AUTUMN DIGI STAMPS

It is already mid-autumn and I have illustrated a few digi stamps for the season! They are all available in my Etsy shop.

Oak Fairy

7.4 inches height. 

Autumn Harvest Elf

8 inches height.

Hedgehog Leaves

6 inches height.

Pumpkin Mouse

7 inches width. This digi includes a Jack O' Lantern version and a plain pumpkin version.

Autumn is Here

8.5 inches height.

SAILOR MOON WANDS CAN GASHAPON SET REVIEW

Finally completed the Bandai Sailor Moon Wands Can Gashapon set so here is my review! I bought them from Ebay in sets of 4 over several months.

They came in opaque pink plastic bags without the cans. These wands are also repackaged in boxes sold individually in the US. I'm pretty sure they are the exact same thing.

I paid about US$26 to $29 per set, including shipping. They originally retail for 500yen each in the machines.

These are miniatures, not life-sized. They are made of lightweight plastic and are inexpensive display toys which require simple assembly and come with a transparent stand each. They contain small parts.

Set 1 includes Sailor Mars & Mercury's Transformation Wands, Sailor Moon's Moon Stick and the Cutie Moon Rod. They were released in Nov 2014.

Closeup of Mars and Mercury. The bottles are just sitting in the holders and will certainly fall out if you decide to do some twirling! They may also slip out when tilted.

The bottles are filled with coloured water and glitter. The caps do not open and are glued shut, the glitter tends to stick to the walls of the bottle. The stars slide over the caps with a C-shaped fastener. These are not tight and will remove easily.

Back view. They don't look as nice as the fronts and are no frills.

The stands are a nice addition for displaying the wands, however they are quite flimsy! Most of the wands tend to fall off the stands when wobbled or held, as they are not tightly secured or heavy enough. This may seem trivial, but I've toppled the wands many times which is very annoying to say the least.

The Moonstick is my fave. However, the lousy stand came loose again and the stick fell onto my floor and badly nicked the crescent's gold. The gold does not hold up well and is very thinly applied. These are just gachapon standards so keep in mind they are like children's toys grade; kitschy, and for fun only!

The faceted globe on the top has an iridescent coat. It looks to be glass. Good thing I didn't crack it!

The goldtone plating on the crescent was not perfect when I received it initially. The surface was scuffed and dull on some areas, and a gold-polishing cloth did not buff it off. It could be from shipping or the packaging process so that is another thing you should expect, unless they were in the boxed form.

Back view.

The nicks on my moonstick... sigh. Keep them in a cabinet and don't ever touch them again and they'll be alright.

For some reason the gold started wearing down at that corner (left side) of the Cutie Moon Rod, revealing white!

I really don't know how that happened, so that's another piece ruined!! You can't see the flaws before unpacking as they are in opaque bags. Maybe you will have better luck!

Set 2 includes Sailor Jupiter and Venus' Transformation Wands, Sailor Moon's Heart Moon Rod and Moon Kaleidoscope. They were released in Feb 2015.

Venus and Jupiter's wands are similarly made to Mars and Mercury's except the bottles are filled with coloured sand.

Again, the caps are glued shut. I noticed the goldtone on the symbols tend to scuff and are a bit patchy.

These are cute.

Back view.

Heart Moon Rod (Spiral Heart Moon Rod).

A size comparison.

The translucent pink wings can be moved a little bit manually. The 'buttons' don't actually press.

The kaleidoscope effect part is made of prism stickers sealed behind the plastic.

Set 3 includes Sailor Neptune, Uranus and Pluto's Lip Rods and Sailor Chibimoon's Pink Moon Stick. They were released in April 2015.

I prefer they include Saturn! Apologies to Chibiusa's fans but yeah give me Saturn anytime.

Obviously this set would appear more coordinated if it was all the outer senshis, but I guess Chibiusa is more popular than Saturn? Or Saturn's lip rod is just too obscure it doesn't deserve a release?
So will there be a Saturn wand after all, since the set is incomplete?

Back view.

I like the planets they are nice, fat and shiny. Sorry I separated Neptune and Uranus lol. Pluto's wand is the silver one. Some fan-made cosplay Pluto wands are painted purple or gray, possibly due to the anime.

This set has no major problems except for this FINGERPRINT on the glaze! Someone at the factory didn't wear gloves hmm?

The lipstick is made entirely of plastic. It retracts, but is a bit stiff and wobbly.

Chibimoon's Pink Moon Stick is okay, but pales in comparison to Sailor Moon's.

 

Very tempted to get the compacts now! I do not have space for the entire wands set so I only put the Sailor Moon ones up.

In conclusion, the pros are: they are affordable and cute, and for someone who wants a wand set in a good display size. The cons are: the quality is lacking, and a serious collector may not like the cheap plastic material and accents.

DIGITAL STAMPS - HALLOWEEN CLASSIC MONSTERS RELEASE

Here are the latest spook-tacular digital stamps release for Halloween and classic monsters fans! I've been quite productive lately!

"Bride of Frankenstein"
9 inches height, this digi stamp listing also includes a no-lightning background as a bonus!
She is available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/473878279/

"Dracula Party"
6.5 inches height. A friendly vampire, like... Count Duckula maybe?
He is available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/460569772/

"Mummy Trick or Treat"
6.5 inches height. "Gimme your candy..." it moans.
It is available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/475829173/

"Frankenstein Cheers"
8.5 inches height. Naturally Frankenstein came about after I drew Bride of Frankenstein, he'd rather chill out.
He is available here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/476042267/

 

FREE DIGI STAMP - PUPPY ON CUSHION

Free digi stamp 'Puppy on Cushion'!
Please join the Lemon Shortbread Facebook Group to get the latest updates on freebies and to download!

