Girl Scouts

This summer I helped local Girl Scouts earn their Letterboxer Badge at day camp.  We had a good time going thru the badge requirements, looking for boxes, learning some LB lingo, and stamping stamps.

Do a Good Turn Daily

I made LTCs and gave them out as SWAPS (Special Whatchamacallits Affectionally Pinned Somewhere).  I had carved this stamp a few years ago but I wasn't happy with it.  

The theme for day camp was Bee the best you can Bee.  So I stamped and embossing my image on bee paper.  I'm pretty happy with them.  I had several extra and I am hosting a Girl Scout LTC swap to pass them on. 

Back to School & Smores

My kids went back to school this week.  This year all of my kids are in school!

Bantha Rider is a sophomore.  He texted on the first day that he couldn't get his locker open.

Boxing Turtle is in 7th grade.  He says that he likes it.

Daddy's Favorite Princess is in 3rd grade.  She thought she wouldn't like her teacher but now she thinks the teacher is nice.

Lil Ewok is in Kindergarten and is having a rough go at it.  He says school is too long, he doesn't have enough time to eat lunch, some people are not nice, he misses me, he doesn't have enough home time, etc.  He was crying when I dropped him off this morning because I wouldn't walk him to his room. Hopefully he will be better on Monday.

Yesterday was National S'mores Day!  As a Girl Scout and an avid camper I had to plant a box to celebrate.  I also carved a s'more stamp for my local GS council to give away at an upcoming event.  So I carved two s'mores for the delicious holiday :)

National S'mores Day

Girl Scout Postal Ring

I am participating in jlsd0218's Girl Scout postal ring.  I carved this stamp a few years ago when someone was looking for over sized LTCs based on books for a poster she was making for a contest at her local library.  One of the books on the list was about Juliette Low, the founder of Girl Scouts, and I carved the stamp and made a mini poster.  I don't remember how many I made and apparently I didn't save one for myself.  I have looked in all my LTC binders and can't find one.  

After that, I decided that I would plant the stamp as a hybrid at my local GS office.  But another boxer beat me to it.  She emailed me to say that she was going to put it inside and asked if I wanted to add a stamp.  I told her no because the GS office had such limited hours.  So, I put my stamp away and the other boxer never planted one at the GS office either.  Not sure what happened there.

But I dusted off my old stamp, made a logbook, a matching postal hitchhiker, and sent them off in this new ring.  Hopefully Juliette will return home safe and maybe I can find a good place for her in the wild :)

Mother/Daughter Tea

Yesterday, Daddy's Favorite Princess and went to a Girl Scout Mother/Daughter Asian themed tea party.  This is our second year to participate.

You might recall that last year it has an Alice in Wonderland theme and I carved stamps for the different stations at the event.  I was on the committee again this year so I made some Chinese character stamps for the girls to use while decorating crafts.

I was the decorating committee and made the cherry blossom trees, lanterns, and paper fortune cookies in the picture.  It was a major pain to transport the "trees" but I think the place looked great.

It took a long time to set up and tear down.  It is nice that the event is over but I almost don't know what to do with my free time.

I made some quisps with the stamps for the event and I plan to send them off as Hitchhikers.  You may see them in your neck of the woods some time.

The theme for next year will be a Victorian tea.  I wonder what we will come up with for that...

Alice in Wonderland stamps

Yesterday, my Girl Scout Service Unit put on a Mother/Daughter tea party.  I was on the committee and they asked if I would make stamps for the stations at the tea.

I recycled the tea cup stamp from an LTC but the rest are brand new.  I worked on the flower one for a day and a half.

My niece and my daughter after the tea

I also made a dozen of the paper top hats as table decorations.  My daughter loved them so I glued one to a headband and she wore it at the event.

At the tea we ate, made a coffee filter butterfly, a picture frame, played croquet, pinned the smile on the Cheshire cat, and learned how to arrange flowers.

I got the Alice in Wonderland lunch box on eBay and I will now use these stamps as an event box :)

Girl Scout Day Camp

Last week I helped 40 Daisy/Brownie Girl Scouts earn the Letterboxer badge.  I did this two years ago and I guess I will be doing it every two years.

