We all like to win things, right? I’ve entered my share of contests and drawings, and of course have rarely won anything at all. One time I did actually win from a drawing with thousands of entrants, on a teen website that was giving away a MiniDisk player/recorder along with goodies with the website’s brand all over them.
These days I’ve found it to make much more sense to enter giveaways on blogs or Facebook pages of handmade sellers. The odds end up much more in your favor, and I’ve actually won a couple of things from them!
In April of last year, I voted in a pole on the Etsy Steam Team blog for the best Alice in Wonderland inspired item. It needed to have a blend of both Steampunk and AiW. Just by voting, entrants were entered into a drawing for five prizes. I ended up winning one of those prizes, a $50 gift certificate for Catherinette Rings! I used my gift certificate to get a Blue Fire Agate Steampunk ring.
Last October, I participated in a scavenger hunt by the Etsy Dark Side Street Team. Prizes were to be given to the first 
thirteen entrants who submitted the correct list of links to items that you found through the hunt. To find the items, you were given the address to a specific team member, then had to look through their item listings until you found the one listing that had the URL to the next shop in the description. I didn’t at all think I’d be one of the first to submit the answers since finding all the listings took a long time, but I won my choice of either a necklace or a set of earrings from Fable and Fury. I chose this gorgeous Cabaret necklace in stainless steel.
There are several websites dedicated to promoting handmade giveaways, such as By Hand Giveaways. Another great way to find out about giveaways is to follow your favorite artists on Twitter and Facebook!