Or,

Download it here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B91RHpzGLjXoUGVSeHh1TFBPVzg/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-iYajRm8lHyOwsbqZjb21xQ

4.1 inches height, 300dpi jpg format.

- For personal use only.
- Commercial use or for sale is not allowed.
- Watermark is not on the actual image.
- Please credit/ link if you are using it.
- Please do not share image without the watermark on it.- If your friends like it, please ask them to join the Lemon Shortbread Facebook group or direct them to this blogpost so they can read the Terms & Conditions.
- Freebie is available for an unlimited time, but just in case it is removed, please do not freely share/ distribute the files.

ONLINE SHOPPING DEALS, CASHBACK AND MORE WITH SHOPBACK!

Online Shopping

Ah yes the convenience of the internet!! Not only is e-shopping made cheaper, more time saving, and anything (well *almost* anything) can be purchased at the click of a button, now there are sites that provide $$$ back whenever you shop at major online retailers!! Wait... usually I only get cashback for in-person local transactions via my Mastercard? Or usually I hunt down coupons the old fashioned way for savings.

I found out about ShopBack Singapore and here is my review! As mentioned above, this is a local site that provides cashback while you are shopping online. The best thing is they include international marketplaces!

If you like shopping online I'm sure you use at least one of these:
- EBAY!! (US Ebay ftw)
- Taobao
- Aliexpress
- Fairprice online
- Groupon
- Expedia
- Zuji
- Lazada
- ASOS
- Zalora
- Uber
- Foodpanda
- Cathay Cineplex
- Agoda
- Reebonz
- Hotels.com
- Jetstar
.... just to name a few. They have hundreds more if you look under their categories.

SHORT TUTORIAL:

Simple instructions: https://www.shopback.sg/how-it-works

How to use Shopback:
- Set up a free account
- Verify your e-mail account and set up your account details.

Before shopping, remember to:
- Turn off ad-blocker if you have installed the add-on on your browser.
- Make sure your browser allows cookies: use Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer
- Clear the cache from your browser.

The process:
- While logged in, click on the shopping links and copy coupon codes (if any) via the Shopback site, you should read the Terms and Conditions as each vendor has different rules.
- You must shop WITHIN the new tab that has opened.
- Avoid clicking on other links after this new tab, or Shopback will not be able to track your cookies. The last link you should click is Shopback's tab.
- Shop away! Apply coupon (if any) and check out with payment.
- Wait up to 48 hours for the vendor to process. Don't panic yet if you don't see anything reflected in your account, just be patient.
- If successful, your account in Shopback should reflect the cashback under 'My Cashback'.
- They allow you to cashout for $10 and above, that's it!

Read the full info in their Help Center if you run into any problems.

Official video tutorial.

If you are unsure, make a small purchase first and wait 48 hours to check if you did it right!

HOW TO USE ON EBAY:

So the first thing I tried was Ebay. Find the Ebay's page on Shopback. Currently they offer 1% cashback.

Their terms and conditions, it doesn't apply to certain categories.

Wait for it to load and a new tab will appear.

The Ebay address should read with an affiliate link on the back. I did not purchase from "my eBay" where I saved my favourites list. Not too sure if cashback would work here (maybe it might).

Don't click on the eBay logo home button on the left, the affiliate link disappears and goes to Ebay.com which means it lost its tracking. If you did that, start over again from Shopback.

Anyhow I used the default search bar to play safe.

Ah yes...
Found the listing, checked out with payment as usual.

Nothing is reflected on my Shopback at first so I waited 2 days and there it is. I got back 37 cents, and it will be redeemable in 58 days, keep accumulating and withdraw after it hits the $10 threshold.

The extra $5 is a bonus when you sign up and make your first purchase. To receive it, check your email, they should send another email after verification to prompt you to complete your profile and account. The bonus will be credited after 48 hours.

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They have a Cashback Buddy add-on for Chrome & Safari browsers for easy access so you can tell if the cashback is activated/ available on the shopping site. I will install that.

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Just want to make a quick mention about China's equivalent of Ebay -
TAOBAO
I used to pay a local 3rd party agent who tacked on freight and commission as I couldn't set up an Alipay account, but it looks like Taobao has now allowed Singapore & Malaysia accounts so you can create your own Taobao and Alipay accounts, the site is in Chinese by the way. So I'm taking it that I get savings on commish + shipping + cashback, which is great.




Part 2 video is instruction on how to set up Alipay, even if you are not using Shopback it is still informative. I will give this a try if anything catches my eye there. The videos come in 5 parts so please view them for the complete tutorial.

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I use AliExpress for purchasing packing supplies, but this would only work for new accounts set up after 27 July 2016. Currently they are offering 5% cashback!
Click here to save with an Aliexpress coupon.

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One of the highest cashbackers would be Lazada.sg: they offer 2%-12% cashback depending on what you buy. Some of their popular products are listed on Shopback too.
You can grab a Lazada coupon here.

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Lastly, check out their site at the upcoming 99 Cashback Day launching on 1 Sept 2016 for their 2nd anniversary!

Shopaholics, give it a try! It's a smarter way to shop.

P.S. Appreciate it if you would use this referral link:
https://www.shopback.sg/?raf=yKL7mN
if you want to sign up for Shopback! You can invite your friends for similar rewards after that, thank you so much and thanks for reading!