DT Call closed, Bikkie with Cookie Preview and more features!

Hi all! Just a short little post to let you all know I'm alive and my birthday was fun (more details on that on my personal blog later.) I'm dealing with a bunch of stuff at the moment --sick kitties, installing my new printer, headaches from the decaffeinating process I'm putting myself through, and reinstalling Windows Vista which suddenly decided to not be a genuine copy anymore (although IT IS!!) Add to all this that I have to finish building my airbrush station and go through almost SIXTY Design Team applications... I'm pretty swamped. *faints*

All I have for you today is a little colored preview, and some features:

Bikkie with Cookie

**Coming Soon!**

Today's Features:

By Kylie

By Zoe

By Marley

By Margie

By Carisa

That's it for now, sorry that I am taking a while in replying to emails and sending your digis (you will still get your digis before the 24 hour period though, I promise.) I know you are all very impatient to know who will be on the DT and I'm on it. So stay tuned!

-Marina

Another preview, more features, and Kellie's candy!

Woohoo, we passed 100 followers today! Yay! Anyway, I'm busy, busy busy, but here's a little preview to whet you appetite, followed by today's features:

Catch of the Day

**Coming soon!**

Today's Features:

By Stephanne

By Penni

By Kellie

By Tracey

It's almost DT Choosing Time!

This Thursday is the last day for DT call submissions and this past week I've gotten the most yet. You girls are making this exceedingly difficult for me, you know!! My inbox is now being flooded with talent and I don't know what I will do... (except maybe increase the number of DT positions? Hmm... *ponders this*) I'm not sure what's an average number of submissions for a company's first DT call ever, but so far we have over 50!!

Kellie's Hansel & Sammy Candy!

Anyway, don't forget to check out Kellie's blog --she's giving out some delicious Hansel and Sammy rubber candy! Actually, candy made of rubber doesn't sound too yummy. But this kind of candy sure is sweet! ;D

Pre-orders for the Sammy with Ball rubber stamp are beginning to trickle in, so be sure to snag yours if you haven't yet.

Regarding rubber stamps, because so many of you order from outside the US and shipping is so pricey, here's what I'm thinking, and let me know how it sounds to you. I'm considering having sets made instead.

For example, let's say two designs of Bikkie are released as digis. Some time after the digi release, a set featuring both Bikkie rubber stamps on a single sheet would be released. The price would be more than for a single stamp, of course, BUT less than if you bought two rubber stamps separately, making the shipping (which is always a flat rate) more worth your while.

How does this sound? Let me now, people! =)

-Marina

Sammy Winner and Digi Release!

Hello, Hello! Time for the Sammy with Ball Digi Giveaway Winner Announcement! The lucky ducky is…

Zoe!

Congrats, Zoe! Sammy's all yours! He'll come running to your inbox soon. =)

I will release the Sammy with Ball Digi when I receive the rubber stamps in the mail. Even though I said 2-3 weeks, Hansel took less than that to arrive, and I expect Sammy will arrive faster too. Don't forget --it'll be just 5 rubber stamps, and the PRE-ORDER is going on now!

Shy Sammy Release!

Today, Shy Sammy is being released and you can already find him in the store's Cuddly Critters section:

Also, today I have a little announcement. Well, maybe not so little. ;) The TSB Design Team is not being announced yet (applications are still being taken until July 29th.) However, one particular member has been chosen for some time now, and since there is no possibility of this changing regardless of who else applies, I really want to tell you who it is.

Before I do, let me also tell you that the original five (5) spots for our DT are STILL open, all five of them. Which is why I am announcing this now, because it's kind of separate from the five DT spots currently available.

This wonderful person I've chosen, who I'm sure is loved by many of you already, will be my Design Team Coordinator, and her name is Kellie Winnell.

Being chosen as DT Coordinator is why Kellie sent me this card, which I received in the mail today and made me so happy!!

I put it in my work area right away, where I could enjoy looking at it:

So anyway, whoever is chosen for the DT will have the pleasure of talking to Kellie in all DT-related dealings, and I am sure she will be as nice and friendly to you as she has been to me this past few weeks. =)

That is all for today! Keep an eye out this weekend... LOTS of surprises ahead!

-Marina

PRE-ORDER: Sammy with Ball, and another DIGI GIVEAWAY!

BIG news, everyone! After seeing the poll results, I sent five (5) --just five!-- rubber stamps of Sammy with Ball to be manufactured. This isn't necessarily a limited edition, but I want to see how well he sells, so I am only having five made. If there is enough demand, I will have more made.

