Bows By Jessica Gift Certificate Giveaway!!!

This coming week's giveaway is sponsored by Bows by Jess (jessica987644) on Etsy. Jessica, shop owner, bow maker and children's hat crocheter extraordinaire is offering a $15 gift certificate to the lucky winner (which will be e-mailed), redeemable on any of the great items she offers in her shop! With a wonderful selection of hats, leg warmers, bibs, headbands, bows, and even adorable crocheted Mary Janes, Jessica's shop, Bows by Jess , is filled with items that are sure to please and definitely likely to come in handy during the upcoming winter weather!

Before I give you "the rules", I was hoping you'd like to get to know a little more about Jessica, so here are the questions I asked Jessica... to learn a litte bit about her life as a wife and a mom living in New England and becoming a shopowner on Etsy - here are her responses in her own words...

What was the deciding factor in opening up a shop on Etsy to sell your adorable children's accessories? I started making hair bows after I had my second daughter in 2004. At the time I was making maybe one bow a month. After I had my 3rd daughter in 2008 I decided to learn how to crochet. There were very few cute hats in store for a newborn and it was getting very cold here. After many of compliments from strangers, and many request from family members I decided that I would start a shop on Etsy and see how things went.

Being the mother of 3 girls you probably have an unending source of inspiration for your items - do any of your girls' personality shine through a little more than the others' when you're creating new items? Yes my second daughter Jolena. She is almost 5 and she loves big, bright, funky things. She will wear anything and make it look cute.

Your shop has been pretty successful considering you've only been open a short while - if you could give one bit of advice to an even newer shop owner on achieving success, what would it be? I’m not too sure on this question. I think when I first started I had higher expectations, and expected to be selling a lot more than I was. I have not done a whole lot other than promoting a lot. I also have a lot of sales from repeat customers.

Living in the Phoenix area, although the weather is beautiful now, I really miss the colors of autumn, as well as so many of the fall celebrations I grew up with in the Midwest. In your region of the country, what makes fall special for you? I am not originally from New England, We moved here from Washington State about a year and a half ago. My husband is in the army and we were stationed here. I love the New England fall. The fall foliage is beautiful. I love taking the kids apple picking in the fall. Fall also reminds me of Halloween, Which is one of my favorite holidays.

With winter approaching quickly, what activities do you and your family like to participate in during New England winter months? Like I mentioned above, I am not from here and have only spent one winter here. I cannot say that I enjoyed it. I am actually not looking forward to winter months. Last year I had a newborn and we did not do any fun winter activities. This winter we are planning on taking the kids sledding and maybe teaching the older 2 to ski!

Thanks to Jessica for sharing! Now, here are the rules...

Receive your 1st entry for visiting Jessica's shop - Bows by Jess (jessica987644) and then coming back here, posting and commenting on a favorite item

1 entry for following Jessica on twitter - http://twitter.com/jessica987644

1 entry for following Jessica's blog - http://mommyof-3.blogspot.com/

2 entries for making a purchase at Bows by Jess (jessica987644)

The winner for this drawing will be drawn promptly at noon (PDT) on Monday October 12th. Good luck and happy shopping!