We did about the same thing this year.  On Monday, I went thru what letterboxing is, what you need, what you do, etc.  The girls made stamps with foam stickers and milk jug lids.  And they decorated their journals/tested their stamps.

On Tuesday, we broke them into smaller groups and took them out boxing.  My sons, Lego Clone Trooper & R2-D2, each took a group and showed them the ropes.

On Wednesday, the girls solved puzzles to find boxes.  This seems like an odd badge requirement to me because 99.9% of the boxes in my area have straight forward directions to the box.  But that is what the badge says so that is what we did.  I hid 3 boxes using 3 different puzzles and the girls worked with a partner to solve and find the boxes.

Thursday was our last day of letterboxing and I did a recap of the terms we were learning all week.  We talking about camouflage, good hiding spots, being discreet around muggles, etc.  They added exchange to their letterboxing lingo and did it with the girls in their group.  I told them to exchange with 2-3 girls around them but in the end they all wanted to exchange with everyone.

I think the girls had a great time learning about letterboxing and earning their badge :)




This last pic is Daddy's Favorite Princess.  They did an egg drop and she & her partner were the only ones in their group who's egg didn't break.  She was very proud.  On her STEM journal she drew the egg ok and how happy she was that it made it.

Reflecting on 2013

Lil Ewok and I at my 300th find

2013 was a good boxing year for me.  I didn't reach my goal of finding my 400th box but I am ok with that. There are two boxes within 10 minutes of my house that I could easily run out and get but I am trying to show the planter that I have standers.

Nashville, Tn

In 2013, I went to my first out of state events.  In August, the whole family went to an event in Nashville, Tn.  We had fun meeting new people and finding boxes.  It was interesting to see how other people do things.  Then in November, my boxing buddy and I went to an event in St Louis, Mo.  We enjoyed going over before the event and boxing.

GS Camp

I taught Letterboxing at two events.  I had about a dozen people show up at a class at the library.  Then I helped 85 Brownie Girl Scouts earn their Letterboxing Badge at Day Camp.

I love making LTCs!  In 2013 I made 35 and "found" 554.  I also hosted my first LTC swap.  It was a Christmas swap and I quickly added a few more that are due in 2014.  I have 2 Kids Only trackers and a Life is good one.

In 2013, I stuck my foot in the door of the postal world.  I have gotten 9 postal singles and I am thinking about joining a ring.  I am also pondering sending out a postal single.

Over all my find count was down from last year.  We have less boxers now and that means less people planting for me :(  In 2012 I found 154 traditional boxes and in 2013 I found 148.  I planted quite a bit more in 2013 than 2012.  In 2012 I planted 26 traditional boxes and in 2013 I planted 39.  I am about ready for my first plant of the new year.

Another new thing in 2013 was my Etsy store.  My husband had been bugging me about selling stamps so I gave in and started a shop.  I had 3 sales in 2013!  I thought for sure that it would so nowhere.    I have some new logbooks coming out soon.

I have no letterboxing goals for 2014 but I am excited to see what will come.  My noxer husband often bugs me about wasting gas while letterboxing.  I have promised to cut back and there isn't much for me to look for anyway.  I am thinking about making a quilt.  I recently joined a Facebook group where everyone made a mystery quilt and it looks like so much fun.  This has also got me to thinking about barn quilt squares.  There is a whole trail in a county near me and I want to check them out.  And maybe plant a box or two ;)

Experimenting with Vellum

Pitch a Tent 

I just got my cards back from the "TGIF" LTC swap.  They came in the mail on Friday and I had to look at them and go because we were going camping.

This was my first time to use vellum.  I had heard several people talking about it on the LTC Facebook page and I decided to give it a try.  This was also my first time to use a brad on my card.  But I recently joined a tracker called "Bring on the Brads" where you had to use a brad on the card.  I'm starting to step out of my comfort zone a little bit.

I carved the stamp OZ and I will be donating it to some Girl Scouts in Ill who are trying to get more people interested in the hobby.

