label Announcements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Announcements. Show all posts

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Weighing Heavy on My Heart

If you know me you know that I'm a very real person. I am honest and I am fair. However a recent "issue" at Girly Girl Giveaways (GGG) has me reeling with both sadness and anger. I will not go into great depth or specifics but I do want to say this situation has pierced my heart and had me question continuing GGG it it became a circus of greed.

I have been accused and threatened, told I am unethical when everything I do for and on this blog is as fair as fair can be. In the midst of so many fraudulent, dishonest blogs I try to present factual information and be honest about everything.

Basically someone was asked to relinquish their prize by the company as they had won from the same company on another blog. The company wanted to give everyone a fair chance to try their product instead of issuing two gifts to one winner. I chose a new winner and contacted them before I even knew this was going to become a huge issue or that the company and I would be threatened. But because of this reader's fit they got the prize and the new winner I had chosen got nothing.

This angers me beyond anything you can imagine. And I will not and cannot condone greed and selfishness at GGG. I do have to say that the new winner I had chosen, who did NOT end up with the prize, handled the news with such decorum and understanding that it made me want to cry! I felt SO badly for them!

GGG will remain open and stronger than ever before! It gives me so much joy and pleasure to choose a winner and spring my "YOU WON" message on them to brighten their day. The greed that darkened my doorway a few days ago has made me mull things over about GGG. You will see a NEW Disclosure Policy in the next post when I am able to get to it (it's almost 3:00AM right now because I am so angry about this situation I cannot sleep).

And I also want to define a few things for everyone so we're all on the same page-

I am a REVIEWER, a consumer just like you. I am not affiliated with ANY company unless otherwise notified. It is the sole discretion of the company offering a free gift to accept a winner and to ship a prize to the winner I randomly select. I write a review, post the giveaway and select a winner. That is it. That is where my responsibility ends. Once the sponsor has your information it is their responsibility to fulfill their obligation and get the prize to you. I am absolutely fine with helping you get prizes that never show up but I will not be made the spokesperson for a company I am not affiliated with, an employee of or as an unpaid representative.

I run this blog for free and spend many hours on it to find prizes for all of you. I LOVE getting to do that! But I can only be responsible for my own review and the facts contained therein. Everything else the responsibility of the company sponsoring the giveaway and if they decide you can only win one prize from them take it like a lady (or gentleman) and move on. Give someone else a chance! The sponsors have the right of refusal if they deem it necessary.

And now I urge every one of you to go and tell all of your favorite bloggers how much you appreciate their hard work and dedication in bringing you prizes. In the sea of gems there is always a bad apple or two that tries to ruin it for everyone else. So I'm sure other reviewers have had their fair share of problems. Let them know they are valued! Send them an E-Hug or a lovely thank you!

Okay my vent is over. I feel a little better.



And for the record to the one who asked. Here is the definition of a sweepstake
"...a lottery in which the stakes of the participants constitute the prize."

That means everyone adds money or something of value to a pot and if you win you get the pot. Blog-hosted giveaways are NOT sweepstakes. No one gives anything of value to gain entry to win the sum of the stakes. All prizes given by sponsors are gifts (even the US governments calls them gifts; check your tax form next year). 
 

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Joy is a stay-at-home-mom to three daughters. She is the wife of a worship leader & youth pastor. She runs her own Etsy shop selling handmade, hand-stamped sterling jewelry. Joy has taken courses in journalism, play writing, poetry, was in Honors English throughout school and has had small publications made of her work (mostly poetry).

Thursday, September 2, 2010

New Giveaway Guidelines

I have just revised how to enter giveaways to make things a little smoother. All entrants must now be a follower of Girly Girl Giveaways in order to enter giveaways.

The reasoning is twofold: first I want MY readers to win prizes. I spend a lot of time on this blog and want to reward those who are loyal to Girly Girl Giveaways. So if you are not following publicly (no anonymous followers or I cannot verify that you are truly following) do so!

Second is that the more followers I have the better prizes we are able to obtain for review AND to giveaway. So it means a lot to you, the readers, if everyone is honest as well! The first question I am asked when applying for reviews is for my blog stats, including my following. We've been turned down way more times than we've been accepted due to low stats. So a HUGE thank you is in order to sponsors who've given Girly Girl a chance. We are growing and it is so incredibly exciting!!!

