Thrify links to save money for you today, and also the very talented Peter Breese tagged me with one of those question thingies where you learn more about me, which I’ll get to at the end.

Want to live well this time of year, without a lot of cash? Some fun and thrifty links for you today:

-Tons of Christmas Stocking stuffing ideas at Want Not. What do you put in stockings?
-Make something! Handmade Fabric Gift Bags at Crafting in a Green World. Reusable and fun!
-Holiday Gift Ideas, under $5! At Indie Fixx.
-Entertaining on a Budget at Hostess with the Mostess. I love her gorgeous…

I don’t normally do interviews of our Halloween Contest entries, but when I saw this entry, I just had to find out more! Talk about inspiration! Dave Gugel, of Davenport FL, has one of the most impressive Halloween decorated houses I’ve seen in a long time. Just check out the BEFORE/AFTER pic below. His website has pictures of the finished product for the past several years, and pictures of the construction process and the behind the scenes of how he puts it together. So I interviewed Dave to find out a little more about his house and his passion for…

I haven’t done enough random posts lately.. Everything doesn’t need a purpose, does it?

News/reminders:
- Halloween Contest ends next Wednesday – get those entries in! And check out what’s already been entered for your own halloween inspirations (in the comments)
- Two new Dabbled Interviews in the works, one is Halloween related… watch this space
- Also, much Halloween love will be packed into the next week.
- Making/putting together a halloween costume this year for you or the kiddos? Post it or put it on flickr and email me with the link!

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So, want more Dabbled but I just don’t…

Some cool halloween stuff is starting to pop up…

A tutorial on this making this Cinderella Pumpkin is at Resurrection Fern. Cute!

Martha, of course

Paper Pumpkins from Hostess with the Mostest

Crafting with Cat Hair — Halloween Tea Set

Tooth Earrings! via Craft

Halloween Bottle Brush Trees spotted on Whip Up. Here’s the original with the tutorial.

From Make: Instructable: Cast your face in plaster… This has definite decoration possibilities!

For Karen: Yes! It’s a Bacon Tiara. via Craft

From the Instructables Blog: Instructables on Halloween Costumes – Wow!

Pom Pom Pumpkins – Tutorial Tuesday on Indie Fixx

oh, and if you missed it, check out the interview with Hello Naomi, the…

You’ve probably seen Naomi Henderson (aka Hello Naomi) and her cupcakes around the web. Fun, creative, and a little geeky too. I can’t link to them all in this post, so check these out. I asked her for an interview to learn a little more about her and those fun and fab cupcakes, and here she is!

Your cake designs are wonderful — so creative and excellently crafted! How did you get started? How long have you been doing it?

thanks!!! I have always loved baking and making cupcakes but I got into decorating them early last year when I did a…

Ooohh.. Way nifty cupcakes! These are just gorgeously done. By lorijohernandez on Flickr (via)

Really nifty writeup on Craftypod, a review of The Pocket Paper Engineer– a book on how to create pop up books! These are so fun and look like some really great projects. (*adds to ever growing list…)

Betz White made this fabulous Etch-A-Sketch Laptop cover! I’m in love… When I get a new laptop, i may have to try this… (via)

Several really cool things from Hostess with the Mostess
– a Wii themed party
– Child’s Candyland themed party
– Denture-like Ice Cubes – too cool and creepy, these might be good for…

This week’s Dabbled interview is with the very talented Cory Godbey. Cory is an illustrator & author, and is part of Portland Studios. He just released “Ticket”, a story in pictures. Without further ado…

1. Let’s get the standard stuff out of the way first… In three sentences or less.. who are you, what do you do, how long have you been doing it, and do you do it full time?

I’m Cory. I draw things, I’ve been doing it for a while, and it do it all the time.

2. So, Portland Studios.. your profile says you’re in South Carolina! Are y’all…

–Don’t forget! The Summer Doldrums contest – Art or craft… It’s fun to share your stuff!–

Interview 1: Craftypod * Interview 2: Diana Evans, Artist * All Interviews

For the 3rd Interview in the Dabbled Series, our focus is craft and the business of craft. Today we have Shannon Riffe, who writes the blog Make It – a blog about building a craft business, and is the silkscreening designer/crafter behind Rifferaff. I’ve been enjoying Make It for a while, and Shannon has documented a great deal about her journey to making it in her own craft business. A lot of times we only hear someone…

–Don’t forget! The Summer Doldrums contest – Art or craft… It’s fun to share your stuff!–

(all images c Diana Evans – www.dianaevans.ca)

Last Week: Craftypod * All Interviews

For the 2nd Interview in the Dabbled Series, our focus is Art & Illustration. we have the fun and whimsical Diana Evans, an artist and illustrator and prolific blog proprietress from Ontario, Canada.

Let’s get the basic dull stuff out of the way. In 3 sentences or less, what do you do, how long have you been doing it, do you do it full time, and how did you get started?
I am a full time Illustrator…