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signature swag


Tyger4

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lately we have been toying with the idea of starting to leave signature swag. i found some cow keychains online that have caught my eye and i was wondering this: is it enough to leave the item in each cache as it is, or should it have our name and location printed on/attatched to it to be considered "signature" swag?

I think it is much nicer when you put them in a bag with your name on it. Then we know who it came from - otherwise I would think it was just another keychain! When we put our sig items in those 2x3" bags you get from any craft store, we put our stickers on the INSIDE so they don't get wet or ruined. Can you personalize the cows in any way - maybe put your team name on them with a perm marker if you don't want to use the bags?

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I don't personally care too much for the items that are marked on. If someone wants to use the keychain, they may not want your initials all over it, while it wouldn't matter at all to someone who just collects them. I think it looks more professionally done if you use card stock and print out a little blurb (your name, etc) and place it in a little craft ziploc with the item. The ziploc will keep it clean and the card shows that you put some time into making something nice.

 

We started out making jewelry with marbles (necklaces and earrings) and we would put them in a baggy with a card that had our name and also the name we gave the type of marble we used. People liked them, but we found that the people in our area really liked the foreign coins that my husband had collected when he was in the Navy. We ran out of those, but have recently purchased some more online. We also got US wheat pennies, and I print out cards with facts about the coins, exchange rates if applicable, etc. Our kids leave little mini science experiments in baggies. They're usually a penny or a balloon with a card printed out telling how to do the experiment and why it works. None of our swag costs much (maybe 10-25 cents a piece after all is said and done), but you can tell we put time in to making something nice to collect and educational as well. Swag doesn't have to be expensive, but if you put a little extra time into it, the appearance is that it costs a whole lot more.

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I just used to leave a biz card with me @ my 100th, my name, and a very neat drawing I made a long time ago. Then I heard about Pathtags. They may be a little costly, but are nice, especially for some one who has no talent in making things. I now place a tag and a biz card with an explanation on the back, in a baggie and put them in caches I really like. I was trying to find something else to use, just couldnt figure out what to do. If I could make something, that would be great, not much talent here though.blueprint.jpg

1195313361.jpg

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I think it is much nicer when you put them in a bag with your name on it. Then we know who it came from - otherwise I would think it was just another keychain! When we put our sig items in those 2x3" bags you get from any craft store, we put our stickers on the INSIDE so they don't get wet or ruined. Can you personalize the cows in any way - maybe put your team name on them with a perm marker if you don't want to use the bags?

 

ok i figured out what we're going to do. as i mentioned before, the items we're going to be using are keychains. i went to our local hardware store and was able to purchase, in bulk, those little cardboard tags on a string that they usually use to attatch to keys when you bring your car in to get serviced. they cost me 6 cents each so it wasnt a huge deal. when i got home, i fenagled a layout in microsoft word and printed out a sheet of info tags....and once they were cut out, i glued them to the cardboard/string tags. on one side it says "cowntycupl was here" and on the other our stat info (caching since and our location). so once we get our keychains, we'll thread them onto the keyring. but thanks for the plastic bag idea.....sounds pretty obvious now, but honestly i didnt even think of that!

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I love this topic.

 

OK, so I have been toying with the idea of sig swag myself and found thsi thread today. Here are some of the ideas I have come up with and am looking for feedback on what would be prefered/appreciated in a cache. They all cost about the same $.

 

1) Plain Yellow Lanyard in a baggie with my name/stats.

 

2) Make your own Keychain, with my avatar/stat on the inside.

 

3) Yellow Silicone Bracelet in a baggie with my name/stats.

 

If you happen to think of a great idea for a "Yellow Star" swag, please let me know.

 

Thanks for much in advance for your opinion.

 

Yellow Star Adventurers (Myself and my 2 yr old son)

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I'm sure if you start looking around at craft stores and different places, you'll find lots of things made that are yellow, or are yellow stars. Why not use some yellow star buttons for small caches? Xmas is coming up so you should be able to find some ornaments that are yellow or gold stars. You could easily get yellow star stickers for you to log with. I think your name opens up alot of options. Check out Oriental Trading Co online for yellow star items.

