I know of a logbook that was made to look like the tail of a particular bird species. It has molded/painted covers, and it fans out like the tail would. It really is spectacular and was made by a true artist.

Here are some of the comments on this logbook:

• Excellent, over the top box, logbook, and carve!!! Thanks!!! :)
• Spectacular logbook, thanks!
• What an interesting logbook!
• Absolutely loved this stamp and logbook! I was so intrigued and impressed by the logbook while stamping in that I slipped my image (not too bad though so it still looks good). :D
• Visually stunning all around! This box perfectly captures the theme of the hunt! It made me completely rethink the logbook and its importance to the letterboxing experience!
• Nice stamp and very clever logbook! Thank you!
• Wow, what an utterly fantastic box! The stamp, holder, and logbook are just flat out amazing.
• Beautiful carve and box for the stamp and astounding logbook!!
• Amazing logbook compliments this great stamp perfectly!
• Wow! A very impressive image and the logbook is one of a kind. Amazing!
• Gorgeous stamp and gorgeous logbook. Thank you!

And that's all I have to say about that. :^)

Good for you! I have thought for a long time (I'd say 'from my very first plant' but that's not quite true) Logbooks should continue the theme of the box.

Some things you might consider, or may already do ~
• select scrapbook paper &/or card stock colors for the book's cover that work with the theme; match the color of the binding thread to the paper. I made a logbook cover with a card of buttons as the cover. The back cover had the buttons removed, but the front still had buttons on it. Kid's valentines for covers? Brown paper bags for that vino stamp?
• learn a new binding stitch or style
• use other materials (see posts above) for covers and stitching ~ I still want to try birchbark. Stitch with jute twine (no needle, just a blunt item for poking it through, and a great deal of patience), ribbon, embroidery or dental floss or fishing line - whatever fits the theme
• add something to the binding thread, either attached to long tails, or attached as you stitch; wood or glass beads (my now retired Captain Jack Sparrow logbook), feathers, small shells, chicken wing bones for the scary Halloween stamp (my bones were boiled, pierced for threading while warm, then spent a little time in a bleach/water solution in hopes of killing the chicken essence. Last step was to sun dry them on the windowsill.) If you use a wrap-around binding like Japanese stab binding, attach a stick along the outer spine. There are all sorts of charms and embellishments available - little bottles (decorated with a skull and cross bones = bottle of poison), diamond rings & wedding bands (like the one the Frog Prince has on his logbook, just in case he gets kissed) Weave stout grasses into the stitching holes - you need another thread to keep the book together because when the grasses dry, some bits may break off. Stitch first - push the grasses through afterwards.
• wrap the stamp in something besides paper toweling - one of the cutest ideas I've seen is a stamp tucked into an infant's sock, but you can also use thin leather, fabric, come on ~ keep thinking ~ ~ ~ ~
• once I used thin leather lacing, made a loop at one end and attached a small clip hook at the other to create a dog's leash, then stitched the book with that (dog stamp, of course). Again, fat hole, a blunt poking tool, and patience

My name is Maude, and I'm a bookbinding addict ;~)

I found a box by lionsmane in a grove of aspen trees outside of Santa Fe who's front and back covers were made from aspen (very similar to birch) bark.

I was gifted a letterbox that had much to do with a beach theme. The logbook was a real pair of flip flops for the covers and the pages were everything beachy. In case you're wondering it is a tremendously large letterbox with an itty-bitty stamp (in proportion).

The logbook cover for this box was made from a computer motherboard:

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?boxId=209771

I made a photo album of my most creative logbook:

https://www.atlasquest.com/gallery/viewalbum.html?albumId=3277&sortBy=oldest

K

wrap the stamp in something besides paper toweling

Amen to that. I've never understood why people use paper towel for a permanent box. Before long it turns to inky shreds.

Felt is cheap. A yard will wrap more stamps than most people will plant in years to come. And if money is a concern, any kind of fabric will do...old t-shirts, etc.

I made a photo album of my most creative logbook:

Wow! That is sooooo cool. Thanks for sharing.

