Friday, November 23, 2012

Celebrating Small Businesses (and a Sweet Giveaway!)

I'm not a big name blogger. I'm just one of the little guys (er, gals) who's trying to make my way in a small corner of the blogosphere. My craft is writing, and my purpose is just for fun. I pray that at some level I will inspire someone, somewhere, in someway to love God, love their spouse, love their kids, or simply love their lot in life a little bit more.

Maybe something I've written has inspired you to find the joy in the mundane. Have you tried one of my smoothie recipes? Maybe you've decided to do something a little different with your finances. Maybe you've made a cool recipe seen here that makes you a little more confident as a hostess. Perhaps someone has found camaraderie in the midst of loss or infertility. Maybe my yet-to-be-finished Love Story has inspired just one young woman to hold out for the best God has for her?

If even one of those things has happened, then my efforts with this blog have been well worth it. I'm just a simple Pastor's Wife on a mission to keep things real. I'm glad you've stopped by!

Today I am celebrating the day after Thanksgiving with my family... by staying inside of the house. I made a decision not to do any Black Friday shopping this year. I am exceedingly exhausted by endless consumerism and marketing ploys. For some reason, I really want this year to be different.
 
I am not anti-big business. However, I AM pro-small business! I've been challenged to celebrate small businesses this year. Therefore, wherever possible, I'm buying handmade gifts or gifts from small business owners.

After all, I'm just a small name blogger, doing what I do for fun. However, many small business owners are doing what they do to make a living. They're supporting their families or helping to meet their financial goals. They're real people, working really hard to make and/or sell a product.

So today, in honor of Small Business Saturday, I'm doing a giveaway... with a TWIST! After all, it's better to give than to receive, right? Okay, sometimes it's nice to give AND receive!
 
I'm going to give one lucky winner something to GIVE AWAY to a Pastor's Wife in their life.
(Hey, I happen to think Pastor's Wives deserve a little extra pampering sometimes! Missionary wives, retired pastor's wives and those married to a man between ministries all apply... I'm not trying to be legalistic here... I'm just trying to have some fun with this!)

Side Note: For the record, I use and love this makeup. I mean, truly, absolutely LOVE it. Not just because it's made by my sister-in-law but because it's the first makeup I've EVER used that has worked for my skin. It's natural, easy to apply and doesn't look caked on. It just looks simple and classy. I love it! Oh, and it's free from all of the yucky fillers and preservatives typically found in makeup products. This bodes well with my attempts at limiting the amount of chemicals I come in contact with on a daily basis. I'm starting to get a wee bit crunchy...

Mineral Makeup - Holiday Gift Set -
10 Piece Starter Set - Neutral Tones

 
In return, the winner will receive this to keep!

Holiday Sparkle Set - Mineral Makeup -Sparkle Mineral Eyeshadow - 5 piece set


 All you have to do is check out my sister-in-law's Craft Cafe or Etsy Shop and browse through her amazing hand-crafted, natural, gluten free mineral makeup. Right now she happens to be running an amazing Black Friday Cyber Monday Sale!
 

 
Then, leave me a comment and tell me:
 
1.) What your favorite product is, and
2.) The name of the Pastor's Wife you would be giving the Holiday Gift Set to.
(And why if you'd like!)
 
 (If you are a Pastor's Wife, you get the Holiday Gift Set to keep
and you can tell me who'd you give the Holiday Sparkle Set to instead.)
 
This giveaway will be open until December 1st at 9:00pm PST. The winner will be chosen through a random number generator from the eligible comments.
 
And, for fun, you can check out one of these other small businesses that are run by some of my friends and family members.
 
www.personalclothier.com
Express Yourself Vinyl Designs
(If I missed you and I personally know you, leave a link to your
small business and I'll add it to my list!)

With that being said, let me encourage you to consider shopping small and local for at least part of your holiday gift-giving this year! Let the shopping begin!

9 comments:

Jill said...

What a fun giveaway and thanks so much for linking to my shop! The pastor's wife in my life that I'd pass this on to would either be my sis-in-law who is financially sporting their family while my brother is between ministries/going to seminary, or any one of the awesome pw's at my church. I really love them all :)

Anonymous said...

Hey! I use In Your Face Make-up and LOVE the coco brown eyeliner! So easy and fast to put on!

I am a pastor's wife, but I have a sweet pastor's wife in mind who gives of herself continually in praise to the Lord. She is beautiful without the make-up, but I sure she would enjoy it too!

Thanks you cute pastor's wife!

Brenna Varner

T & K said...

I would have to say my favorite would be the '5 piece starter set in neutral tones', because I'm just not good at make-up and having a set that already goes together helps!

If I won I would give it to a lady that, honestly, I just met at homeschool gymnastics, but she's got a personality of caring and has gone through some serious medical things with her husband and son and money is tight. And a little bit of caring goes a long way.

Sarah M said...

I tried to leave a comment last Friday from my Kindle but it just wouldn't let me.

I love this shop! I'm definitely going to order some things once my blow money envelope is refilled. I especially love the Jewel colored mineral eyeshadow (which I'm sure I am totally the wrong tone for).

I would give the Holiday Gift set to my friend Colleen, who is our youth pastor's wife. She has been such an encouragement to me since I had my stroke and she does an amazing job raising six boys. I'm sure she would appreciate something girly!

Thanks for the giveaway, Robyn!
-Sarah

Cary said...

Such a fun giveaway. I would love to give this gift to my friend Kristin who is always a support to her husband and is an inspiration to me in her mothering, crafting, canning and joy in the Lord.

Natalie said...

Robyn, what a great idea. Plus I agree with you. I want the Christmas focus to be different. What awesome makeup! I love the Mulberry - Mineral Makeup especially because it´s a color I would use. Also, I like the Black Cherry - Mineral Makeup, and the Spearmint- Mineral Makeup. When I´m here in the States soon I am going to look into buying her make up. I like loose powder.

I would give it to my pastor´s wife here in Chile at Primera Iglesia Bautista de Santiago. She works so hard and even leads Sunday school on Sundays. She really deserves something fun. I have been looking for specific ways to bless her. Her name is Liliana.

Natalie Pickett

lizcraciun said...

You don't have to be a household name in order to make a difference in a household - thank you for blogging from your heart and your wealth of wisdom!

The products ALL look fantastic, but I think my favorites were the Jack Frost and Nutmeg eyeshadows. I've bookmarked the page and when I order make-up again (maybe not for a little while if I win!) :) I will be looking into purchasing these for sure.

I would be thrilled to gift the starter set to a wonderful missionary wife named Diana Smyth when I visit her in Papua New Guinea this March - what a fun surprise and special way to pamper her!!

Nicole said...

I loved all of your sister in laws make up but I think my favorite is the mineral foundation. It's afforedable and better yet all natural! I am a youth pastor's wiffe myself but if I were to win I would give the set to the friend who shared this link with me, Kristin Frank :)

Unknown said...

Ok, I'll try this again! Maybe the third time is a charm. I love the website. Who would I share with? Well, I suppose I could keep the starter set and give the holiday sparkle to my mom...or, I could give my mom the set, and I could keep the sparkle...or, do pastor's daughter's count? Because, this could get very confusing!!