A few minutes ago I've sent off all the surveys! The smoke test (a small % of backers get the survey early to test if things go well) showed one hiccup with the local pickup but it should all be good now! In this update a short summary of things to keep in mind.
What to expect
In your mail you will receive an email with an url to my survey. Follow all the steps, add any items you might missed out on, fill in your address and hit 'place order'. This will make sure your survey is finished and I will receive a tally of all chosen enamel pin designs, which I need to place an order for all the enamel pin designs. Around the time the enamel pins are done with their production I will write another update I am about to lock and charge the survey. This means the choices you've made will be permanent and means you will pay the missing amount. This amount is extra added add-on's, shipping (and possible tariff duty fees) and any missing initial payments.
When the enamel pins are being sent my way (this will be late May early June) I will update again and lock the addresses. Until that update your got all the time to change your address if need be due to a move for instance. But no worries, I will write an update for that before starting fulfillment.
PLEASE fill in your survey as soon as you possibly can! I will need these choices to place an order. I usually wait until 80% is filled in to have an accurate overview.
For those that qualify for Early Amphibian sticker, Returning Amphibian sticker, Pin banner sticker and/or Cross collab freebie, you will find those items in your survey basket already set up!
Combined shipping -> "Local Pickup"
For those who backed both Birds of North America and Frogtastic Frogs you qualify for combined shipping if you want to. You will pay the shipping costs at Birds of North America but these won't be paid in Frogtastic Frogs #2. In my survey you will fill in your address as otherwise except for your country you choose 'Local Pickup'. I URGE you to fill in the rest of your address this due to administrative paperwork on my end. Important notice: this is only available if backed both of our projects. We will check if you qualify for this.
Also good to know is that actual local pickup (at cons or otherwise) is NOT possible.
Only backed Frogtastic Frogs If you only backed Frogtastic Frogs, you can ignore this information and carry on like usual for surveys and fill in your shipping information so you pay the correct amount.
Pre-order shop is open
For those who missed out or have friends asking about enamel pins, the pre-order shop is open. This is a shop via Backerkit which means it's credit card only and fulfillment of these orders will be done together with the Backer pledges. (In de pre-order shop you cannot get the Early/Returning/Pin banner freebies, nor the cross collab freebie pin.)
I believe that's all the important parts, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me via Backerkit support (the 'Contact us for help' button on your pledge page). Or you can use the contact form on my website, that way you reach me immediately by email and I can help you out much easier. Please keep an eye on your email when you reach out. I usually respond within 48h to your questions.
Last Thursday the project ended and we fully funded all goals including all the stretch goals! I took some days off from the project, mostly to have a weekend off but it's back in the saddle this week!
First of all, thank you all so much for supporting the project! We'll make 22 enamel pins with all types of new frogs, toads and salamanders. Plus one collab freebie pin and mini pin set which puts the total to 26 enamel pins! Thank you again!
Some fun numbers
In total we have 293 backers who pledge for a total of 769 new enamel pins plus another 110 tadpoles mini pin set (added for the 3+ pin pledge backers plus placed as an add-on)! There are 82 enamel pins added as an add-on for previous project pins. Speaking of add-ons: 69 sticker sheets, 30 socks, 12 acrylic key chains and 16 vinyl stickers were added! That's all gonna be a fun packing session. And 249 people backed both Frogtastic Frogs #2 and Birds of North America!
What's next
The past days Backerkit has been charging the payments. So far I've seen 2 backers are still waiting to get charged and so far we have 25 failed charges. I recommend checking your card details to see if payments went through and if you can fix anything right now.
The following two weeks I'll work on setting up the survey. Via this survey you will be able to let me know which designs you want and fill in your address. For US backers you will also see in the last page how much of tariffs/duties you will be paying. (This is collected so you don't have to pay a surprise amount when the parcel arrives at your door.) In the survey you can add more items too if you wish to.
When you receive the survey it'll be send via an email. Please fill it in as soon as possible. I will use the info filled in with to order the amounts of enamel pins I need. Via the survey I will also collect the shipping costs. This means your card will be charged again at a later part for shipping costs (and possible extra added add-ons). I will post an update as an heads up before I will lock the survey (no changes possible) and charge the cards again. The address can still be changed until I start shipping!
Combined shipping, how?
For those who backed both Birds of North America and Frogtastic Frogs you qualify for combined shipping if you want to. You will pay the shipping costs at Birds of North America but these won't be paid in Frogtastic Frogs #2. Information for this will be in Frogastic Frogs #2 survey. To give a heads up, you choose Local Pickup instead of your country, same as last year. Do note: actual local pickup is not available.
Important notice: this is only available if backed both of our projects. We will check if you qualify for this.
Timeline
So in 2 weeks you can expect a survey at the earliest (maybe even a bit later). When about 80% is filled in I will place the order for the enamel pins, this will probably be around end of March. Then the production has the start which will probably take 1-2 months due to the amount of pins. When I receive the shipping notice I will update and lock and charge the cards of the survey. If all goes well I assume it'll be late May to mid June when I can start fulfillment.
That's it for now! I ask you to wait for the survey and fill it in as soon as possible and in the meantime I'll send an update when I got something fun to show!
Thank you all once again, we did it! Even unlocked the last two axolotls despite me offering to pay them half out of pocket. The collection and family will be complete!
As always if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask them.
Have a fogtastic week everyone! - Appel
P.S. I will also open a pre-order store via Backerkit in these two weeks for those who missed out on the project.
