Letterboxing 101

I have told you before about our family hobby of letterboxing. I wanted to share with all those newbies out there what our letterboxing bag has in it. (I am in the process of planning a LB event for some local homeschool families and wanted to send them this way for ideas of how to get started on this activity).

Here is a peak into our bag. We use a mini back pack that we had. As you can see it can hold a lot of essentials. I always have our logbooks, ink pad and or markers, garden gloves, bug spray, compass, pen/pencil, our stamp (in the small green pouch) and paper towel or wet wipe (not pictured). We usually take water too (depending on how long the hike is).

Our bag is always packed and ready to go. We print our clues from atlasquest or letterboxing north america and bring those along with us. We search out the location to see if there are more than one LB hidden at each park or trail. We would hate to walk right past one and miss it. =)

When we started out on this journey we carved our stamp out of a pink pearl eraser. All we had was an exacto knife to cut out the design. We are still using the same stamp. **NOT an activity for kids if you are carving with an exacto knife.** I have, since then, ordered the speedball carving kit (about $12) and have used it a lot. But it is not necessary to invest in those kind of supplies. You can even carve a stamp out of foam (good idea for kids). The instructions for carving a stamp without the tools is here. You don't even have to carve your own stamp, you can used a store bought one.One of the first things you will need to do is choose a trail name. Something that represents you and that you can sign into the logbooks that isn't your real name. Ours is 3 Ps in a Pod. And our stamp is a peapod with 3 peas in it. Don't fret over a name, just choose something that you like. Remember you will sign in with that name when you find a box.

We have been LB about a year now and just completed our first log book of stamps. I get mine at Hobby Lobby or you can order it online here. Any notebook will do. I like ones without lines so the images show up well. We each have one (kids and I) but one would also work for the whole family if that is what you prefer. You can also make your own if you are feeling creative (here are some ideas)

I have recently found a great site that has lots of links to helpful tips. Check it out the get familiar with this fun hobby. HERE Hope this doesn't overwhelm you but I hope it inspires you to get started. Click here to follow some of our adventures of letterboxing. Let me know how I can help, ask me questions and I can help you get started.