Signature Items

[+scavok]

I make my own metal geocoins. Not quite minted quality but people seem to like the hand made items.

 

Yes, they are lead (its all I can manage to melt), but they are covered in rustoleum and then clear coated to keep from handling problems.

[+stepshep]

I was wondering if I could use this as a Magnet, I've already made some up but have yet placed one.

 

Here: LINK

[+QuesterMark]

I've seen a few cool signature items in caches. I was just wondering what kinds of signature items everyone has? Does your sig item correspond with your user name? Or does it have some other meaning?

I leave a small wooden disk with my handcarved stamp on one side and a Stampin Up! compass rose stamp on the other.

 

http://occamm.googlepages.com/0ccam%27ssignatureitems

[+QuesterMark]

I dont want to upset anyone here, but I think leaving a business card or a signature item (unless its cool) is a cop out to leaving something tradeable. Keychains that are "YOU" or an item some one might actually enjoy are cool, but I usually just sign the log anyways. Who wants to trade a fake business card? I mean if I found a cache that listed all this fun, cool, neat things in it for trading, and all I found were peoples GC "business cards" I would feel ripped off in a way cause I would bring something of equal fun, cool or neatness. Thats why I just sign the log. I enjoy the hunt more than the treasure anyways. But thats MHO!!

FWIW, I don't treat my sig item as a tradeable thing. If I trade, then I really trade..AND leave a sig item. If I don't trade, and a sig item will fit, I'll leave it. No matter WHAT, though, I sign the log.

[+Sysiphus]

I don't as of yet have a sig item, but once I visit japan later this year, I may start leaving 1 yen coins (value around a penny) in caches in america, of course, I might have to try and find a bunch of state quarters and use those when I'm over there.

Just had that same thought myself, but with the 5 yen coin. 5 in Japanese is "Go", and I was told that the word "go-yen" in Japanese translates to "good luck"!

[grifta67]

I've decided to go with a nice guitar pick, that I star and date. They have a cute little turtle on them, so some people may find them fun.

[+maggieszoo]

I leave wooden nickels that I make by gluing a cardstock disk with caching name, city, state, year, and a pic of my Clydesdale. I trade them for other sig items, but if there is something in the cache I want, I trade something better for it. I have taken cachers calling cards, especially if it was from a cacher that I know to be not caching anymore or a cacher that I've met. I also have a really nice rubber lizard collection. There are a couple of cachers here that leave lizards as a sig item. My husband has collected up a nice bunch of plastic firemen that one cacher south of us and one east of us leaves.

[+parker313]

I love this topic! What amazing ideas...

 

Thanks!

--Kristin

Edited July 1, 2006 by parker313

[+mikeylou]

I've been considering creating a patch (like a girl scout one) to leave, but I'm really not very good coming up with a design.

[+Trizumi]

I just finished a signature card:

 

 

The hardest part of this was trying to figure out how to post a picture to the forum. I guess I'll always be a newbie in one way or another.

Edited July 4, 2006 by Trizumi

[+Whistlen]

I hand stamp my own brass discs. Go to GCV03H and look at the picture gallery. You'll see one I stamped out for a gal who made my hide her 500th so I stamped out a disc just for her. Most of mine simply say FOUND BY WHISTLEN with a .

[+hurley_108]

I made my own fake fortune cookie fortunes. The "fortune" is "The numbers are bad," and the lottery numbers are 4 8 15 16 23 42.

[+miss_butterfly]

This is my calling card, it's made of out tracing paper:

 

 

This is my Signature Item that I hand make:

 

 

Both of which I leave in every non-micro cache, and then for every 10 cache I find, I put my handmade "book thong" as well:

 

[+Mystery Ink]

These are what I make and leave in caches.

[57chevy]

This is my calling card, it's made of out tracing paper:

 

Snip...

 

This is my Signature Item that I hand make: Snip...

 

Both of which I leave in every non-micro cache, and then for every 10 cache I find, I put my handmade "book thong" as well: Snip...

 

 

These are Outstanding!!!! I'd trade for these for sure. Very Nice.

