Bee Stamps

Did you know that Honey Bees are assigned jobs based on their age? For instance, for the worker bee:
1-2 days old: spend their time cleaning cells, starting with the one they were born in, and keeping the brood warm.

3-5 days old: they feed older larvae

6-11 days old: they feed the youngest larvae

12-17 days old: they produce wax, build combs, carry food, and perform undertaker duties

18-21 days old: they perform guard duty, protecting the hive entrance

22 days on until their death at around 40-45 days: they fly from the hive collecting pollen, nectar, water, pollinating plants, etc.

Know more about them here.

This one here below is a cover from a friend showing different species of bees on stamps from Slovenia. I hope I can get more bee stamps for my next post.

If you have any bee stamps to share let me know and I'll be very glad to post them here. 'Till next time!

You might also want to check out our insect stamps here: Insect Stamps. And valentine stamps here: Kisses and Hugs.

Got a Mail Today from an Online Stamp Dealer

Hello there! It has been a while since the last time I posted. I know I’m getting boring now. L But please don’t hate me Im just a victim here. I have been very busy the past few weeks with work, night outs, outdoors, reading Game of Thrones books, movies (oh I love horror movies), farming (I have a ranch at Farmvile)…see I have a very active social life.  

So what’s up with today? I got a mail! I have been waiting for this mail for 3 bloody weeks already. I almost lost hope forgetting it’s a snail mail by the way. The mail was from an online stamp dealer based in Las Vegas.  I bought a few Lots of used stamps mostly coming from Asia, Africa, and some from Oceania.

You can also find stamp for sale here:

I realized that buying used stamps by lots online is way cheaper that making a swap. But of course making swap with other stamp collectors is more social and fun.

I carefully picked those lots that have my interests. Mostly stamp themes like flowers, fishes,  birds, mushrooms, animals, plants, transportation, and blah blah etc. :D Will be categorizing later by themes and hopefully I can make another post this week featuring some of these very cool stamps.

This is it for now! Will be back again very soon with another post about my stamp collection. See ya!

Let us know your say about buying stamps online versus stamp swap or trade! We would love to see your comments below.

If you have wonderful stamps, covers, and FDCs you wanted to share on this blog just let us know through our Facebook page so we can have a look.

You might also want to check out our insect stamps here: Insect Stamps. And valentine stamps here: Kisses and Hugs.

Year of the Snake 2013 Stamps II

Hello friends. Sorry if I have been away so long. I know there are few collectors who are really waiting to get another compilation of snake stamps 2013 from different countries. This time Im showing snake stamps from Philippines, Turks and Caicos, Papua New Guinea, Togo, Antigua and Barbuda.

Philippines

I dont want to offend anybody but I really think Philippines stamps have poor designs. I'm a person who loves art and somehow most of the Philippine stamps really disappoints me. Im so affected because Im a Filipino and I know I have all the reasons why I should be proud of my own.

I dont know what's the reason of choosing yellow as a background if it has something to do with feng shui or snakes but I think it's kinda feeble.  Each stamp has a flamboyant snake with different rainbow colors. Yet, it is quite irritating to look at and the white space makes it looks empty.

images from: http://www.phlpost.gov.ph/web/new-year-2013-year-of-the-snake/

Papua New Guinea

I don't really have much to say about this snake stamp from Papua New Guinea. All I know is that it was issued as early as June 18, 2012. Please correct if I'm wrong.























 image from http://siobhanmcdevitt.com/portfolio/year-of-the-snake/

Antigua and Barbuda 

This is one of my favorite 2013 year of the snake stamps. This stamp from Antigua looks so simple, neat, and attractive. The white space gives emphases to the snake. It looks incomplex yet clean.  It's date of issue is unknown to me yet.

 image from http://siobhanmcdevitt.com/portfolio/year-of-the-snake/

More 2013 year of the snake stamps here:

Turks and Caicos

The snake stamp from Turks and Caicos is also a good one. Using a real snake image on the stamps make the stamps look more attractive and realistic. 

image from http://siobhanmcdevitt.com/portfolio/year-of-the-snake/

Togo

Here's another one from Togo.  I dont know what to say with these stamps. They look so dull to me.

image from http://siobhanmcdevitt.com/portfolio/year-of-the-snake/
 
Let us know your say about the 2013 snakes stamps! We would love to see your comments below.

If you have wonderful stamps, covers, and FDCs you wanted to share on this blog just let us know through our Facebook page so we can have a look.

You might also want to check out our insect stamps here: Insect Stamps. And valentine stamps here: Kisses and Hugs.

2013 Year of the Snake Stamps

Happy new year fellow collectors! What are you planning this year? More travel? More stamp exchanges? Well whatever it is I suggest you put it into writing. I bought myself a planner to remind me of everything I planned to do and achieve this year. And a pair of glasses for a crystal clear vision of what I wanted to be this year. LOL. I was born on the year of Earth Snake and I can feel in my snake skin that this year will be better than the last. These chinks are quite serious with their chinese zodiac thingies you know.

And talking about year of the water snake which will officially start this February 10 on Chinese calendar,  post offices worlwide are now releasing snake stamps to commemorate 2013 as Year of the Snake. I dont have any of these stamps yet but I found some on numerous post offices websites that are worthy of sharing.