So true! I use felt scraps from other projects. So cheap!

I created a mini version of the Monster Book of Monsters for a Harry Potter series I planted. I had a blast making that logbook.

Wow! Wish we had a picture of that, just to say "great job". That's some very thoughtful work. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing all the info. You have a lit of passion & I appreciate all the tips & ideas. I just really want to take my boxes up a notch. The logbooks I have found are all basic. I don't have a lot of experience, so all this info is really helping.

That must be crazy big! Even kids flip flops...but how fun to find it. That would have laughing out loud😂

Thanks! Those are cool. I love to hear the relationships between the logbook & the stamp.

My kids would love that! Anything HP!

Matchbook and even match box log book. At a street fair event, and a local municipality had a booth. They wanted to pack up but had a ton of accordion style bike path maps. I took a bunch home and made log books out of them.

Most of the logbooks I've found in permanent letterboxes are simple - they don't tend to survive in our weather around here and end up a soggy mess. The best logbooks I've seen were in temporary boxes for events, event boxes, or postals.

The coolest "logbooks" I've seen are in the traveling Texas boxes. These are large boxes where each finder adds a stamp, decorates a page in large logbook (almost scrapbook style), and then hides the box in a new location for the next finder. They get more and more elaborate as time goes on and some pages are works of art.

The Texas boxes, are they called "growing" boxes? Where you find it. Stamp in
Add a stamp to the box & rehide? These logbooks sound cool!

Great idea to reuse. How were you able to do the paper ?(I am assuming it had printing on it)

I'm not sure what they are called elsewhere, we just call them traveling boxes. The person who finds it takes the box home to stamp all the stamps and make their updates. When they re-hide it, clues are posted on the Texas yahoo group. The next finder announces they have it so others don't go after it. We only have one in circulation at a time. Once the box is full it's retired and another started.

We have some growing boxes in Illinois and there's one big one I know of in Iowa but they don't leave their hiding spots. People bring a stamp with them and let the owner know. The owner adds that stamp to the clue.

Thanks for the info. I think it's a cool idea & am glad to be learning more about growing boxes.

For a pinup themed postal, I made a logbook that had a cutout keyhole in the cover, surrounded by paper that was cut to look like an ornate keyhole hardware. The overall cover had a wood grain print. Through the keyhole you could see a small portion of the stamped image.

Can you send me the name of this box? I would like to research this further & Wang to read the clues. I think it'll help me understand it a bit better.

(From what I am reading, it sounds like the stamps become part of a story. Is that right?)

I dipped a marble in paint and rolled it on a piece of paper; dipping it in several colors rolling it back and forth for an art themed book. I cut the papers into 4 pieces and bound the booklet. I looked really neat!

RavenWolf's logbooks are works of art!

That sounds fun!

We found a box in this beautiful crazy wooded area that reminded me of a tropical jungle. No words can describe it. The story in the clue really set the tone. I found the box, set down, &carefully opened it. I could see something Shining and reached in for it. Coincidentally a school marching band or something started practicing off in the distance and it totally freaked me out. It was almost dark. Then I pulled out the log book, ohhhh the log book, it was made of wood with hammered tin, or copper, I can't remember; it was getting dark. The cover had a confederate soldier riding off into battle. Just as I saw the photo, a light flashed around the woods.. I have no idea where it came from and I swear I heard horses hooves galloping somewhere nearby. The log book was not like anything I had seen yet. It felt like I opened a Jumanji book or something.

Any other day that might have just been a really neat logbook. But that night, it was magical :-)

I dig toasters has many amazing log books. Each logbook she does highlights the theme in some way. Her Wizard of Oz series has gingham, fur, tin, straw, netting and lace, and more, each book designed for the particular stamp! We are lucky to have most of her boxes in the StL region, but I'm glad you were able experience her work!

I dig toasters has out done herself with her latest log book! It's a fully decorated and functioning wooden hutch in her Eye of Newt series! A must see!

Sounds really cool!