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Name: Brittany Roberts Age: 19 Location: Boston area, MA

How long have you been vegan?

A little over 3 years. (Halloween's my "anniversary")

What made you go vegan?

Research, basically. I was familiar with vegetarianism, but then I heard the word "vegan" and wanted to know what it entailed. After Googling "factory farms," there really was no going back.

What is your favorite way of promoting veganisim?

By setting a great example! It's all about the food, if you cook people delicious vegan food (and prove that you don't live on apples and twigs...), they'll be more receptive to the whole idea. Then when they hit the hard issues that most omnivores aren't used to thinking about(like the animal abuse, environmental harm, and health risks of a diet based on meat, eggs, and dairy), they'll already have positive feelings toward the vegan diet, and making changes to their own eating habits won't seem so drastic and scary.

What got you started on YouTube?

I love YouTube. I'm afraid it's a bit of an addiction. I love watchingvloggers share their opinions and sense of humor in bite-sized videos.So when I started my own show, I went for a similar quirky, off-the-cuff feel. TTG is first and foremost a podcast, but YouTube isso popular I figured I might as well post my episodes there as well,and now it's where most of my audience is!

Favorite ingredient to cook with?

Peanut butter. Hands Down.

Favorite meal to cook?

Something quick and simple: a bunch of vegetables, thrown in a frying pan, served over rice. I only get fancy on the show.

Any big plans for the future?

Well, this fall I'm headed to art school to study photography and design, so depending on my living conditions "The Tofu Guru" may become"Vegan Dorm Cooking"!

The Ghouls Guild over on Artfire is having their first annual Trick or Treat event at Artfire! 13 days of deals, prizes, and spooky fun from Artfire's creative creatures of the night!

One spooktacular thing the Ghouls Guild is offering during Trick or Treat 2009 is a scavenger hunt! You can read their blog post for more details, or just head straight to the form to participate and win!

Take advantage of the Ghoul's coupon codes and save on rockin' Halloween treats! Check out the latest sales here. 

Want to check out the awesome sales, deals, and prizes the Ghouls Guild is offering for their Trick or Treat 2009 event? Simply search the tag: Trickortreat2009 on Artfire! You can search for Ghouls Guild items YEAR ROUND on Artfire searching the tag GhoulsGuild.

The Ghouls Guild is a group on Artfire for artists, designers, crafters, and artisans who celebrate Halloween all year. It's run by the avid Halloween lover shesbattydesigns, aka Jamie Sabot of Handmade News. Interested in the Ghouls Guild? Anyone on Artfire with some work that reflects their love for Halloween or darker items is welcome to join! (Click here for membership requirements.)

Here's just a small sample of some prizes:

Follow the Ghouls Guild:

Official Artfire page

Blog: http://ghoulsguild.blogspot.com/

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ghoulsguild

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ghouls/pool/

Twitter: #GhoulsGuild

WITH

THE SHOP:

TheMightySquirm.com

&

TheMightySquirm.Etsy.Com

THE PRIZES:

There are two prizes for this giveaway! Both shirts are the same size, so if your name is drawn and you didn't specify prize 1 or prize 2, you gets a surprise!

PRIZE 1:

A Medium white 'Skel-Belle' Tee, and 3 TheMightySquirm.com Stickers!

To see the Tee in better detail and get more information, visit the product listing here: http://www.themightysquirm.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=32

PRIZE 2:

A Medium, navy/charcoal, Organic Cotton, 'Hearse' Tee, and 3 TheMightySquirm.com stickers!

To see the Tee In Better Detail and get more information, Visit the product listing here:

http://www.themightysquirm.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=28

Ready to win? Here's how to get entries:

1. Check out TheMightySquirm.com or TheMightySquirm.etsy.com and leave a comment telling us your favourite product!

2. Tweet this contest! Either create your own or use this one "Enter to win an Awesome Tshirt giveaway with #CreepyQueen Magazine, and  TheMightySquirm.com!  http://tinyurl.com/nn3f5e " 

3. Buy something from TheMightySquirm and tell us about it! *Only items purchased after August 23rd will count! we will count both etsy and website purchases! Each item is an entry!

4. Stumble any one of CreepyQueen's or The Mighty Squirm's websites and write a review!  Post the link to the review here.

5. Add One Of Our BADGES to Your Website!

6. Write a blog entry or a news post about this giveaway on your blog/website and post the link here to receive an entry!

BONUS: Purchase an ad with us and post a comment here saying so to receive 3 ENTRIES!!

BONUS: Follow CreepyQueen on Twitter and fan us on facebook for an extra entry! Make sure you comment here!

Remember,  you have to post links and proof of your entries as a comment to this article after you complete EACH entry.

One Entry PER Comment. We will not count any entries brought to our attention by anything other than a comment left below.