My trade items are on page 2 of this thread, if you'd like to actually trade. =o)

Edited July 8, 2006 by 57chevy

[57chevy]

Snip....

These are what I make and leave in caches.

Same with these, Awesome! Definitely a great trade Item!

[+miss_butterfly]

This is my calling card, it's made of out tracing paper:

 

Snip...

 

This is my Signature Item that I hand make: Snip...

 

Both of which I leave in every non-micro cache, and then for every 10 cache I find, I put my handmade "book thong" as well: Snip...

 

 

These are Outstanding!!!! I'd trade for these for sure. Very Nice.

My trade items are on page 2 of this thread, if you'd like to actually trade. =o)

 

Thank you

 

would love to trade with you although finding a common cache should be interesting....

[+Mystery Ink]

Snip....

These are what I make and leave in caches.

Same with these, Awesome! Definitely a great trade Item!

Hey thanks for the compliment 57chevy.

[wheetree]

Thanks, prolly a good idea to laminate them... but how? Laminating machines are expensive... arent they?

Try clear contact paper. Doesn't hold up as long as actual lamination, but should be fine for this purpose. I've "laminated" lots of maps with it.

[wheetree]

 

I leave these in all caches (1 for a micro, 2 for a small, etc.):

 

I wondered who these [skulls] were from. I find them EVERYWHERE.

Now I know.

 

Edit: remove img

Edited July 10, 2006 by wheetree

[+Pink Paisley]

In caches big enough I leave two 35mm film canisters, one with a small collection of novelty rubbers (erasers to you Americans) and one containing a carrier bag (they just fit) for CITO use with a sticker on it asking the taker to refill and reuse.

 

PP

[+Trail Trekkies]

I'm a newbie and am just learning the game. I have actually done way more researching than geocaching but I am hoping to get out on the trails a lot more once my new GPS comes...

 

Anyway, I was in the dollar store the other day and saw some really great penlite flashlights and pocket knives that would be really easy to engrave my member name on them. Of course it would be a pretty amateurish engraving job but I was thinking that these could be pretty useful items to keep in a backpack.

 

Your thoughts on these items would be appreciated.

 

[+TheCacheFather]

I'm a newbie and am just learning the game. I have actually done way more researching than geocaching but I am hoping to get out on the trails a lot more once my new GPS comes...

 

Anyway, I was in the dollar store the other day and saw some really great penlite flashlights and pocket knives that would be really easy to engrave my member name on them. Of course it would be a pretty amateurish engraving job but I was thinking that these could be pretty useful items to keep in a backpack.

 

Your thoughts on these items would be appreciated.

 

Welcome to the addiction we all call Geocaching

 

The penlights sound good, but I have some reservation about the pocket knives, I would consider a knife non kid friendly and we all know how kids like to get their hands on stuff, this might not be the wisest choice to put into a cache.

 

Happy Caching

[+Trail Trekkies]

Thanks for the insight into the pocket knives. It's been a long time since I had a youngster around and I guess I just didn't think. Sure wouldn't want anyone to get hurt.

[+hiikaash]

I sometimes leave a token from a place or loose change

[+GSVNoFixedAbode]

From an older thread but I'm still (slowly) making them

[+QuesterMark]

From an older thread but I'm still (slowly) making them

 

Oh wow. Those are GREAT!

[+GSVNoFixedAbode]

And not hard to make either: Simple instructions

[MouseFart]

I turn hand made deer antler pens on my lathe as an income hobby. I have a huge box full of 2-3 inch tine tips that I have saved for some crazy reason. I just recently started making key rings by drilling and screwing an eye hook into the cut end of a tine, then adding a circular key ring. I have found that from some of the responses left by finders who took one, that they were pleased with this, thus my new trade item to leave in cache sites.

[panther-cacher]

I had the same question when I started. I thought of a sig. card, basically a home made (on the computer) business card. I did not think this was for trading, so I wanted an item. I wanted something related to my account name, but could not find anything. I ended up getting small flashlites, and fixed my logo / name on them. You can see it, and all sorts of other dignature items at the following link:

Michigan geocachers org.

http://sigitemdb.mi-geocaching.org/

[+TEAM 360]

Here it is, some Wild West history to go:

 

 

And here's the proof:

 

 

The actual gunfight DID take place in the Corral and also out into the street (passing thru the spot where the wall and the plaque now stands), the sand was procured from INSIDE the O.K. Corral, so there are absolutely no questions about its authenticity.