The response I get will also influence whether I do the same with Bikkie, so if you voted for Sammy, please try to order him.

If you'd like to make sure you snag him, you can PRE-ORDER Sammy right now by clicking here, and expect him to ship within 2-3 weeks.

This particular stamp costs $9.00 because it is slightly larger than Hansel (measuring 2.995" by 3.615") and thus costing more to make. I want to keep the price at $8.00 or even less whenever possible, though, so don't fret.

Sammy with Ball will also be available as a DIGI after the rubber version is officially released. In addition, one (1) Sammy with Ball DIGI will be given away to a random commenter on this blog post. You might just be the lucky gal to get Sammy weeks before anyone else! As usual, if you want a chance to win this digi, all you have to do is comment on this post. Remember:

You must comment on this post before Monday, July 26th, 11:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) NO EXCEPTIONS.

**Please check the time if unsure!**

Shy Sammy will be released on Tuesday, July 27th, as a digi. Mark your calendars! =) And keep an eye out for this little guy...

Coming soon:

Bikkie the Platypus!

But wait --there's more! Behold...

Today's Features:

By Kellie Winnell

By Louise Forsyth

By Zoe

That is all for today and I apologize for the lack of posts this past couple of days, but my health has been so-so this past week (feeling better, though, so don't worry about me!) and I've been drawing and inking a lot as well.  I have lots of surprises planned for you!

Keep on stampin',

-Marina

Little Angel Cards!

[PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE TODAY'S SPECIAL SNEAK-PEEK POST, AND MEET BIKKIE THE PLATYPUS!]

These almost slipped my mind! Here are some gorgeous Little Angel cards that were sent to me via email. Sorry I forgot to feature them in the previous post. Eventually I won't be able to keep up with these on my own, but I did add them to the Facebook page earlier. ;P

By Kellie Winnell

For some reason Blogger refused to post Kellie's card at a size proportionate to the rest... It had to be either too big or too small, so I chose to go with too big! Gotta love all those little details, just as much as the ones in the cards below. I especially like all the different textures in the many layers Kylie implemented, and the pretty flowers and palette of soft pastel tones in Tracey's card:

By Kylie Kueter

By Tracey Feeger

OK, now that's really it for today. There's apparently a tropical storm coming, so if there's no blog post tomorrow, that is the reason (or I might just be really busy inking the new designs.)

Later, everyone!

-Marina

PREVIEW: Meet Bikkie the Platypus!

Do I have a surprise for you today! Three sneaky-peekies in a single blog post. Two are sketches of a new friend:

Bikkie the Platypus

Well, you asked for it, so what do you think of him? I am very happy with how he turned out, and he was TONS of fun to draw too.

Third is this fisherman otter, who is very happy with his catch:

The poor fish doesn't seem nearly as thrilled with the situation, however. Poor thing...

Finally, I have a new Hansel card to share with you, this time by Cheryl Baker:

By Cheryl Baker

Aren't the little red roses a pretty touch? As well as the buttons and little details on the flowers. I just love this card! You can check out Cheryl's blog here.

And by the way, if you make any cards featuring TSB characters, be sure to send them to me, and I'll often feature them in the blog. Even if I'm not able to post them all here, I'll definitely add any and all cards to the Facebook page for you.

It'll be a busy weekend as I will be inking and coloring all of these. They will be released very soon so be sure to keep an eye on the blog, as always. =)

That's all for today!

-Marina

Sammy the Mammoth preview!!

Hi all! Sammy's giveaway isn't happening just yet, but I thought you'd like a preview of the full-color designs as they will appear (or, rather, appear already) on the store, in the Cuddly Critters section.

The Digi Giveaway (it will be Sammy with Ball) will be announced and held sometime next week, and both designs, Sammy with Ball AND Shy Sammy, will be released at once after that.

For now we will continue at a pace of 1 release per week, but this is likely to spike as the weeks wear on.

Your comments have given me lots of ideas! A platypus is something I'd long been considering, and since you reminded me of it, a platypus is next!

You might want to head over to the website and check the samples added to Hansel and the Little Angel. Just click on them for a bigger version  and a link to the blog belonging to that card's crafty creator!

I will be going to bed "early" tonight. Goodnight everyone!

-Marina

Little Angel on Cloud Release Day!

Today is the release day of our Little Angel Digi!  You can find him in our Funny Kids section, or directly by clicking here. Hope you have lots of fun with him.