Peddling my Wares

My husband has been bugging me for a while that I need to find a way to sell my stamps and logbooks.  So I gave in started an Etsy shop.  I am starting off slow.  Right now I have a few logbooks and a pre-made letterbox for Brownie Girl Scouts.

I am not sure how I will go about selling stamps.  I think if people need a stamp they will just go to the store and buy one.  I will probably hold off on those until the spring.

Pre-made letterbox
(Lock & Lock, logbook, stamp, and pouch)

Now that I decided to do this I can only find time to make logbooks once the kids are in bed :(  In November, I plan to add some cross stitch Christmas ornaments.  My shop will have letterboxing stuff and some misc crafts.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Christmas6Creations

Boxing in Warrick County

Today Lil Ewok and I went letterboxing in Warrick Co. We found all 5 boxes that we looked for!

The first box was in Chandler and it was planted by a Girl Scout troop. This is the 3rd box in our area planted by Brownies earning their Letterboxing Badge and it was the best. I'm glad that some of the leaders are getting it.

Lil Ewok celebrating our 5th find of the day.  

The other 4 that we looked for were in Newbrugh. They were all planted by the same boxer. All the boxes were in planters pouches in cemeteries and businesses along one road in town.

It is so rare to find all the letterboxes we go for. Great boxing day :)

Cooties!

GS Cookie Cooties

I just got my cards back from an LTC swap where you made a card from cooties.  I made up 8 cooties when I taught letterboxing at Girl Scout camp this summer (2 of them when missing).

I used two different papers for the background because I couldn't decide which one I liked better.  I got the paper from my mom.  She is a big scrapbooker and I go to her for a lot of card stuff.  The card has 3 stamps on the front and one on the back :)

GS Day Camp-Day 4

Passing around the box of the week.

Today was the last day that I was helping the Brownies earn their Letterboxing Badge and we mainly talked about stuff.  We discusses camouflage, good hiding spots, muggles, maintenance, and Leave No Trace.  The girls had asked me about stamp carving so I showed off my tools but there was no way I was going to let 20+ K-3rd grade girls carve.

Passing around the Thank You Cards.

Most of the stamps that the girls found this week were donated so we passed around a "Thank You" card for them to stamp.  And they passed around the official stamp of the week.  When we were all done I gave them a handout with letterboxing info for their parents and gave out my SWAPS.

Carving w/ the big girls. 

The older girls were having an overnight tonight where they were going to do some night caching.  I went back to camp to talk to the girls briefly about letterboxing and talk them thru stamp carving.  They will hide their stamps tomorrow for a scavenger hunt.  All in all, it was a good week.

GS Day Camp-Day 3

One of the requirements for the Brownie Letterboxing Badge is to find a box by solving a code.  I hid 3 boxes that were written in code and the girls had to work with their partner to solve the code and find the box.

The day started off with a little rain but the girls didn't seem to mind :)

  Here are some pics of the girls solving the clues: 

The girls found a HIPS box on the back porch.

There was a micro box hidden in the herb garden.

Stamping the box that was hiding under the stone. 

GS Day Camp-Day 2

Today the girls went and looked for some letterboxes.  We had planted 9 boxes for them but we were not sure how far they would get.  The girls come in groups of 20-25 so they did not get very far.  The first group of each day is our "guinea pig" group.  Both yesterday and today we changed things up after the first group left.  Today when they first group left we split the girls in half and my son took half to find some boxes and I took the other half.  So each group got to find 3 boxes.  I think we will have some extra time tomorrow to get the ones we missed today.

Here are some pics of the girls lined up to stamp the stamp.

GS Day Camp-Day 1

Me showing off a box. 

I have been working for a few months now to get things together for Girl Scout Day Camp.  They asked me to help the Brownies earn their Letterboxing Badge.  I carved stamps, received stamp donations, made logbooks, containers, clues, etc.

Today was the first day of camp and it started off very wet.  But for this first day we had planned on being inside anyway.  We talked about what is letterboxing, what do you do, what do you need, etc.  Also today the girls assembled their logbooks and stamps.

Putting logbooks together.

Making stamps. 

