CLOSED: 500 sales! Which means: It’s time for Jac’s Favorite Things Giveaway

When I opened Jac & Elsie, it was on a whim. I hate to admit it, but there was little thought into anything when it came to opening a jewelry shop. A friend had shown me how to use a crimp bead and needle nose pliers, and that was that. After I made about a dozen beaded bracelets, I thought, “I can never wear all these. I should try to sell them.”

And so I did. On June 1, 2009, Jaclyn1423 was born.

In my first seven months of existence, I made 24 sales. I had a vague idea how to take photos, but I’d never heard of a photo box. I hadn’t yet thought of the money I could raise for organizations that are important to me. The idea of incorporating rocks, paper and scissors into a friendship set was more than a year away.

Somehow, I never got distracted. I never got bothered by any lack of sales or views, mainly because all I wanted to do was make jewelry. I didn’t try to sponsor any blogs or network in any way. It was just fun to have a hobby.

Between then and now, I’ve made 501 sales. By many standards, it’s not much. I’ve been open for nearly three years, and plenty of other shops with much fewer time under their belts have many more sales. But for as learn-as-you-go as this has been? I’m damn proud of the accomplishment.

I’m proud that Jac & Elsie jewelry has been shipped to Greece, Sri Lanka, Japan, Australia, France and more. I’m proud that a big ol’ blog with a ton of readers saw it fit to feature my Full of Awesome necklaces and get my little shop seen by hundreds of new eyeballs. I’m proud that one time, Etsy even saw it fit to stick a Jac & Elsie original on the front page on a Saturday morning.

I have no clue why any of that stuff happened. But I know lots of time and work went into it, and I know that I have more fun with this “hobby” than I ever thought possible.

Naturally, I want to thank you. By giving you stuff. Lots of awesome stuff.

One of the greatest things about Etsy — and one thing I never even considered upon opening my shop — is the community. Etsy sellers are often so supportive. They got your back and give you encouragement. They answer your questions and share your links and act like the coworkers you don’t get when you go into business by yourself.

Since I’ve been selling on Etsy, I’ve been buying on Etsy, and so many of these awesome, supportive ladies have agreed to help me celebrate my little milestone by donating some of their treats to:

Jac’s Favorite Things Giveaway

(Just call me Oprah, yo.)

One winner will receive the following goodies that are very tried and very true by moi:

A bandolier from Clever Hands:

A bookmark from Paper Planet:

A pair of earrings from The Peach Tree:

A ‘wish’ bowl from Elm Studios:

A vintage scarf from A Wild Tonic:

A card from Julie Ann Art:

An 8×8 photo print from Lola’s Room:

A rock/paper/scissors friendship set with initials from Jac & Elsie:

And because I want to give this giveaway some extra oomf, the winner will also receive some of my non Etsy favorite things:

Rimmel London Moisture Renew lipstick in Pink Chic

China Glaze nail polish in Purple Panic (Neon)

And a one-year subscription to Marie Claire magazine

So, now the reeeeeeally important question is:

Wanna win?

Mandatory entry: Leave me a comment, and tell me something fabulous. Like, seriously fabulous. Like, “Let’s happy dance all over the place because this is so fab damntabulous” fabulous.

Want some extra entries? Leave one comment for each additional bulleted entry you’ve completed:

• Visit Jac & Elsie, Clever Hands, Paper Planet AND The Peach Tree and heart your favorite item from each shop. Comment with the all links in one comment.

• Visit Elm Studios, A Wild Tonic, Julie Ann Art AND Lola’s Room and heart your favorite item from each shop. Comment with the all links in one comment.

• Visit Jac & Elsie, Clever Hands, Paper Planet, The Peach Tree, Elm Studios, A Wild Tonic, Julie Ann Art and/or Lola’s Room and pin your favorite item on Pinterest. Comment with the Pinterest link(s) in one comment.

• Follow The Peach Tree, A Wild Tonic, Julie Ann Art, Lola’s Room AND Jac & Elsie on Twitter. Comment that you follow everyone.

• Follow this blog in anyway you choose. Leave a comment and tell me how you follow it.

• Tweet about this giveaway. Feel free to use this: I want to win @JacAndElsie’s Favorite Things Giveaway to help celebrate 500 sales!!! https://scracklep.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/4395/ Comment with the link of the tweet.

This giveaway is open world wide and will end at midnight on March 20. Random.org will pick a winner, and I’ll contact him or her. The winner will have 48 hours to get back to me before I pick another winner. 

Thanks for 500 sales, y’all, and here’s to some awesome changes coming to Jac & Elsie over the next few months!

(Note: If the winner lives outside the U.S., she will receive everything except the magazine subscription, which will go to a second place winner in the United States. I also invited shops owners who contributed an item to Jac’s Favorite Things Giveaway to enter. If one of them should win, she will win everything except the item she donated, which will go to a second place winner. I apologize for any confusion. )