Sweet little "Sammy with Ball" is next! Please look forward to him! I *might* release Shy Sammy on the same day... Not sure yet. Also, there's just a little over a week away to apply for our design team, so don't delay!

I'm not sure if I mentioned that our DT would be announced earlier than the planned date of August 15th, but in any case I am now positive that it will. Most likely the new DT will be announced on the weekend of the 31st. Hope you're as excited as I am!

I have a question for today: what animal character would you like to see me create next? So far, between TSB, TGF and Motivet, I've created squirrels, hippos, chipmunks, moose, cats, dogs, skunks, bears, rabbits, mice, owls, koala bears, seals, monkeys, foxes, deer and with Sammy, even mammoths! (I *think* that's all...) Wow, that's a lot. Ha ha!

Can you think of what you'd like to see me draw next? Tell me in the comments!!

Have a fun Wednesday, everyone!

-Marina

Little Angel Digi Giveaway Winner!

Sorry this is so late, everyone... I've had a bad last couple of days. The excess caffeine, stress and late nights caught up to me. On Sunday night, I could not sleep a wink. I'd gone to bed at around 5am before, but had always been able to sleep. This night, maybe because of the tall glass of coffee I'd had at 12:00am, I was not able to sleep at all, so instead I stressed. Daybreak came and I was still awake.

I concentrated SO hard in falling asleep, and was SO exhausted. I became very jumpy and started to have trouble breathing. Every little sound woke me up with a jolt whenever I started to doze off, and left me with my heart almost pounding out of my chest. I basically had a small panic attack, which I've experienced 2-3 times in my life, and if you've ever had one, you know it is NO FUN AT ALL!!

I am feeling much better today, though still not 100% fine. It might take me until tomorrow to catch up on some emails so please be patient with me those who applied to the DT. I've received your emails! =)

Anyway, enough about me (should save my excuses for my personal blog) here's what you REALLY came by for. The winner of the Little Angel on Cloud Giveaway is...

Angélique!

Congrats, Angélique! You'll be receiving your digi via email shortly. (And what a coincidence, that! Little Angel: Angélique! Ha ha!)

Sorry I do not have anything else to share with you today. I am working on coloring Sammy to prepare him for next week's release.

Keep stamping, everyone!

-Marina

PREVIEW: Sammy with Ball!

Did any of you happen to catch this little sneak peek of another Sammy design in progress, which I posted to Twitter last night? It was posted right after the Little Angel Digi Giveaway post (speaking of which, don't forget to head over there and comment if you want to win!):

Well, whether you saw it or not, here he is below, all finished up!

Sammy with Ball

Sammy will be the next release after our Little Angel on Cloud, so Hansel won't be lonely anymore in our Cuddly Critters section. He will be released as a digi on Tuesday 27th. And will there be ANOTHER giveaway, you ask...?

HECK YEAH!!

This month is a celebration, after all, with the launch of The Stamping Bazaar! So yes: there will be a Digi Giveaway for Sammy the Woolly Mammoth as well. Stay tuned for it!

And now, a poll: please look on our sidebar to the right, near the top. I need to know which design you would be most likely to purchase if it was made into a rubber stamp. Would it be our Little Angel on Cloud, Sammy with Ball as seen here, or all Sammy shy and hugging his trunk as seen on this previous post?

The last bit of news I have is that, while our cutoff day for DT applications remains the same (July 29th) I expect the new DT will be announced sooner than August 15th. So hold on to your seats!

That's all for today. It is only 3:00am, but I guess I COULD go to bed early for a change!! *rolls eyes*

Have a nice day or night, everyone, whatever your timezone is!

-Marina

Could it be? Another digi giveaway!

(Please scroll down to see today's BIG news and features, in the previous post!)

(In Professor Farnsworth voice): Good news, everyone! Yes, you read that title right: we're holding a giveaway for the next release too!

Do you want this Little Angel? All you have to do for a chance to win him is comment on this post. You have until Monday, July 19th EXACTLY at 11:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) to comment. You can always check EST here if you live in a different timezone.

The winner will be announced sometime on Tuesday 20th, and the digi released and available for purchase on the same day for everyone to enjoy.

For those who prefer rubber stamps, please do know that I want to make as many of my stamps available in rubber as possible. I might devise a pre-order system with which, if we get to a certain minimum (maybe something like 10) I will send the rubber version to be manufactured. We'll see.

For now, be sure to comment for your chance to win!