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Yes, the name surely has alot of posibilities. I didnt think about having different swag for different sized caches. Hmm..... now I'm going to have to think about that. But for now, I'll stick with the regular/larger style swag...but I think I will use the button/sticker idea when I come across them.

 

As for a craft store, I went to one of Canada's largest craft stores for ideas this weekend, and found NOTHING, except expensive stuff. For example, It would have cost me about $1.50 for a wooden star. They didnt have much cheap stuff there. I will tackle the dollar stores soon. I know something good is out there.....somewhere. :blink:

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They aren't signature, but they are handmade - I have left flies that I have tied in caches. Considering this thread, perhaps I should do that more often.

 

I have done the same but only for fishing related caches. There are actually quite a few in my area.

 

There is a local cacher that found several boxes of copper balls about 1" in diameter at a garage sale. Although they aren't handmade or have a signature on them they've become somewhat of a collectors item. I've got two of them. After I found my first one the cacher gave one to my wife (they work together) because she said that every geocacher should have a pair.

 

Another local cacher works for a company that makes cables. He often leaves ethernet cables or cable splitters in caches. No signature on the caches but all the local cachers recognize where the swag came from. In other words, it doesn't have to actually have a "signature" on it to be a signature item.

 

I'm ordering a stamp (based on my avatar) and am going to buy some of those fake million dollar bills (try a google search) that have room on the back for a stamp. Once I get them I'll start placing them in all the caches I find and will sign the online log: Took "something", Left a million dollars.

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I think it is much nicer when you put them in a bag with your name on it. Then we know who it came from - otherwise I would think it was just another keychain! When we put our sig items in those 2x3" bags you get from any craft store, we put our stickers on the INSIDE so they don't get wet or ruined. Can you personalize the cows in any way - maybe put your team name on them with a perm marker if you don't want to use the bags?

 

ok i figured out what we're going to do. as i mentioned before, the items we're going to be using are keychains. i went to our local hardware store and was able to purchase, in bulk, those little cardboard tags on a string that they usually use to attatch to keys when you bring your car in to get serviced. they cost me 6 cents each so it wasnt a huge deal. when i got home, i fenagled a layout in microsoft word and printed out a sheet of info tags....and once they were cut out, i glued them to the cardboard/string tags. on one side it says "cowntycupl was here" and on the other our stat info (caching since and our location). so once we get our keychains, we'll thread them onto the keyring. but thanks for the plastic bag idea.....sounds pretty obvious now, but honestly i didnt even think of that!

Great! We have some keychains in our collection with tags just like that. You may still want to protect them in the pastic bags - as you know caches do get damp/wet inside and this will protect your hard work for only pennies more. I think the 3x3 baggies are around 2 bucks for 100 of them, so really inexpensive. Can be found at large hobby stores.

 

***Edit to add for the star lady - you can buy bags of those glow in the dark stars at any store that sells stuff for kids. You could use permanent marker and write your name on them. Bonus there is the stars range in size from small for micro caches to larger ones.

Edited by lonesumdove
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I am relatively new to caching and I am also toying with the idea of a sig item. Seeing as my caching name is blackfishorca I would like something killer whale related.

I can find all sorts of things relating to dolphins, or humpback whales, but being the biology geek that I am I only want to use a killer whale.

I have thought about keychains with an orca charm, or an orca pin, or something along those lines but I am having trouble finding orcas small enough and cheap enough. (being new I am not quite ready to spend a large amount of money on a large order of things or to get something custom made)

Any ideas?

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nice thread!

 

where does one get the labels that go on the poker chips?

 

thanks

 

I use regular Avery shipping labels and a 1" diameter hole punch I got at a craft store. I can print six images on a label. Then I punch them out, peel, and stick. Get a good quality punch, though. I use a Paper Shapers brand.

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I am relatively new to caching and I am also toying with the idea of a sig item. Seeing as my caching name is blackfishorca I would like something killer whale related.

I can find all sorts of things relating to dolphins, or humpback whales, but being the biology geek that I am I only want to use a killer whale.