The last 5 hours are happening and we're super close to unlocking the first two axolotls! (EDIT: while writing the update we just crossed the €9000 mark with a little bit!)
Since I love the designs myself and I kinda want to keep the collection and the axolotl family complete, I'll unlock and pay the last two axolotls out of my own pocket if we reach a comfy €9500-ish. Around that ballpark. Personally the wild axolotl variant is my favourite so I kinda want to make them regardless.
All the axolotl variants!
After the project ends I will set up a pre-order shop for those who missed the deadline. May this also help with making sure the last two axolotls are unlocked!
Cross collab freebie pins
Don't forget Roundbirbart and I offer combined shipping if you back us both! Info for this will be in the survey of Frogtastic Frogs 2. And if you back us both you also qualify for these two freebie pins shown above!
Also available as an add-on is this pre-order for Desert rain frog socks! If I can quote some friends and followers: the socks I made are super comfy, so get some comfy grumpy frog socks for 2026! And for those who love stickers I've added the two from the summer project and all designs of the amphibians will be available on a sticker sheet as well. So far 51 backers ordered sticker sheets, happy we all love them!
What a fun experience and adventure this Pintopia has been once again. Curious to see where we'll end up at with the finish line!
We've entering the last few days and there are still some amphibians to unlock from the stretch goals! That said we've unlocked a massive pile of 18 amphibians!! Including the three big pins!
All the amphibians made for this project. Plus the collab pin!
Really curious to see which ones will be the favourite this time. Last Frogtastic Frogs project it was, by far, the Milk frog and Black rain frog! If I have to take a guess I'm thinking of the Japanese common toad and the Colorado river toad this time. But it's always a surprise to see which ones are loved the most.
All 4 axolotls are left to unlock!
In total the 4 axolotls are left, and I really hope we can get to them. My personal favourite are the wild and melanoid ones!
All that's left to do for me is wait until the project officially ended. After that point you can start expecting the receive a survey to let me know your pin choices, address and if you are opting in for the combined shipping. But that survey won't arrive until March at the earliest. But it's always good to have a little heads up. Or my 'i wanna know!!'-brain does at least.
That's it again for now. Below you can find an overview of what you can expect and do still. Hope your mailbox isn't too overwhelmed with emails, have a good week!
- Appel
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Backing several campaigns in a short time can be a bit confusing so here's a little overview for Frogtastic Frogs 2!
• All designs are unlocked, except the stretch goals above. Totaling in 18 amphibians to choose from as of right now. (The big pins will cost the same as the other enamel pins: €12 no extra costs.)
• If you back both Frogtastic Frogs 2 and Birds of North America you will get the researcher collab pins of both of us added for free. One frog, one bird!
• Birds of North America and Frogtastic Frogs 2 are both very local so we are offering combined shipping! Perfect for those who wish to push down the expenses a bit. Info about this in the survey of Frogtastic Frogs 2.
• For US backers tariffs are calculated and added during the survey. At this point enamel pins made in China are 35% tariff so keep this in mind. We collect the tariffs so you don't have to expect any extra expenses when you receive the parcel this summer.
• Backers of pledge levels 3 pins or more get a free new mini pin set of 3 tadpoles! This mini pin set is also available as an add-on for the regular price of €12.
• We're part of Pin Safari which means if you back 3+ projects in Pin Safari you will get a free polaroid vinyl sticker of those backed projects added for free. Good to know: Birds of North America is part of that too!
• Previous Frogtastic Frogs 1 and Poison dart frog & Salamander enamel pins are all available as add-ons! So you can make your collection complete while backing this project.
It's been a while since I wrote an update. I had to fix some other deadlines (taxes for one.. yuck) and I had my birthday come up! But now I'm back on the Frogtastic Frogs 2 train and I wanted to share the artworks for the big pins!
Giant Salamander, American bull frog and Cane toad
We've unlocked 2 already and are getting closer to unlocking the Cane toad but it's a real rollercoaster ride at the moment, ahaha. I do hope we can unlock it and the four Axolotl designs after it!
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Backing several campaigns in a short time can be a bit confusing so here's a little overview for Frogtastic Frogs 2!
• All designs are unlocked, except the stretch goals above. Totaling in 17 amphibians to choose from as of right now. (The big pins will cost the same as the other enamel pins: €12 no extra costs.)
• If you back both Frogtastic Frogs 2 and Birds of North America you will get the researcher collab pins of both of us added for free. One frog, one bird!
• Birds of North America and Frogtastic Frogs 2 are both very local so we are offering combined shipping! Perfect for those who wish to push down the expenses a bit. Info about this in the survey of Frogtastic Frogs 2.
• For US backers tariffs are calculated and added during the survey. At this point enamel pins made in China are 35% tariff so keep this in mind. We collect the tariffs so you don't have to expect any extra expenses when you receive the parcel this summer.
• Backers of pledge levels 3 pins or more get a free new mini pin set of 3 tadpoles! This mini pin set is also available as an add-on for the regular price of €12.
• We're part of Pin Safari which means if you back 3+ projects in Pin Safari you will get a free polaroid vinyl sticker of those backed projects added for free. Good to know: Birds of North America is part of that too!
• Previous Frogtastic Frogs 1 and Poison dart frog & Salamander enamel pins are all available as add-ons! So you can make your collection complete while backing this project.
That's it for now! Hope you all had a nice start to February, I know I did I got birthday cake!