-Marina

A woolly surprise, and some features!

One of the ideas I've been toying with ever since I decided to open my own rubber stamp company is to make some of the designs people requested on my personal blog, at least the suggestions that appealed to me the most. I recall a couple of people mentioning how much they liked the characters from my webcomic Paleo, specifically Toro, the little dinosaur who is a faithful companion to Umo, the young cave-boy.

I cannot bring myself to make stamp designs of Toro and Umo specifically, because they belong to a copyrighted story and I've posted "Reproduction of any kind strictly prohibited" all over wherever these characters appear. But the idea of creating different prehistoric themed characters really appealed to me. So, without further ado, I present to you... 

Sammy the Woolly Mammoth!

Do you like him? This is just a sketch, one of two I've done, one of which is already partly inked.

This is the second sketch I drew and because I still have to clean it up, I'm not sure if it's very clear, but he's shyly hugging his trunk with his forepaws. You can expect this or the other yet-to-be-revealed design to be the next one in the shop after our Little Angel on Cloud release next week.

I would like to make one or two dinosaur friends for little Sammy. Let's see what I can come up with.

Last but not least, I've got some more cards to feature today, starting with a very special one that I can't wait to receive in the mail:

By Kellie Winnell

Dear talented Kellie, who won TSB's first digi giveaway ever, has been so sweet as to make and send this card in the mail to me. I will cherish it always, Kellie! Thank you so much. ♥

By Patricia Stewart

By Kylie Kueter

Aren't these ladies talented? Be sure to drop by their blogs and tell them so! And that is NOT all for today --stay tuned for a second post VERY shortly! ;D

-Marina

More Hansel cards! ♥

Hello all! Not much in the way of news today, been plenty busy inking designs for TGF. But I did want to share these two gorgeous cards with you, crafted by Tracey Feeger and Stephanne Hoover, respectively:

 By Tracey Feeger 

By Stephanne Hoover

Aren't they beautiful? It made my day to see these in my inbox. ♥ Go and leave those talented ladies a comment (but read the rest of this post first, lol!)

Today I placed the order for the cello bags that I will use to package the rubber stamps in. Soon I will be printing the colorful retail packaging inserts! :D

I want to thank all those who applied to the Design Team so far, for mentioning The Stamping Bazaar's DT call on your blog. It's very much appreciated!

While doing my freelance assignments today I've been toying with lots of design ideas for TSB. I'm literally bursting with them, so there'll be plenty of surprises in the near future!

By the way, it has come to my notice that while you can post photos of your cards on the Facebook page, it seems you are unable to post them directly to the "Your Creations" folder I made.  It may be a permissions issue.... In any case, I am still adding your cards to the aforementioned folder manually, including proper credit and links to your blogs in the photo caption. I will look into making it so that you can post to the photo album yourselves.

I better drag myself to bed. See y'all tomorrow!

-Marina

PLEASE READ! Important Shipping Notice

Everyone, there's been an important change done to our SHIPPING METHODS/RATES:

From now on, INTERNATIONAL orders WILL be accepted via the PayPal cart just like any other. Just select your country from the drop down list. And all orders, domestic and international, will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you live in the United States, then you'll be paying a flat shipping rate of $5.00 to get your stamps, regardless of whether you order one or a whole bunch.

If you live outside of the US, the flat rate will be $13.00.

It took a lot of thought to decide on this, and I hope all will find it fair. Since I will have plenty of Priority Mail packaging at home, I won't have to go to the post office by bus, which will allow me to ship your orders on the same day you place them, and they will be delivered faster too:

• For domestic orders, you can expect to receive your stamps within 2-5 business days.
• For international ones, it should not be more than 6-10 business days, (but this can vary depending on your country.)

One more thing: make sure you enter a mailing address so we can ship your items to you!

There'll be another post tomorrow, I just wanted to get this out of the way.

Aggh, I'm off to bed at past 4:00am again *sobs*

-Marina

Upcoming Digi announcement: Little Angel!

Hi everyone! All of you who ordered digis so far should have received them by now. Hope you are enjoying playing with little Hansel the Deer! :D

Today I am announcing the next digi that will be made available in the store in the coming days. But first, I'd like to share this precious card with you, so colorful and full of attention to detail, featuring Hansel and crafted by the talented Kellie Winnell, who won our first digi giveaway:

Now, I feel kinda silly, because you all have already seen this little one on the website and on the blog. But he will be the next digi, so that's how it is, I still need to announce it! ;P Here is our Little Angel sitting on a cloud:

This cutie will be the next digi available in the store's Funny Kids section, starting next week! Keep an eye out for him,

You will notice I added a blinkie to the sidebar which you can use to link to TSB. I also made a little banner for members of our Design Team. That's on the sidebar as well, though kind of pointless until I announce the team members.

