Hand-carved stamp

Is it possible to play with rubber stamps and still get some exercise at the same time?  Yes, if you letterbox!

What is letterboxing?  I’m glad you asked! It is a treasure-hunting, rubberstamping, discovering-new-places experience that can be shared with friends, kids and grandkids.

This is how it works. A “placer’ carves or buys a rubber stamp, puts it in a watertight storage container, adds a journal to be stamped in, and then hides the box. They then post clues for its whereabouts on www.Letterboxing.org.

The supplies you will need are your own hand-carved  stamp, a journal to stamp in, an ink pad, a pencil and a camera (optional), clues from the letterboxing site, and a sense of adventure! 

The clues that placers give run the gamut from straight forward “take road X nine miles, turn right…” to riddles, codes, or even CD’s (I once found one that had nothing but animal sounds on it).

After following the clues and finding the box, or boxes, you open their box and stamp their image in your journal, date it, give the name of the box. Then you take your stamp and stamp it in their journal, date it, add your name (first name only) and town if desired.  Rehide the box well and repeat.

My hubby and I have found places in other states (and here in town) that we would never have stumbled across if we hadn’t had clues to them. We have found lovely little parks tucked in between buildings in busy cities, quirky botanical gardens, and a yellow restaurant with red trim that makes the best strawberry shortcake around!

The themes of the boxes vary with some being history oriented, some pertaining to the carved stamp, and some being lists like “ten things to see in your town”.

Letterboxing is great for kids as they love the idea of finding a treasure.  It also gives them practice reading and following sequential directions and learning compass directions.

What can you do with these stamped images you collect?  I choose to keep the stamped images and pictures I took of the hiding place itself, of friends that came with us, or anything that caught my fancy along the way, in a 6×6 scrapbook (which is the only size of scrapbook I can do without developing a nervous tic, but that is another story…).  It is fun to be able to count all of the boxes you have found, and the states you have found them in.  I have found over 100 boxes, and I am not even in the running for the most found, which I believe is over 1500!

sample page from my scrapbook

Head on over to the site, get some clues, find a letterbox, and enjoy!

Was this helpful?  Let me know.

Deb