Making the mark
I’ve always wanted a way to establish my identity on my books. I usually scrawl my name and the date inside, but I’ve longed for a more “official” mark for a long time now, and I’ve grown tired of running out of book plates and stickers to label my books.
I thought of a rubber stamp, but I didn’t really want to mess with ink, and I was still not sold on the self-inking kind. And then one day, I mooched a book that had a dry seal on it, and I got the idea of having my own dry seal made for my library.
Luckily there was a dry seal maker next to the post office and I was finally able to get mine made yesterday.
The results? Here you go:

Yay!

close up

Now all I have to do is work my way through my books...
It’s going to take a while, pressing that seal into over a thousand books, but I’m really pleased at how it turned out — there’s something romantic about embedding your identity into a book. I could barely contain my excitement last night, that I mostly spent trying the dry seal out. It’s another great investment for my books, and I love it!
Squee!
| Print article | This entry was posted by Sumthinblue on June 3, 2009 at 7:35 am, and is filed under Miscellany, News. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |












about 2 years ago
thats a good idea.. I dont have a huge collection of book but I think putting a mark would be a cool idea… at least it can also remind people to return the books they borrowed from me hahaha
about 2 years ago
hahaha, yeah, that’s right, it’ll make people guilty for not returning borrowed books!
about 2 years ago
ah luv it! howmuchhowmuchhowmuch?
about 2 years ago
i decided to get one too… heres the dry seal note…
I promise to return it to MeloVillareal.com
o diba may URL na nangongonsensya pa hahahaha
about 2 years ago
@Czar: I got it for P750 in half a day, but my brother said it’s probably cheaper sa Recto
about 2 years ago
@Melo: Hmm, I should’ve had mine say “I solemnly swear on my life that I will return this book to Blooey or I will suffer the ugly consequences”
Bwahaha!
about 2 years ago
This is great Blooey! I used bookplates & labels and even rubberstamp.. i might try this.
about 2 years ago
750′s not bad. The self-inking types are more expensive than that. So you go there with a print out of your logo? What’s the diameter? Been thinking about stamping, but this is a much better idea.
about 2 years ago
@Chloe – I kept running out of bookplates and labels and I wanted a uniform look, so I went for this
about 2 years ago
@Ihop- The diameter is around 2.5 x 2.5 in.
I went there with a printout, but it didn’t come out exactly like that. I used a different font and the stars were bigger, but the finished product changed because they can only use that all-caps font and they had to adjust the stars into dry-sealable patterns.
Best to have a simple design I guess.
about 2 years ago
great idea. tsaka okay sya for 750. can they do complicated design?
about 2 years ago
@Ray-Ann – not sure, maybe it’ll be more expensive?
about 2 years ago
That is sooo nice. And the price is reasonable, too!
about 2 years ago
Hey magpapagawa rin ako nang seal super inggit ko.
about 2 years ago
It looks real good, blooey. I would have preferred it with ink though coz my eyesights too bad for an 18 year old. Normal people would be surprised how excited we get over the simplest things. I remember how hyper I got at having my name made into a stamp in chinese characters at hong kong. Never mind the fact that nobody could read what it was when they open my books. Haha :)
about 2 years ago
That’s so cool! I usually label mine with a sticker with my name, but as you mentioned, it’s hard to keep running out of stickers! I currently have three running designs for mine.
about 2 years ago
@Reg- haha I think kuripot lang talaga ako, imagining how many books that P750 would’ve bought. But after using it I realized it was a great investment
about 2 years ago
@Kathlyn, that’s a great idea too :) In college I took an elective on Chinese painting and was signing everything as Soon Mei Li. Haha now I don’t know how to write it anymore
about 2 years ago
@Kwesi, baka cheaper there in Koronadal?
about 2 years ago
@Tina- I have like four different kinds of stickers too, plus some stamps in my old books… Now I’ll never run out of labels, or ink. This one is for keeps, unless — gulp — I wear it out!
about 2 years ago
Cool! The only thing I do is write my name and the year I read the book on the front page.
about 2 years ago
@Ella- I still do that too :)
about 2 years ago
Greatings, Super post, Need to mark it on Digg
about 2 years ago
this looks really nice, blooey! really neat..reminds me of the Newbery medal..o, di bah sosyal..hehehe
hmmm..ideya lang..how about a “BLOOEY MEDAL OF EXCELLENCE”? and a book has to be very very good to get that seal.. ;)
about 2 years ago
@Mauie- Blooey Medal of Excellence? LOL…
about 2 years ago
Wow Blooey! This is great! I think it would be nice to receive a book from you with a mark “reviewed by Blooey”, haha!
about 2 years ago
@Ted – Hahaha at this rate I’ll be spending a small fortune on dry seals!
about 2 years ago
@Blooey: hehehe..naaliw lang talaga ako sa dry seal..”looks official..feels official” ang dating kasi..hehehe
pero ok rin naman na idea, di bah? *wink*
about 2 years ago
@Mauie- hehe, you’re right :D
about 2 years ago
Wow! This is really bookmarking at its best! Mahusay!
about 2 years ago
Nakaka-ilang post na ko. Nakakatuwa kasi yung dry seal effect! May sense of authority! Haha
about 2 years ago
Waaa! Inggit ako! I’ll ask about dry seal sa Recto when I’m not so busy…
about 2 years ago
@Cecille- Let us know ha! :)
about 2 years ago
@sTEDdy – hehe, magpagawa ka na rin!
about 2 years ago
Hi Blooey! Where’s the post office where you had this made?
about 2 years ago
Hi Kathlyn — in a rickety cart bordering on the Makati Central post office.
about 2 years ago
Thanks! I’m thinking of having one made with a coat of arms emblem Japanese style, like a sakura or a cloverleaf. Hope it’s not too complicated. :)
about 2 years ago
May I ask where you had it made? For how long and how much? I need to have one made before I fly on Saturday. Cool idea! THANKS!
about 2 years ago
Hi Liana. I had it made at a stall near the entrance of the Makati Central Post Office. It was P750, I had it made in the morning and was able to get it in the afternoon.
about 2 years ago
Thanks for the tip, Blooey. I can bring my design and they’ll do it? Whoa. Cool.
about 2 years ago
Hi Liana – the design can’t be very complicated because they’ll simplify it for you. And the font is default I think.
about 2 years ago
Thanks again, Blooey!
about 2 years ago
wow ganda ng dry seal pwede humingi ng design from u syempre consult na ko sa artist di ba? ok lang ba? paki email mo ko elladsm2002@yahoo.com ok lang? thanks in advance