I do apologize for being a little slow in answering your applications. I've received a few, but I have a backlog of rubber stamp designs to create and this past couple of days have been crazy with the opening of the store. I promise to get back to you all within the promised 24 hours!

To those who now have the Hansel digi, PLEASE do post your creations to our FLICKR GROUP! We'd love to see them there. ♥ And don't forget about our Facebook page's photo album too.

That's all for today. Keep stamping, everyone!

-Marina

PLEASE READ! International Orders

Hello again! Some of you have begun to place your orders. That's wonderful! And it makes me soo happy. You'll be receiving your digis very soon! But first, let me address an important matter:

If you are placing an order for RUBBER STAMPS, and you live outside of the United States: Please do NOT shop directly through the Paypal cart. Instead, send me an email detailing your order and mailing address so I can properly quote you on shipping.

This, of course, does not apply to DIGITAL orders. But there's been a change with those, too: the files will be delivered directly to your email address, rather than links.

I tried to find a way so that only USA Paypal payments would go through, but the way Paypal has it set up, it's all or nothing: if I turn down those payments, I cannot invoice people for international orders later.

So, I added notices on each item and store category as well as on the F.A.Q. page. I hope they are clear enough and that this will help to avoid confusion.

Oh, and I have to admit that I realized a little too late that I did not make the timezone clear when I held the Hansel digi giveaway! I will from now on, so you'll always know until when you have time to make your comment for a fair chance to win. ;)

Later, all!

-Marina

Hansel Digi Giveaway Winner!

Whoa! It's past 4:30am. I've been up working (and playing!) all night. ;P

Just a quick little post to announce the winner of the Hansel with Flowers Digi Giveaway… are you ready?

Before I do that, however, I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to all of you who became followers of this blog and fans of TSB on Facebook.

I want to thank you for your kind wishes here and on my personal blog, and for all the support you're giving me this early on, as well for the support you gave me during all these months I could call myself lucky enough to be a part of The Greeting Farm team. *tears up*

Anyway! Let's get to it. The winner is... *drumroll*

Kellie Winnell!

Congratulations, Kellie! The link to download the image will be emailed to you later today.  ;)

I wasn't sure what was the best way to choose a name randomly as I read down the list of comments. So I put my finger on the screen and scrolled wildly up and down without looking and chose whatever comment was underneath my finger when I stopped scrolling. Is that fair? I sure hope so. LOL!

Everyone else: Hansel is available for purchase right now! True, he's the only stamp in the store at the moment, poor little guy, but I will be releasing more this week, so stay tuned to the blog and Facebook page! and remember if you follow me on Twitter (marinaneira) you will get TSB related notices there as well.

You can get Hansel as a DIGI for $4.00 or as a RUBBER STAMP for $8.00. I'm still in the process of preparing the retail packaging, so if you buy the rubber stamp it won't be individually packaged. Sorry! You can already buy it, though.

I plan to hold giveaways regularly, so be sure to watch this space for more!

I really should get some sleep. Later, everyone!

-Marina

TSB's First Digi Giveaway and DT Call!

Everyone, meet Hansel! Hansel is a sweet but mischievous little deer, and The Stamping Bazaar's first digi giveaway. I hope you like him!

One person will be chosen at random from all who comment on this post. All you have to do in order to win Hansel is comment, so don't miss this chance! You have until Monday 11:00pm to leave a comment, and one winner will be announced on Tuesday.

Also, we are in the process of building our Design Team. For more information, please visit the Design Team page on the TSB website.

Currently, five positions are available, and you have until July 29th to apply. We need your applications, so if you're interested in being part of the team, the time to apply is now!

Chosen DT members will be announced on August 15th.

That's all for now!

-Marina

Welcome to The Stamping Bazaar blog!

Hello and welcome to The Stamping Bazaar blog, everyone! TSB's official launch is today, so please do head over to the new website and check it out.

The store is pretty empty at the moment, but many digis and eventually some rubber stamps will be up in the coming days and weeks. Right now our main objective is to build a Design Team, so please watch this blog for further details.

Don't forget that we're on Facebook as well!

-Marina