What does it mean to 'follow' anyway? If you look on the right-hand sidebar you'll notice something called the Google Friend Connect. It has a button that says FOLLOW. When you want to follow a blog and have that blog show up in your Blogger feed you click on it. Make sure you sign in with your blog account and not anonymously. If I cannot verify that you follow I'll choose a different winner. I've done this many, many times. Some of you have been chosen as a winner for something but didn't get the prize because I couldn't find that you followed Girly Girl Giveaways.Thankfully that hasn't happened in a long time though.

PRIZE ALERT:
When we reach 700 followers I am giving away a $70 prize package to one reader from my shops (see MY ETSY link above!) and other sponsors. When we reach 1000 I want to giveaway a $100 prize pack to one reader. DETAILS TO COME!!!

I'm working on a new blog button. I know, such a hassle, but if everyone could change their blog button to the new one I would be eternally grateful. It makes it so much faster for me to look for one design when verifying entries. I will make an announcement when the new button is available!
 

So now that business is taken care of... what is everyone doing for Labor Day (US)?!
We're going to a potluck at some friends' house. Looking forward to great food and even better fellowship!

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Joy is a stay-at-home-mom to three daughters. She is the wife of a worship leader & youth pastor. She runs her own Etsy shop selling handmade, hand-stamped sterling jewelry. Joy has taken courses in journalism, play writing, poetry, was in Honors English throughout school and has had small publications made of her work (mostly poetry).

Monday, August 23, 2010

Win A Necklace from ME!

Head on over to Mrs. Nespy's Frugal World to enter a giveaway she is hosting for me! I'm giving away one of my Make A Wish necklaces. It's so beautiful!



I hand-stamp each and every little part of the dandelion and dome it. Other great finds in my shop by clicking on the links provided at Mrs. Nespy's Frugal World or by clicking MY ETSY at the top of your screen!

Kaye at Mrs. Nespy's Frugal World has a spectacular Back-to-School event going on so click on over and enter all the fun and fab giveaways!


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Have you won from Girly Girl Giveaways?!

I finally got a chance to work on the Wall of Appreciation!!! It looks so great so far but... it's so empty and lonely and needs to be filled up with your wonderful feedback. If you have won a giveaway from Girly Girl Giveaways and want to provide feedback on your winnings use the form on the CONTACT page to make a submission. I will try to get your feedback up within a week. If you want to submit a photo please mention that on the form and I will let you know where to send the photo.

You can also leave feedback on your own blog and I can link to it instead. That way you can upload as many photos as you want!

I know a few of you have not received prizes and for that I'm so very sorry! If you have not received a prize (and have not emailed me already) please contact me because I want to know.

Don't forget to apply to become a product reviewer at Girly Girl Giveaways, too. Click on the REVIEWER tab and it'll take you to the proper link.

G'night all!

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Joy is a stay-at-home-mom to three daughters. She is the wife of a worship leader & youth pastor. She runs her own Etsy shop selling handmade, hand-stamped sterling jewelry. Joy has taken courses in journalism, play writing, poetry, was in Honors English throughout school and has had small publications made of her work (mostly poetry).

Monday, August 16, 2010

Become a Reviewer at Girly Girl Giveaways!

I am so sorry to do this but the former survey I used to ask applicants to fill out is a total dud. I am using a reputable form that is super easy to fill out. Simply fill in the fields below (all are required), click submit and VOILA! You have just applied to become a reviewer for Girly Girl Giveaways. I will be closing down the application on September 15th.

If you filled this form out previously using the other website and you're still interested in applying you will have to re-apply. Again, I am so sorry about that!






Please feel free to contact me about any questions or concerns if you are interested but still unsure. Click the CONTACT button on the top to get in touch with me.


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Joy is a stay-at-home-mom to three daughters. She is the wife of a worship leader & youth pastor. She runs her own Etsy shop selling handmade, hand-stamped sterling jewelry. Joy has taken courses in journalism, play writing, poetry, was in Honors English throughout school and has had small publications made of her work (mostly poetry).

Friday, August 13, 2010

Miss Me?!