New Zealand 2013 Snake Stamps. NZ post office website are now accepting pre-orders. Images are taken from http://stamps.nzpost.co.nz

You might also find more 2013 year of the snake on this site:

Canada 2013 Snake Stamps. The stamps were designed by Joe Gault and Avi Dunkelman of MIX Design Group and features the calligraphy of Tan Chao Chang. Date of issue will be this 8th of january.

About the stamps:

•     Incorporating the auspicious colours of red and gold, the stamp features a lavishly textured red water snake.

•     Detailed sculpted embossing gives the snake a stunning third dimension.

•     A clear foil layer on the background elements of the stamp evokes shimmering water.

•     The upper left selvedge features the Chinese characters for “the Year of the Snake” and pictographs of the first six signs in the traditional Chinese zodiac.

Images and info are taken from http://www.canadapost.ca

Liechtenstein 2013 Snake Stamps. This year too will see the continuation of the “Chinese Signs of the Zodiac” series, an attractive expression of the friendly relations between the Principality of Liechtenstein and the People’s Republic of China.


Image taken from http://www.philatelie.li

Hong Kong 2013 Snake Stamps."Year of the Snake" is the second special stamp issue of the fourth Lunar New Year Animal Series. Agile and elegant, the snake has always had a special place in artistic expressions. In this issue, the beauty of this fantastic reptile is represented using four different Chinese folk arts. Adding to the traditional ambiance of the New Year is a silk stamp sheetlet, which also makes a stylish gift for family and friends.

Image taken from http://www.hongkongpoststamps.hk

 If you have wonderful stamps, covers, and FDCs you wanted to share on this blog just let us know through our Facebook page so we can have a look.

You might also want to check out our insect stamps here: Insect Stamps. And valentine stamps here: Kisses and Hugs.

Dogs Stamps

Dogs are man's best friend and this is known to all dog lovers. They are probably the friendliest and most playful creatures on earth. They are good companions and very loyal. I really love dogs and for me they're not just pets, they're friends. And because I love these cute friends of mine, Im posting few of my dog stamps on this blog!

New Zealand's Health stamps on 1982 picture dogs of 3 kinds (Labrador, Border Collie, and Cocker Spaniel). Unfortunately, I got only 2 out of 3. 2 cents of the stamp's value goes to NZ's health services.

Le chiot is a French phrase for "the puppy". On 2006 France has issued a set of 4 pieces stamps entitled Young Animals. The set contains the puppy, the kitten, the ponny, and the lamb. I got only the puppy though.

More dog stamps here:

Beagles! They reminded me of Shoeshine from the 2007 movie Underdog based on an American TV series by W. Watts Biggers. Shoeshine is a beagle who can fly and has super canine strength! Anyways, the post office of Benin issued a set of 7 stamps of dogs on August 23, 1995. The dogs featured are: German Shepherd, Beagle, Great Dane, Boxer, Pointer, Fox Terrier, and Schnauzer. I got only 4. :( You can see the stamps on Scott Catalogue: Benin #741-747.

Just recently I came across to one of my facebook friend's cover collection. This cover is owned by Boben John Emanuel from India.Boben also got a good collection of insect stamps in covers which we will be sharing on our next post.

This is Trixie. She is a 5-month old Labrador Retriever. Trixie has been with our family ever since she was little. We used to have her inside the house 'till she grew so fast that we can no longer manage having a four-legged giant running inside the house. She broke some vases, dvds, and even tore one of my favorite shirts but we don't mind because we lover her. Without Trixie, our home will never be as fun as what it is now.

If you have wonderful stamps, covers, and FDCs you wanted to share on this blog just let us know through our Facebook page so we can have a look.

You might also want to check out our insect stamps here: Insect Stamps. And valentine stamps here: Kisses and Hugs.

Hobby: Stamp Collecting

I was just a kid when I started collecting stamps. I was in our house’s stockroom when I found a bunch of old mails piled in a divider. Most were from 1980’s addressed to my aunt from our relatives living in the US.  The very first thing I noticed was those stickers on the back of the mails. There were animals, plants, flowers, planes, valentines, insects,some faces of people I don’t know, and many more. I thought they were very nice so I took all the mail envelopes and left all the letters (my bad). And so I gathered all the envelopes and cut all the stamps and pasted them in a notebook (shame on me).  Yes I never told anyone about it because I knew I was being weird.

But of course I was just 13 back then and I have never thought such a hobby exists. Now that I’m 23, I have about 2,600 postage stamps in my collection (yes I counted them piece by piece), 20 first day covers, and at least 50 assorted postcards from different countries. These numbers might be very few for big time stamp collectors and I know I still have a long way to go. 

For those who wanted to get into stamp collecting and those who have just got started, I have 2 tips for you:

•  Know what you want. There are too many stamps out there and you just can’t have them all. Trying to collect every single postage stamp in this planet might just upset you. Instead, try to focus on themes that you like most; plants, animals, cartoons, movies, presidents, kings and queens, vintage stamps, butterflies, etc. You’ll find your album packed with interesting stamps in no time.

• Make connections.  You can’t enjoy a hobby without sharing it with those who have same interest with yours. Visit your local post office and ask for philatelic groups or clubs present in your community. You may also find stamp collectors in social networking sites like Facebook and Yahoo Groups. It is easier to collect, exchange, and purchase stamps when you know you’re flying with those of the same feathers.

These were the 2 things I did when I started with my hobby and I know it will work fine on you too. I hope you find my story interesting and my tips helpful. You can also add me in facebook if you want. See you there! Adios amigos!

 *All stamp images are owned by Christian Martin Siclot.