Maximum of 10 entries per username/member. You must be a logged in member in order to comment.

Abuse of fake accounts, etc will not be tolerated.

WINNER WILL BE DRAWN Thursday, [EXTENDED!!] September 17th!

Winner will be contacted via the email provided with their username upon sign-up. If you do not receive an email by the 12th, but are stated here as one of the winners, please email us at creepyqueen [at] live [dot] com. Any prizes unclaimed by the 15th, will be redrawn or given to the runner up.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. PLEASE CHECK BACK THIS WEEKEND FOR THE WINNERS!

CreepyQueen: So First off, What is Shanalogic?

Shanalogic: ShanaLogic.com is an online boutique that features jewelry, accessories, plushes and apparel designed by independent artists and designers from around the world! I think it might even be the largest curated 100% indie shop there is (anyone want to challenge this? ;-)

CQ: Why did you decide to start Shanalogic?

SL: I run another site called PixelgirlPresents.com. It's a free desktops and icons site and because it's a download site, it's very expensive to run. I noticed that a lot of my artists from PixelgirlPresents.com also sold their artwork. I started featuring their prints and goods on PixelgirlPresents and well, it just sort of expanded from there!

CQ: Do you have a favourite product that's for sale right now?

SL: Haha, it's so hard to pick just one! How about I pick the few that I'm into this week? ;-) I adore the double heart padlock bracelet by marty flint, the kittle love necklace by mark poulin, the stripey armwarmers by mtcoffinz, the cupcake charm bracelet by amy secrest and the creepy bunny necklace by claire belton (it's reversible!!) Really I love everything since the site are things I specifically choose to sell.

CQ: Do you have any suggestions or tips for people that would like to start up their own independant craft business?

SL: Yes, Do what you LOVE! If you love it, people will be able to tell. If you are doing something to make a quick buck, the craft world isn't for you (trust me;-). Oh, and get an accountant!

CQ: What do you find was one of the hardest things you had to overcome so far with the start up of your shop?

SL: Originally it was dealing with the numbers and money. I ended up hiring a bookkeeper and accountant so that I didn't make anymore mistakes. I'd say the hardest thing to overcome is what's happening right now! The economy is terrible and it seems like more and more "indie shopping" portals are popping up all over the place. Many aren't curated or controlled in any way, while others market themselves as handmade but mix in mass-produced items making it confusing to the buyers. It dilutes the market and makes it hard for artists to succeed.

CQ: What are your future plans for Shanalogic?

SL: To stick around! No seriously, right now I'm in a small warehouse with 2 employees. I admit I'd like to be a tad larger (maybe 4 employees?;-). I just want to continue to be the most reliable source for independent gear on the web!

CQ: Where can readers of CreepyQueen find you and your shop?

SL: Shanalogic.com

    I found ByHand.me randomly one day whilst bored and aimlessly browsing the internet. I immediatly contacted the creators, because this site has a lot of potential for crafters and DIYers. Although new, it still bosts a lot of awesome features, and well.. I'll just get one of the creators, Rebecca Dillon, to tell you about the site.

CreepyQueen: First off, what is Byhand.me?

Rebecca: ByHand is in essence a social community for handmade artists and buyers to come together and make handmade personal again. We offer a number of features for artists to promote their work and for buyers to find it. The most popular aspects of the site are: Spotlights and Wishlists.

Spotlights allow you to curate 9 items in a gallery format. This allows you to pull items from multiple venues and create what Etsy calls a "treasury" of handpicked items that you'd like to show off to the world. Spotlights never expire, and only are removed when you choose to delete it. All spotlighted items are randomly featured in Window Shopping and at the top of every ByHand page.

Wishlists allow you to create wishlists of items from a multitude of handmade venues including Etsy, ArtFire, 1000Markets, DaWanda, SilkFair, Made It Myself, ShopHandmade, iCraft.ca, WinkElf, Foodzie and Zibbet. (These are same venues that we support in our Spotlights feature. ) A wishlist is many things to many people. It's a great way to keep up with gifts for friends and family, or to compile a list of those must haves for your own indulgences. Our wishlists allow you to keep organized by creating lists of items, allow you to send your wishlists to friends in an email, either as All Items, or just a particular list. Wishlists are private and remain private unless you choose to share your Wishlist.

Adding an item to your wishlist is as simple as clicking a link on your browsers toolbar. You can add items to your wishlist on selected venues in just one click without ever leaving the page you are on. You can also import all of your etsy favorites to your wishlist in just one click for easy organization.

CQ: Who are the creaters behind ByHand?