Oh my goodness I have been a bad blogger! Bad, bad! I went on vacation and forgot to leave a note here to let you all know. We have two giveaways going on that will end this upcoming week so make sure you enter (see the top of the right sidebar for the list of current giveaways). Even if you think, "Oh I'll never win!" you may be pleasantly surprised. Win something for yourself or to give as a friend. I have a TON of first-time winners who've never won anything before they found my blog so enter!

I have tons of amazing stuff lined up starting Monday so stay tuned! I will make up for this lost time, I promise.

What have you been doing this summer? School is about to start- are you excited? I know I am excited! My oldest Girly Girl is going to go into Kindergarten on Monday and we're all bursting at the seams in excitement!!!

PS Do you like the blog background?! I really cleaned up the blog and I hope it looks a little less chaotic. Blogger now has so many different ways to customize your blog! Give it a try today!!! It was seriously so fun and I already have my fall background picked out. Yes, I'm a dork!



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Joy is a stay-at-home-mom to three daughters. She is the wife of a worship leader & youth pastor. She runs her own Etsy shop selling handmade, hand-stamped sterling jewelry. Joy has taken courses in journalism, play writing, poetry, was in Honors English throughout school and has had small publications made of her work (mostly poetry) .

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Giveaway Event Coming Up at Mrs. Nespy's Frugal World!


I am participating in the above event and I cannot wait! This is a good bloggy friend of mine and I'm excited to see what all she has in store for us... the list of giveaways is extensive and is going to blow your minds! So mark your calendars for the event!

So what am I offering to the giveaway?! I am offering one contestant, anywhere in the world, a piece from my new WISH Collection! My last giveaway event, "Make a Wish" really inspired me creatively. Check out the piece one of you could win:



It is such an amazing piece, the pictures do not do it justice! It is a dandelion, each little fluff hand-stamped. I actually wasn't sure how this would turn out but I was more than pleasantly surprised. And biggest secret- I was going to keep it for myself but the best thing about my line of work is that I can create MORE! So even if you do not win you can purchase one for yourself at Joy Belle on Etsy, the new home of my hand-stamped collections. If you do not see it in the shop shoot me a message and I'll set you up.


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Joy is a stay-at-home-mom to three daughters. She is the wife of a worship leader & youth pastor. She runs her own Etsy shop selling handmade, hand-stamped sterling jewelry. Joy has taken courses in journalism, play writing, poetry, was in Honors English throughout school and has had small publications made of her work (mostly poetry). All product reviews expressed in this blog are the personal opinion of Joy. There was no compensation for these opinions though in some instances item(s) were provided for review.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Giveaway Scout!

I have just come across an amazing website that helps you find more giveaways! It is Giveaway Scout. How totally cool is this site?! I love to offer giveaways but I also love to enter them. Girly Girl Giveaways will now be at Giveaway Scout as well to even more exposure to amazing companies.


PS I've got some goodies lined up for everyone! I've been taking a nice, relaxing break but it is almost time to get back to the grinding stone and getting you more fun giveaways!!!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Giveaways

The Make A Wish event has come to a close! All winners have been contacted and have gotten back with me. Congratulations to all of you! Remember to message me when you receive your item(s) and tell me all about them for the Wall of Appreciation.

Right now there are no giveaways going on though I do have a couple scheduled, one of which for Skin Free. They should be posted this next week. I also have a few wonderful features for ADOPTION that will be posted very soon! I also have a Bravado nursing bra that is going to be given away at the end of July or beginning of August. Due to some communication mishaps it got pushed back but it IS coming!!! Tell all your pregnant and nursing friends!!!

If you or someone you know has a business and wants to be featured at Girly Girl Giveaways shoot me a message. My email can be found in my profile and on the sidebar!

And thank you to everyone who follows Girly Girl Giveaways! I am closing in on 500 followers and it just blows my mind. I am so excited for each and every one of you to be a part of the Girly Girl family. The more followers I have the bigger and better giveaways I will get to post so continue to tell your friends, family and anyone else you know about the site!!!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Reminders!

Just a couple reminders!

When you enter giveaways I need your email address in your comment or in your profile please! I don't know how often people check their blog comments so I cannot just leave a comment on your blog in hopes you'll see it and get your prize. So a valid email address is a MUST! I will not spam you, I do not add you to spam lists and I do NOT sell your email. Heck I don't even save your email or your mailing address anywhere. I get enough spam of my own and I know how terribly annoying it is.