I have thought about keychains with an orca charm, or an orca pin, or something along those lines but I am having trouble finding orcas small enough and cheap enough. (being new I am not quite ready to spend a large amount of money on a large order of things or to get something custom made)

Any ideas?

 

Use a favorite picture of a killer whale and make your own keychains using blanks. This way you can add whatever you want and even have a variety of styles/series of them. Say, have one picture for your finds 001-100, then another for 101-200, etc... It would kinda "date" your signature items.

 

See this eBay seller (I am not affiliated with this person):

 

http://stores.ebay.ca/wky8525

 

This seller has keychain blanks really cheap and I was going to use this idea, but have changed my mind. He/She has all kinds of sizes and quantities for sale. Best price I could find. There might be a better price somewhere if anyone else knows, please post.

 

Yellow Star Adventurers

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I like seeing other peoples signature items. I myself tie fishing flies and leave leave one of my own designes in any cache where they will fit. I spend a lot of time doing this as each one takes close to 15 minutes to make. I hope that some will be used and and would like to be e-mailed to hear how they liked it.

Edited by nwflycaster
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nice thread!

 

where does one get the labels that go on the poker chips?

 

thanks

 

I use regular Avery shipping labels and a 1" diameter hole punch I got at a craft store. I can print six images on a label. Then I punch them out, peel, and stick. Get a good quality punch, though. I use a Paper Shapers brand.

 

thanks so much for answering! one more question -- what software do you use for the labels? i have access to both PC and Mac. thanks again!

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Just got started geocaching two weeks ago. I like the idea of the wooden nickels or keychains, and will be looking into getting something made in the near future. Right now, I've just been leaving my "geowizard was here" card seen below (in addition to other swag items). Not really intended for collecting per se, but just to let the cache owner and cachers that come behind me know I was there.

 

GeoWizerdCard.jpg

 

Yes, that's an eXplorist 400 he's holding...

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ok i figured out what we're going to do. as i mentioned before, the items we're going to be using are keychains. i went to our local hardware store and was able to purchase, in bulk, those little cardboard tags on a string that they usually use to attatch to keys when you bring your car in to get serviced. they cost me 6 cents each so it wasnt a huge deal. when i got home, i fenagled a layout in microsoft word and printed out a sheet of info tags....and once they were cut out, i glued them to the cardboard/string tags. on one side it says "cowntycupl was here" and on the other our stat info (caching since and our location). so once we get our keychains, we'll thread them onto the keyring. but thanks for the plastic bag idea.....sounds pretty obvious now, but honestly i didnt even think of that!

 

my keychains are here!!! :huh: all 120 of them lol (gotta love ebay!) here is the finished product (click on the thumbnail to see a larger size):

 

sigswagfr4.th.jpg

 

they came each wrapped in their own plastic but to protect the tag, we'll put each one in one of those snack sized ziplock bags....and voila! instant signature swag!

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I finally ordered my first true signature item.

 

2231216118_1db27ae933_m.jpg2230421481_ae673de57a_m.jpg

 

I ordered them through wooden-nickel.com. Our Boy Scout Troop ordered nickels from them recently and I've neen happy with them. They even had a special to where I didn't need to pay for artwork on the back. They also had a stock image that was about what I wanted anyway. Even gave the geocaching organizations I belong to plugs on the back.

 

DG

Edited by DudleyGrunt
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I bought a coin smasher and it's loads of fun.

 

apparently I'm the only one who doesn't know... but what the heck is a coin smasher? and how do you make templates for those smached coins?

 

A coin smasher is one of those machines that you put a penny in one side and 50 cents in the other, turn the wheel and out comes an Elongated penny. You see them a lot at places like WDW or other theme parks. There are also a tonne of collectors of the elongated pennies. See www.pressedpenny.com for more info if you like.

Edited by kayn_os
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A coin smasher is one of those machines that you put a penny in one side and 50 cents in the other, turn the wheel and out comes an Elongated penny. You see them a lot at places like WDW or other theme parks. There are also a tonne of collectors of the elongated pennies. See www.pressedpenny.com for more info if you like.

 

thanks, I know what a crushed penny is, I was just curious about what machine one would buy for home use to do this, and how one would make a template for personal use. Certainly not the same as one of those coin-operated machines you see at theme parks and such.