For stamps the girls just put a foam sticker on a plastic bottle cap.  I had the logbooks mostly assembled before camp.  We used three paper lunch sacks and folded them in half.  Then we punched holes on the fold and tied the bags together with yarn.  One of the requirements for the Letterboxing Badge is to make a dictionary.  I had typed one up and they put it in the openings of the paper bags.

My sons, Lego Clone Trooper and R2-D2, were my helpers for the day.  We saw four groups of girls with about 20 in each group.  They were late getting started with the rain but once things got going it went well.  I am looking forward to tomorrow where the girls will go out and find some boxes.

Stopping at 100

Last month I said that I was going to carve 200 stamps for SWAPS (Special Watchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere) for Girl Scout Day Camp.  I got started and made 50.  Then I started having eye problems.

I went to the doctor and he said that I had pink eye.  He gave me eye drops and wanted to see me again in two weeks.  After a week I ran out of drops and my eyes still hurt.  I called his office and he called me in different drops.  When I went in for my two week check up he was surprised to see that my eyes were still bothering me and he sent me to an eye doctor.  The eye doctor says my problem is just allergies.

So now I am behind on my SWAPS.  Our camp is the last week in June but with all the other things I have going on I don't think I can make it to 200.  The 100 stamps that I have made will be enough for the girls coming to the letterboxing program.  I am glad that I got all of my other stamps finished very early on and that I am not rushing at the last minute to get the important ones done.

Making 200 Stamps

I am going to help Brownie Girl Scouts earn their Letterboxing Badge at Day Camp this summer.  I have already received many wonderful stamp donations, made logbooks, cooties, and more.

On the last day of camp the girls trade SWAPS (Special Watchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere).  I have decided to make stamp SWAPS for every girl at camp.  That's 200 girls!

I have already started and they are coming along well.  I timed myself the other day and it took 6 minutes to carve one and I made 10 in two days.  I should get a little faster each time. I'm going to knock these puppies out in no time!

Busy Boxing Year

Cadette Scouts found a Letterbox

I have a feeling that this is going to be a very busy Letterboxing year for us; and not because a local boxer is planting every chance he gets.  I have agreed to help Brownie Girl Scouts earn their Letterboxing Badge at Day Camp this summer.  I am already working on that and have asked for stamp donations.  I am over whelmed by the response I got on AQ and I can't wait to see all the stamps come in.  

I recently had a Cadette Girl Scout Troop ask me to come teach them how to carve stamps.  I love to carve and said that I would help them out.  That was today and when I got to the leaders house I asked if they had found many boxes.  She said no but that they also wanted me to go with them to find some Letterboxes when they were done stamp carving.  I was a little surprised but I had nothing else to do so I went along.  The girls had a great time and it looks like I have turned the leader on to Letterboxing ;)

Also, our local libraries are celebrating their 100 birthday.  For the celebration they have planted Letterboxes and Geocaches in every branch.  The person who planted them asked if I would do a Letterboxing program to go along with their Summer Reading Program.  Of course I said yes!  I am excited about telling Girl Scouts about boxing but I am a little nervous about the library programs.  So far, two of the local branches want me to do a program.  I sure hope we can attract some new Letterboxers our town.  

It's Cookie Time

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time! That means my house is full of cookies for my troop booth sales.  We have had two booth sales so far and we still have a lot of cookies to sell.

This summer I am going to help local Brownies earn their Letterboxing badge at Day Camp.  With all the empty cookie boxes around I started making cookie box log books.  We will use them to plant the letterboxes to earn the Brownie badge.

My 1st LTC

This is my very first LTC!  I made it in June for the "I Missed the Swapping at Rock the Mall" tracker.  A Girl Scout letterboxer friend suggested that I try an LTC swap.  This is just a stamped image that has been embossed.  I love embossing :)

I have carved this stamp 3 times.  The first time it went missing.  I believe it was thrown away when someone was cleaning up from a storm.  Then two Girl Scouts posted that they were looking for scout stamps to use while celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts.  So I carved it again and again and sent them on their merry way.  I believe one went to New England and the other to Missouri.