Discoverable Artist Trading Cards

IF YOU HAVE FOUND ONE OF THESE ATCs, IT IS YOURS TO DISCOVER AND KEEP.  DO WITH IT WHAT YOU PLEASE.  

I've found a few cache cards in my time geocaching.  These signature swag items left by fellow geocachers usually have a photo of the geocacher and perhaps some bits of their geocaching history.  In my recent travels, I found a cache card that had a discoverable tracking number on it (discoverable at geocaching.com/track).  Fun!  This inspired me to make my own caching card, but with a crafty TXGeekette spin.  Instead of a typical cache card, I decided to make a series of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) with the discoverable tracking number for one of the geocoins I have that I won't be putting into circulation.  

I'll be making a total of 100 (A series of 10 with 10 editions) cards with the discoverable trackable number from this geocoin:

If you want to learn more about the ATC you've found and where I dropped each one, click on the link related to your series of cards below.  I've designed all of them to be water-resistant so that they have a fighting chance of survival within the harsh conditions of an outdoor geocache.

To see my non-ATC DIY swag:  Other signature geoswag I've made.

First in Series: Space

Second in Series: Fire - Elijah on Mt. Carmel

Third in Series: Travel (Mixed Media Collage)

9 mm Shell Casing and Paracord Bracelet

I pick up the brass casings after target practice.  For some reason, I have these delusions that someday I'll spend the money on the equipment and the time to reload the casings, or that I will accumulate enough of them at some point to make it worthwhile to recycle them for money.  Ha! Never gonna happen.  So I used some of them, along with paracord, to make little flexible bracelets to put into geocaches.  I made five of them and then ran out of the heavy-gauge wire I used to make them.  

 

Here are the geocaches where they were placed:

#1 of 5:  Dropped in GCZ87K on 8/13/2023

#2 of 5:  Dropped in GC90 (the first and oldest cache in Mississippi) on 9/20/2023

#3 of 5:  Dropped in GC45XHJ on 9/25/2023

#4 of 5: Dropped in GC8GAJ0 on 1/29/2024

#5 of 5: Dropped in GC13E31 on 3/17/2024

Have you picked one of these up?  Let me know in the comments.  I especially want to know if they survived the harsh conditions inside a cache, so that I can figure out improvements in the future.  

Signature Cabochons

Most geocaches I run into these days are on the small side, so I decided that I needed to make something small enough that I can drop into these caches.  I've seen this type of DIY geoswag in other caches before, so I am copying the idea.  These pieces are glass cabochons on which I have glued cardstock that I've printed with the geocaching logo and signature with the QR code on the back.  Sealed with a coat of Polycrylic.  Not going to bother to number these since there isn't much handiwork involved in making them.  Maybe at some point I will do cabochons that involve a little more craftiness, but for now, this is my SWAG solution for small caches.

Caches where I've dropped these:

• 4/4/2023 in GC399YM
• 4/8/2023 in GC7NVZG
• 4/10/2023 in GC76TPN
• 4/10/2023 in GC1AB8Q
• 4/16/2023 in GCJF5Z
• 4/23/2023 in GC7079N
  
• 5/9/2023 in GCGX3A
• 5/16/2023 in GCA38XJ
• 5/21/2023 in GC7C2QW
• 7/14/2023 in GCNAD9
• 7/15/2023 in GC3NA4C
• 7/22/2023 in GC215RB
• 8/5/2023 in GCD33C
• 8/8/2023 in GC2TQ7W
• 8/14/2023 in GC1F03E
• 8/16/2023 in GC7D8GV
• 8/19/2023 in GC1JA0G 
• 10/3/2023 in GC111NV
• 10/9/2023 in GC7704Y
• 12/6/2023 in GCAGQC7
• 12/7/2023 in GCA2056
• 12/12/2023 in GCBW5EQ
• 12/29/2023 in GC5DZY4
• 1/2/2024 in GCA3CDJ
• 2/2/2024 in GC7W6YC
• 2/7/2024 in GCAHY40
• 3/10/2024 in GC98CK5
• 3/14/2024 (Pi Day) in GCTG71R
• 3/29/2024 in GC2A50Q
• 4/4/2024 in GCA5THY
• 4/9/2024 in GC5XFXV
• 4/12/2024 in GC1P62N
• 4/13/2024 in GC5K7CK
• 4/22/2024 in GCABHBC
• 5/3/2024 in GCRHXE
• 6/22/2024 in GC7EXN
• 6/22/2024 in GCAMJY7 
• 7/2/2024 in GC9T0XV
• 7/4/2024 in GC9PGEE
• 8/20/2024 in GCAWT44
• 10/5/2024 in GC430KZ
• 10/9/2024 in GC7HKAV
• 11/4/2024 in GC86CKY
• 12/14/2025 in GC6X2AV
• 12/15/2025 in GCHDHK