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We use several different sig items-

 

wooden nickels, poker chips- both have our name and caching since date

pencils with our name, a holiday version and a winter version

keychains with our name in alphabet beads

little first aid kits made out of altoid tins, custom label on lid

we have gotten in on the group geocoins lately so we have our own version of geojellies, geotags, poker chips coins and the birds of a feather coin. We dropped unactivated coins on a Christmas Eve cache run and again on New Years Eve...that was alot of fun!

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Over the last 6 years, I left a few different sig items. I started with a plain green bottle opener. I left out several hundred of the wooden nickels and have a large collection of those. I then went to the custom printed carabiners, followed by the Bev Key. I just recently got an order of the Pathtags to celebrate a name change.

blaidd-drwg_sig_items.jpg

Sorry about the image size

Edited by Blaidd-Drwg
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I've seen some pretty cool Shrinkidinks out there by a few local cachers that are really impressive but I don't collect them. I did have to go out and retreive 10 made by one cacher who has a special cache out there for his dinks. Check out Sigmund T. Swag (GC15W2H).

 

Thanks to Bootsey, I have a sig item now - it's a pathtag but it's amazing how fast you can run out if you start trading.

 

I really like some of the poker chip sig items I've seen too.

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I started geocaching with a friend then got my own gps (almost immediately) and since I turn wood and make bowls and weed pots to give away to friends, I started making little weed pots and putting them in caches where there was room. I called myself Lil weed pot. My wife started with me and enjoys geocaching as much as I do. I bought some plastic flowers from the Goodwill store and glued them into the weed pots and changed my name to include my wife so we are Lil weed pot and flower. I leave them in every cache I find if there is room and occasionally take something that catches my eye. One geocacher found a couple of my weed pots and his wife liked them so well that he started following me around and gathered all the weed pots he could find, photographed them and show them on their geocache site. That makes me proud. I do make these to take by others who find them attractive.

 

 

What in the world is a weed pot?

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thanks, I know what a crushed penny is, :) I was just curious about what machine one would buy for home use to do this, and how one would make a template for personal use. Certainly not the same as one of those coin-operated machines you see at theme parks and such.

 

I'm wondering the same thing. Where would you get one of these machines? It's such a cool idea :P

Edited by daddio101
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My daughter and I are kinda new to geocaching. We have been making beaded keychains with a tag that states 'swag made by...'. Do people really like signature swag, I mean is it worth the trouble? What kinds of signature items are out there? What do you like to find? TIA.

 

Also, if you do leave signature swag...do you leave it at all caches that have room for swag, or do you pick and choose where you leave these items?

My son and I have been thinking hard about our siggy item also and we think we have settled on it

they will be home made and they will be something that can be added to a hat or cache bag

We hope to leave them in all caches and trade them at events

we need to get hopping so we can have them at the MIGO winter social, It is fun to hear everyones Ideas for their siggy item.

Jennifer

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I was walking around JoAnn Fabrics after fixing up one of my caches and found something strange in my boot. A fellow cacher's wooden nickel fell out INTO my boot when I moved the contents of the cache to the new container!! I have a wooden nickel collection and was pleased to add it to the bunch!

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A coin smasher is one of those machines that you put a penny in one side and 50 cents in the other, turn the wheel and out comes an Elongated penny. You see them a lot at places like WDW or other theme parks. There are also a tonne of collectors of the elongated pennies. See www.pressedpenny.com for more info if you like.

 

Thank you for your answer. I wrote some time ago to the guy posting the photos and never got any response.

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I sew draw string bags and place hand drawn/marked wooden objects in them. I love to find signature swag! I used to place my signature swag in every cache but now I only trade for other signature swag. I like to hear from anyone who likes it. So far I have only heard from two people.

 

~snip~

 

 

When I first started reading yours, I thought they were kind of lame, but after I looked at the pictures, I am just amazed!!! Those are AWESOME!!! Where do you get the wooden pieces? Do you cut them out too? I love to sew and I love to do little crafty painting things too! I don't want to steal your idea but that would be right up my alley!

 

I just love those little treasure bags!

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