CacheCrazy.Com

Saturday, May 18, 2013

DIY Magic Mushrooms......that's geocaches of course

We've all found them. You know, those “magical” little geocaches that scream “originality”, bring a smile to your face and your log reflects the effort gone into the cache and the container. I have the good fortune to own a few of these types of caches and it is very rewarding. Today, I want to take a look at a simple, yet very cool little cache that will make your seekers smile all the way back to GC.com to log their find. The Magic Mushroom Geocache, and you can make one yourself with today’s DIY!

Awhile back I wrote a DYI on building a mushroom A Fungus Among Us” (feel free to reference this post for additional instructions). I wanted to revisit this topic because I found that the previous product that I used to create these mushrooms did not hold up in the field as well as I would have hoped. Even with an epoxy skin, moisture within the finished product would work against the longevity of its composure. I have tried a few different types of products over the past several months to remedy this problem. I found an “air dry” polymer based clay that dries like iron and has very low shrink “meaning low moisture”. Today we’ll use this product in making our mushroom from start to finish.
geocache container called, “

An art degree is absolutely not necessary however; your adventure for fun is a perquisite. Similar to a kid with a container of Play Dough, you should have a blast building your mushroom. Geocaching give you a reason to climb trees, explore caves, wade across creeks and now you can play with clay too! Life is good!

What you’ll need to make a mushroom geocache:

· A small watertight plastic container about 3 inches long

· 4 inch nail

· Polymer modeling clay

· 5 minute epoxy

· 2 or 3 Small flat tip (disposable) paintbrushes

· Acrylic paints

· Paint brushes

That’s it! Let's get started!

1. On a clean workspace, pull a small portion of clay from the block and start to knead it to soften it up.

Split it in half. One half will be the cap and the other the stem.

2. Start to round and flatten the cap. Don’t make it too thin or it will be too fragile. Folks are going to grabbing this portion of the mushroom to pick up the cache. Make it tough and about ½ inch thick.

3. Then roll out the stem and flatten it a little thinner but still tough.

4. Roll the container in the stem leaving the threaded area free and clear. Seal and blend the stem.

5. Attach the stem to the cap and mold your work of art into what you kind of want it to look like.

6. Allow to dry for a few hours reshaping your masterpiece until you are happy with the end result. As it dries it will firm up and be less susceptible to “drooping” into a less desirable shape.

7. LET YOUR WORK DRY thoroughly. There will be some surface cracks and shrinkage and that’s ok but it takes several “dry” days for your mushroom to dry completely. Don’t rush it. Fine everlasting art takes time grasshopper.

8. Now it’s time to paint. I use water base acrylics because they dry quickly and blend easily. Again,
because you are adding moisture you’ll need to dry it for a few days again. A day or two in direct sunlight does wonders. DO NOT PUT IT IN THE OVEN! This slow drying process actually adds to its strength in the long run.

9. You’ll want your mushroom to last a good long time and keep it’s good looks so now it’s time to add the armor. 5 Minute epoxy is my product of choice. You’ll be doing this in steps to avoid a mess. Mix just enough to do the cap, hold the stem and “paint” the epoxy on the cap of the project. Let it sit for an hour and then hold the cap and paint the epoxy on the stem. Let dry overnight.

10. Under direct light inspect your mushroom. You’ll see some “dull” spots on the otherwise shinny new surface exposing areas that were missed. Mix up some epoxy and get them covered. If you live in a “hard winter” area like me, you’ll want to do a complete second coat or at least on the cap for added durability.

11. Take the cap of the container and drill a hole smaller than the nail diameter, add a drop of epoxy and push the nail through the cap to work as a spike for the ground. Put some epoxy on the outside of the nail area where it meets the cap as well to hold it firmly in place. Watch not to interfere with the threading at all.

12. In the end with just a little more epoxy, make sure the plastic tube is secure, the nail is strong and the entire area of the mushroom (watch the nooks and crannies under the cap) is sealed in a skin of epoxy protection.

13. Let the entire project rest and cure for a few dry days.

14. I like to leave them shinny but you may want to take the shine off with just a very light sanding of some #220 sandpaper. However, it will naturally dull if left alone.