My first Unboxing of a Cache Advance Cache Crate (November 2021)

 

I strongly hinted to hubs that I would like to try a short-term subscription to the Cache Crate from Cache Advance.  Given that he is the awesome, fabulous husband that is surpassed by no one, he obviously complied.  I am not sure at this point how long of a subscription he bought me, but I am assuming it's for a few months at least. 

Here is what I received on 11/23/2021 in my first Cache Crate, pictured above.  

• A "cache shaped" cookie cutter (looks like a slice of bread to me). It's in in the brown organza bag.
• A Route 66 Geocoin
• A GIFF set consisting of:  A patch (iron-on?  I assume so),  sticker, and a wooden nickel
• A set of 3 decals (female, male, satellite) 

A Cache Crate retails for $25 + S&H.  I'll have to look up the total amount at some point to figure out the exact cost. 

I am unfortunately quite disappointed with my first Cache Crate.  Probably the most worthwhile thing in the box was the Route 66 Geocoin, but it's hard for me to figure out the value on that, given that it is a 3rd party issue.  Is it worth a $25 + S&H "surprise"?  Maybe.  But my impression so far is that it was a bunch of low-value junk that I wouldn't have bothered to pay for myself, even at a discount.  More than half of what I got was stickers.  Seriously?  STICKERS.  I could have crafted better things (and have done so and put them in caches)  myself for the a lesser price.  While the Geocoin is nice, whether it is worth it as a collectible is questionable at this point.

Sigh.

World Map Keychain

 

It's yet another keychain, 18 of them, made from "Tumbling Tower" blocks from the good ole Dollar Tree and map paper.  The edges are stained, and each is hand-numbered.  The blocks are finished with polycrylic to make them weather-resistant.   Attached to the jumpring is either my bronze or silver signature bee.  

Where were these dropped?

#1 of 18 - Dropped on 11/5/;2021 in GC8A6MW  

#2 of 18 - Dropped on 6/19/2021 in GC832BB

#3 of 18 - Dropped on 8/29/2022 in GC9VVQ9

#4 of 18 - Dropped on 6/27/2021 in GC7GFK9

#5 of 18 - Dropped on 7/3/2021 in GC4V67Q

#6 of 18 - Dropped on 10/10/2022 in GC4GWVP

#7 of 18 - Dropped on 6/19/2021 in GC7QPRT

#8 of 18 - Dropped on 6/19/2021 in GC8K6QK

#9 of 18 - Dropped on 6/25/21 in  GC6BGTJ

#10 of 18 - Dropped on 6/4/2023 in GCA9FDF  (my second FTF ever)

#11 of 18 - Dropped on 7/7/2021 in GC8Z0E4

#12 of 18 - Dropped on 12/14/2021 in GC99K87

#13 of 18 - Dropped on 11/14/2021 in GC20CNG

#14 of 18- Dropped on 7/14/2023 in GC4Q0W4

#15 of 18 - Dropped on 4/03/2023 in GC90Q46

#16 of 18 - Dropped on 5/11/22 in GC6ZGC1

#17 of 18 - Dropped on 6/25/21 in GC361CJ

#18 of 18 - Dropped 6/19/2021 in GC42CTV

Have you picked one of these up?  If so, I would love to hear what you think of it in the comments!