R: M. Adam Kendall is the creator, designer and programmer for ByHand. He currently works full time as a programmer for an independent company in Arlington, VA. However, his background growing up was very different from this and another reason that ByHand was created. Adam actually came from a lower income family with three other brothers and a sister. His dad lost his job at one point so he is very familiar with what it is like to struggle through a hardship. He also, unfortunately, remembers what government cheese and powdered milk taste like. Adam's mom was a seamstress who worked at her craft to pull in extra money to help support the family. It's because of her that Adam gained an appreciation for arts and crafts and the reason he knows how to sew. He also learned woodworking from his dad and metalworking from his grandfather.

Myself, Rebecca D. Dillon, I'm from a pretty average American family myself. I grew up as part of the struggling middle class in the 80s with a mother who was always trying to give my brother and I whatever we wanted and therefore living a bit beyond our means. My mom was always doing arts and crafts with me and taught me how to bake. I attended college locally at Roanoke College where I studied a bit of everything including photography, screen printing, graphic design, pottery, 3-D design, drawing, painting, art history, poetry and even writing. It took me seven years, but I eventually managed a BA in fine arts. I do a lot of the basic customer support for ByHand members, the advertising and marketing. I also work up the artist features and interviews.

Together, husband and wife make a pretty good team.

CQ: Why did you two decide to create byhand?

R:  ByHand.me was conceived and created by my husband, Adam. Frustrated withhandmade venues that seemed to advertise only to sellers and not to buyers as well as social networking sites that seemed steeped in nothing but seller spam, he wanted to create an environment where artists could showcase their work and at the same time really get seen. We feel ByHand reflects an answer to these issues. Front page blog posts are carefully monitored for content and we also actively advertise to buyers as the bulk of advertising.

You can read Adam's whole story on why ByHand was created under Our Story.

CQ: Are there any requirements to join?

R: To become a member on ByHand all you have to do is register. It's as easy as that.

There are no restrictions on joining ByHand. Everyone is welcome. You can be an artist, a venue, a reseller, or just buyer. We welcome everyone to become a member and celebrate handmade. The only restriction we have set forth is that only handmade artisans can list their shops in the Artisan Directory.

CQ: Are there any special events or promotions going on right now?

R:  We are running a handmade contest through March 18th in which you can enter to win $103 in handmade products donated by ByHand.me members. There is a new contest every month.

So there you have it! ByHand.me is an awesome new site for crafters, shoppers, and more! We've signed up!

Feel free to post your byhand address/username at the bottom of this article as a comment.

Creepy Queen: What interested you in alternative weddings, and do you think they are something that will become more popular in the future?

Wedding Skulls: I'm less interested in the 'wedding' side of things and more interested in the subculture itself. Firstly, a wedding is such a huge, fun party, it's a great vehicle to express yourself, and I just LOVE seeing what all the crazy, zany, fun, creative people within our subcultures think up - especially when it comes to expressing love, that most elusive of emotions. Secondly I'm a true believer that it's the artisans - designers, writers, musicians, crafters - that keep subcultures alive. I really want to do my part to support creative people by allowing them to be featured on the blog. 
 
I think more and more people strive to push the envelope of what's 'acceptable' in society nowadays, and dark alternative weddings will get more popular as a result. The longer subcultures hang around - like goth, or punk ,for example - the more 'acceptable' they become. Nowadays, most people have some notion of what a goth or a punk IS, whereas Emo is still a mystery (my parents have no idea what an emo is). Second and third generation goths, punks and metalheads have no fear of what their parents and grandparents will think of their all-black wedding party or haunted house wedding - in fact, their parents are probably arguing over which Slayer song should be the father-daughter dance.

CQ: Is this a full time endeavor for you? What else do you do?

WS: I wish! No, I have many and varied jobs. Mostly I work as an accessible formats producer, transcribing braille books and resources for blind New Zealanders. I also do large print and electronic text. Apart from that, I work as a copywriter and freelance writer. I write anything from magazine articles to website content and marketing copy.
 
When I?m not working on either of these jobs, I?m writing a novel or poem, painting or crafting, jumping around at a heavy metal concert, hanging with my husband and our awesome friends, planning my next overseas trip or on the hunt for the perfect sausage roll.

CQ: Can you give us one tip for planning a Halloween wedding?

WS: A wedding is two things and two things only - a ritual ceremony to announce and legalize your commitment to each other, and a celebration. There are no rules, no must-haves, no "traditions" that govern what you can and cannot do. Strip the concept of a wedding back to its core and rebuild it according to YOUR pricipals, YOUR relationship, YOUR friends and family and YOUR budget. And make it fun. Weddings should be fun.

All photos accompying this article are of Steff's own "Halloween Wedding". Over the next few months Wedding Skulls will be featuring MORE Skully Weddings - real wedding profiles, some wonderful guest posts, AND they will be releasing the Gothic Wedding Planner, along with some other, brand new ebooks for your dark delights.

www.weddingskulls.com

-Shannon