[+Bear Paughs]

Here it is, some Wild West history to go:

 

 

That is probably the coolest sig item I've ever seen. I would love to find that in a cache!

[+laughingcat]

I don't as of yet have a sig item, but once I visit japan later this year, I may start leaving 1 yen coins (value around a penny) in caches in america, of course, I might have to try and find a bunch of state quarters and use those when I'm over there.

Just had that same thought myself, but with the 5 yen coin. 5 in Japanese is "Go", and I was told that the word "go-yen" in Japanese translates to "good luck"!

 

well then, better is to put that on a card with the coin, so all the rest of us would know it for sure! That'd be cool. Othewise, I'd think Joy, just another foriegn coin. Have a few already hubby brought back from overseas so who needs more? But that with a card explaining it, I'd pick up. Generally I don't take anything.

[+laughingcat]

I turn hand made deer antler pens on my lathe as an income hobby. I have a huge box full of 2-3 inch tine tips that I have saved for some crazy reason. I just recently started making key rings by drilling and screwing an eye hook into the cut end of a tine, then adding a circular key ring. I have found that from some of the responses left by finders who took one, that they were pleased with this, thus my new trade item to leave in cache sites.

yea! that's cool. Have not seen one yet but looking forward to it!

[+LDove]

Here is what we leave. We make sure to put each item in a baggie since we have seen many nice items especially signature cards soaking wet and ruined when left in a cache. I get the bags at the local hobby store and put our label on the inside of the bag. The pins are for on hats or bags, whatever and have the geocaching logo in beads - very inexpensive and fun to make. The GB Packer and USA antenna flags are also fast and easy to make (used dental rubberbands to hold the top and then tighten over the antenna by sliding up). Hope people like them. The doves I got from a company on line and paid .43 a piece for them which I thought was a great deal. Most lapel pins are more expensive (they are our favorite items to find too).

 

[+LDove]

Bump, these are some great ideas and I would like to see some more. Anybody else?

Edited July 29, 2006 by lonesumdove

[+LCAS-271]

I was picking up some groceries the other day and found some small 1st Aid kits for around 90 cents apiece. They're about 4"x4" and are made by Johnson and Johnson. If I remember right they had a couple of cleaning wipes and an assortment of adhesive bandages. My idea was to pick up a couple dozen and print out a label for them and leave them in regular caches.

 

Any ideas on whether or not someone would pick them up?

[+TheCacheFather]

I was picking up some groceries the other day and found some small 1st Aid kits for around 90 cents apiece. They're about 4"x4" and are made by Johnson and Johnson. If I remember right they had a couple of cleaning wipes and an assortment of adhesive bandages. My idea was to pick up a couple dozen and print out a label for them and leave them in regular caches.

 

Any ideas on whether or not someone would pick them up?

I've seen the same thing and each time the first thing I've thought of is SWAG and how big the cache needs to be for it to go into. I'll probably be picking some up myself to throw in my bag

[+LDove]

If you go to your nearby hobby store, you can get bags that are 2x3 inches. I put a bandaid, paperclip, towelette, rubberband and a safety pin in each one (I am sure there are other things you could add, these are just a few I thought of). The items I got to put in were only pennies since I got them at the dollar store. I then put our name label on the bag and we had mini emergency packs to leave for swag. My nursing student daughter now leaves these because they are cheap to make. These are fun to do and are a good project for the kids for the summer too - they can help "stuff" the bags.

Edited July 29, 2006 by lonesumdove

[+GreyingJay]

One of my hobbies (well, former hobbies, back when I had TIME!) was making chainmail, so I was thinking of putting together a number of small patches of chainmail (standard 4-in-1 European pattern, for any who are into this). It's pretty time consuming, though.

 

Other than that... I'll think of something. It occurred to me lately that I really haven't been leaving much in the way of trades, so it would be good to have a stockpile of signature items.