Also TWO giveaways in the Make A Wish event are ending in the next two days! Don't forget to enter the Simply Stamped Giveaway and the Dodeline Giveaway!



The winners for the other giveaways have been chosen and emailed! If you think you may have won something PLEASE check your spam/junk folder and mark my email as not junk/not spam. My email has a tendency to find itself in junk folders.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Winner Appreciation!

First- thank you for being so patient as my blog morphs into something new, clean and beautiful! The blog layout is not finished and Lillian from Mini Beach Bird is working hard on it (and being very patient with me as I change my mind over... and over... and over!!!). And she will also be giving away a blog layout for one of you in the very near future!!!!!!

If you have won anything from Girly Girl Giveaways I am so eager to see you and your family using your winnings! Please submit photos, reviews and appreciation to Joy and we will put them all on what I am calling the Appreciation Wall. This will be wonderful for companies and artists to see! They want to know how you are loving your winnings just as much as I do!

I also want to know of ANY dud giveaways where you did NOT receive your winnings. You can submit your negative review as well and I will get those posted. Please allow 60 days to receive your prize before you submit negative feedback. And you may want to contact me first, after about a month, so I may contact them for you to see where your prize is at.

Also I will be posting a poll on the sidebar and I want ALL of you to vote! You can select multiple choices as well. I want to know who is reading Girly Girl Giveaways and what products they love to enter to win!

If you have ANY companies you'd like for me to contact that you want to see here for a giveaway please leave a comment here with the company's URL, product(s) and any other information.

And don't forget to invite your friends and family to join the Girly Girl Giveaways blog for all the fun goodies coming up!!!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Free Baby and Kid Stuff!!!

I am partnering with Barefoot By the Sea from July 1-July 9 in our "Make a Wish" event so that together we can bring you 18 AMAZING products for babies and children!

To earn 5 extra entries into the giveaways grab the button. It is advertisement for us and extra entries for you! To use the button you simply copy the code and paste it wherever you can put HTML. On Blogger you'll go to your dashboard and click on DESIGN. Then click ADD WIDGET and choose the HTML/Javascript widget to paste the code. 





I know you're going to love the giveaways from Jessica at Barefoot By the Sea and I've got some fun ones for you too! Lil Dressers, nursing necklaces, Bravado nursing bra... just to name a few!


Monday, May 24, 2010

Spring Bling Event!

I'm participating in the Spring Bling Event at Simply Stacie:


Simpy Stacie

I'll be giving away a $30 gift certificate to my Etsy shop Creations By Chara where I make hand-stamped heirloom jewelry.

I'll also be giving away a glass tile magnet of choice from my other Etsy shop What Girls Are Made Of.

Snag the button from Stacie's blog; I'm sure it'll help you gain extra entries!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Extended!

The giveaway for Connie's Boutique has been extended to 5/10 as I forgot to add the giveaway to the sidebar and I'm afraid it has been overlooked. If you have NOT entered this giveaway please go do so! This is such an amazing Etsy shop with goodies galore.

Later today I'll be posting a giveaway for Misikko! Someone is going to win a pink flat iron. An extra entry to the flat iron giveaway is to enter the Connie's Boutique giveaway so make sure you enter now so you can take the extra entry later!

I'm off to a birthday lunch! Will be baaaaaaaack soon!

Joy

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Nothing Today

Yesterday's giveaway was the last one of the April Showers event! Today I took a little break from running giveaways because I needed to gear up for the next event. As everyone knows Mother's Day is just about 2 weeks away. So for the entire month of May Moms are going to be BLESSED! Not a mom? Not a problem! You can still enter to win for your own mom or for someone in your life who is a mom even if she isn't yours.

I did not create a button for this event but if someone wants to create one for me I will happily accept.

Tomorrow we'll kick it off with an amazing giveaway from the American Brownie Co. Oh yes... chocolate...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Winners will be announced late!

I have giveaways ending the rest of this week but I am getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow morning (Wed.). I don't have plans to be getting online as I'll probably be resting up and taking care of the babies. I do have new giveaways written up and scheduled to post but winners of past giveaways may be chosen late; it will just depend on how I'll feel and if I'll get online.

Take care friends! Keep entering and coming back for even more awesome giveaway goodies!

Joy

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