How to turn this into a cache?

[+remiquest]

I recently found these little ceramic gnome characters that I would LOVE to turn into caches. The gnomes are maybe 3-4 inches high and hollow with an approx. 1 inch hole on the bottom (they're ceramic from a mold apparently). Problem is that they don't have a cover over the hole at the bottom and due to their shape (pesky legs) I couldn't stick anything hard sided but the smalles of micros in there. I could have a larger log in a baggie and stick it inside the guy, but I feel like that wouldn't be a strong enough container without some sort of way to plug up the hole (and it act as a cap). Or would it be? Anyone have any suggestions to make this a successful cache? I got the gnomes for super cheap so I have a little more left in the budget for some quality ideas...

[+Mom-n-Andy]

I recently found these little ceramic gnome characters that I would LOVE to turn into caches. The gnomes are maybe 3-4 inches high and hollow with an approx. 1 inch hole on the bottom (they're ceramic from a mold apparently). Problem is that they don't have a cover over the hole at the bottom and due to their shape (pesky legs) I couldn't stick anything hard sided but the smalles of micros in there. I could have a larger log in a baggie and stick it inside the guy, but I feel like that wouldn't be a strong enough container without some sort of way to plug up the hole (and it act as a cap). Or would it be? Anyone have any suggestions to make this a successful cache? I got the gnomes for super cheap so I have a little more left in the budget for some quality ideas...

 

Those would be a hoot to find. Could you use them as stages of a multicache? You might be able to insert plastic test tubes in the holes. The test tubes would just contain a slip of paper with the coords for the net waypoint. Then the final could be any container of your choosing.

 

If you couldn't get a test tube inside you could write the coords on the bottom with a permanent marker.

 

Another idea would be to publish the waypoints on the cache page and write a code on the bottom of each gnome; the finder would need all the codes to solve or open the final.

 

I would be delighted to find something like this in the forest. May I ask where you found them?

[+Casting Crowns]

My friend used them as markers for his multi-cache. Sounds like the same things that he used. Check out GC26F9C for a pic.

[+bflentje]

While i agree they are cute and might be fun to find, I have never seen a ceramic container used for geocaching that didn't crack or break.

[+remiquest]

I found these gnomes at target in the dollar bins. They look exactly like the ones I've seen on a cache selling website, so i figured if they could make them work...

 

I understand ceramic is a bit fragile and definitely porous (sp?) so I was hoping someone had some experience using some sort of sealant that I could apply first to both inside and outside of the gnome to keep out the water and hopefully reduce the chance of breaking due to swelling when wet and temperature changes.

 

Thanks for the multi / puzzle ideas! I think finding one of these in the woods would be hilarious!

[+secretagentbill]

I found a cache that used a little six inch tall gnome. Here's how they did it:

 

Small eyelet screw in the back with a bison tube hanging from it. The gnome stood in a small hollow at the base of a tree, partially obscured by some bark. The bison tube hangs behind the gnome, so it's out of sight until after you pull the gnome from his little hiding place. That way you don't have to worry about making the gnome waterproof somehow...the bison tube does the job.

[Andronicus]

You could just shove a bisson tube in there. Should work find.

[+deranja]

We did a similar idea and glued the container to a piece of cork and widdled it down to fit the hole

[MrSockPuppet]

why not use some demi-john corks, there one inch holes.

[+9Key]

Buy a larger gnome and put the little ones all around it. That would be cute.

[4wheelin_fool]

I would use a small metal pill container like the ones they sell at CVS for $5. Then fill the rest up with outdoor glue and press it in. Next cut an 80 page pocket notebook down to size and attach a bent paperclip to the binder so the logbook can be removed easily.

[+roziecakes]

I LOVE this idea. I think it would be hilarious to find As for sealant, I know that some art/ceramic supply/hobby stores sell spray sealant. My mom makes small ceramic statues that she puts in her garden, and that's what she uses. I know that Krylon brand makes some and also Aleene's brand does as well.

 

As for containers, I like the bison idea.

[+Bundyrumandcoke]

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...88-1990abf9128c

 

I have a whole series of gnome caches. Dopey is the most popular one.

 

 

Note the Systemia (similar to a Lock and Lock) glued to the bottom. The base of the Systemia has been cut out to allow access to the inside of Dopey. He is filled with 60 film canisters, of which only one has a log book in it. The Systemia has been glued into the bottom of Dopey, after I enlarged the hole with a grinding bit.

 

Another of my gnomes is a bit of a surprise for those doing the series. All of my gnomes are pretty lightweight, except the one I filled with cement before glueing the Systemia in. Its a shock to cachers, expecting a lightweight gnome, and instead getting one they can hardly pick up.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Bundyrumandcoke

[+mwellman]

We have a plastic bunny about a foot tall where we enlarged the hole with a jigsaw so that we could slip in a small rectangular lock n lock. When you pick it up, the lock and lock has slipped sideways and is blocking the hole so it doesn't fall out and you don't notice anything different until you turn it over.