15. Load it up with a small ziplock and a new CacheCrazy,Com log and get ready for the fun to start!

Anyone can place a 35mm film container, magnetic key box, little bison tube or Lock N Lock and they are all cool in their own way but, they lack the “magic” one enjoys when they find this type of cache. A handmade geocache is recognized by seekers everywhere and appreciated for its originality! Make some magic of your own today!

Have fun and cache crazy!

BH

PS ~ My friend nucci6 had a similar issue with the old mushroom cache that I sent him. So, I made a replacement and I'm sending it to him. It will reside at GC2RZP1, The Mushroom Cache at Penn State University mushroom research center. A very cool location indeed for this work of art.

Show your total cachecoolness, use a CacheCrazy.Com log

Friday, May 17, 2013

Clarks Geocaching Adventure! with Dan the Woodsman

Welcome Back ~ Dan the Woodsman!

I asked Dan if we could post this short article at our site and he gladly offered. Enjoy a geocaching adventure from a new friend of CacheCrazy.Com who enjoys the outdoors as much as we do! And....since Dave (smithie23) has the day off I figured why not run it one more time. Dan, your always welcome at CacheCrazy.Com.

I manged to get some geocaching in at Clark's Reservation State Park, yesterday. It was a beautiful day! My day started off searching for GC6AA4, but I had to walk away with a DNF (Did Not Find, for those of you not in the know). It was my second DNF in a row, but thanks to Bloodhounded over at cachecrazy.com, I know thats not all a bad thing (check out the article Can you log those DNF's? PLEASE).

Thankfully that cache was followed by three solid FINDS!

Yes, that is my new GPS ;-) It's a Magellan Explorist GC...expect a review by Monday! I also ran into a little forest friend.

For those of you who know me, you know I HATE snakes. HATE HATE HATE. But I took some quick shots (pictures, lol) anyway. I almost stepped on the poor guy, and when he moved I screamed like a girl and ran back down the trail to collect myself. Hey...even the Woodsman isn't fearless!

Thanks Dan! Great job and keep on caching! Have a great weekend!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

ROLLIN, ROLLIN, ROLLIN

Well folks it's almost here. Another road trip.

GEOWOODSTOCK XI

We leave this Saturday, very early in the morning, to make our way to Florida. We are all looking forward to this trip with a lot of enthusiasm. This will be my families' first Geowoodstock. I've been told that we will also have the privilege of meeting up with the infamous Dave DeBaeremaeker from Only Googlebot reads this blog. We're looking forward to meeting Dave and his family.

We will be caching on our way down, as well as on our way back home. And of course there will be plenty of caching while we are there visiting family and friends. I'll be writing an article, or two, about the event and some of the people we meet. We also hope to meet many new friends while we are there. If you're there please look us up; we'd love to meet you.

Big Al

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Why Not Wednesday ~ WARNING : Geocaching May Cause....

AS SEEN ON SONNY'S BLOG

LIFE OUTSIDE MY DOOR

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

I LOST MY HEAD at Cousin Hill

Kentucky Lake had record flooding last year and I wrote about it here. This year all that flooding came back and bit us in the ass, because there's been practically no rain and the lake levels are extremely low. Low water means it's hard to go boating in some of our favorite spots and the fishing isn't as good as it normally is. But we're making the best of it and finding things to do in spite of the low water.

The other day Chablis and I loaded up our kayak's onto the pontoon boat and boated over to one of our favorite picnic spots on the lake - Cousin Hill. We picked a nice day to do it, the sun was out and it was nice and warm. Plus there was practically nobody else out on the lake. I felt like we had the entire lake to ourselves.

We stopped to get gas and as we were pulling out of the marina, this sea plane landed right in front of us...

He motored right into the marina for gas. I'd love to go up in one of those some day...

Once we got to Cousin Hill we tossed the kayak's in the water and paddled up and down the shoreline, just exploring a little bit....

Behind Cousin Hill there is a little pond, so we landed ashore and walked around the pond....

Co-incidentally, I have a geocache hidden over there, named "I Lost My Head at Cousin Hill." There are only 2 ways to get to this cache - either come by boat or make the drive through the Land Between the Lakes down a road named The Trace to a little side road. You then take that side road to a cemetery, park and hike to the cache. Either way, it's a difficult trip.

I decided to do a little cache maintenance while we were there, so I checked on the cache, cleaned out the cache container and took a quick picture of part of the cache to show you. Doesn't this just make you want to go find it??