[+miss_butterfly]

New sig items for me

 

Everytime i found a micro cache, i felt a bit sad that I can't leave any of my usual signature items in the cache (see somewhere up on this page), I decided to make myself some micro tokens. I used shrink plastic and permanent ink/pens. Had great fun watching them shrink in the oven (you can do it with heat gun too but when you're mass producing, it's alot easier in ovens).

 

 

The top butterfly is the original stamp. the two small ones are post-shrinking, it says on the package that it shrinks to one 7th of the original size, although the coloured butterflies (on frosted shrink plastic) seem to shrink more? It's advisable to use clear shrink plastic for just stamping, if you want to add colour to it, use the frosted ones

 

I also made original postcards for my my GeoPost Office which i stamped with waterproof ink and put permanent markers in the cache for people to write with so it's a little more resistant to getting wet.

 

 

i'm so glad all my crafting stuff which had been gathering dust thanks to geocaching are being used again!!

Edited August 2, 2006 by miss_butterfly

[+miss_butterfly]

I have now created a UK GeoPost Office bookmark, so if you creat one in the UK, please inform both Zonker&Co and myself (of course i will keep an eye on this thread as Zonker&Co has eagle eyes for new geopost offices!)

[penodr]

One of my hobbies (well, former hobbies, back when I had TIME!) was making chainmail, so I was thinking of putting together a number of small patches of chainmail (standard 4-in-1 European pattern, for any who are into this). It's pretty time consuming, though.

 

Other than that... I'll think of something. It occurred to me lately that I really haven't been leaving much in the way of trades, so it would be good to have a stockpile of signature items.

 

I am new to this Geocaching thing ( Still waiting for my Magellan 210 to show up ) and as I was reading this thread I was thinking about making small chainmaile keychains with a small tag on it. The only thing worring me is the time it takes to make them, so we shall see what I end up doing. One thing I do like is having some kind of tag for each cache, such as " 5th cache located by Penodr ".

 

Penodr

[+Fountainb]

I have little wooden signs (you can buy unfinished ones at craft stores), paint them and put some saying like "Geocaching is Fun" or Geocachers are Coordinated!" (made that up.) And I usually list our web site. If people look at it, they see our pic.

[+crunchberry]

I am also a newbie but love the ideas on this page. Specially love the frogs and bookmarks! Everyone has great items.

 

My husband and his family are from Holland - so we have a lot of mini wooden shoes. so we have been painting them and decorating them and then coating them with outdoor polyurathane for durability. They all are individually numbered and we hope to have different ones for different holidays - halloween and christmas should be fairly easy ones.

 

Well - i am having trouble figuring out how to load the picture to this. If anyone can help??

 

Crunchberry

[+Lee-2]

Our new Signature item is an Arrowhead with a eagle on it.

I used Fimo clay to make the arrowhead.

 

 

 

Anyone wanna trade sig items?

[+crunchberry]

Thank to Eagle - I might be able to put my picture up. Great arrowheads btw!

 

ok - here goes - our first batch of shoes.... And I put one in my first cache today - yipeee.....

 

 

Sorry image is so big - haven't figured that part out yet - but I got the picture up - even though its not the greatest pic.... No laughing at my craftwork either - lol..... Lots of love went into them at least..

Edited August 11, 2006 by crunchberry

[Idaho_Clovisman]

Here is what i leave when i trade,i do this for a living and i enjoy sharing them..and i only put them in appropriate caches

 

 

Edited August 11, 2006 by Idaho_Clovisman

[+crunchberry]

Those are beautiful - guess I have to start caching in Idaho!

 

Lucky Idahonians......

[+Lee-2]

Thank to Eagle - I might be able to put my picture up. Great arrowheads btw!

 

ok - here goes - our first batch of shoes.... And I put one in my first cache today - yipeee.....

 

 

Sorry image is so big - haven't figured that part out yet - but I got the picture up - even though its not the greatest pic.... No laughing at my craftwork either - lol..... Lots of love went into them at least..

 

Awesome shoes! Your artwork is beautiful.

 

Eagle-2