October PenPal Magazine Delay

The October issue of our penpal magazine is delayed. We are currently working on completing it and we are hopeful that by the end of the month we will be able to release it.

We would also like to remind you that you can send us your Halloween costume, decoration photos and stories at raiasandbook(at)gmail.com - we are going to publish them in the October issue. Send them right away! The release date of the delayed October issue is just around the corner.

PenPal Interview: Anna Tang

This is our interview with Anna Tang. August 2011, issue 10 of our PenPal magazine.

 

Hello there! How are you doing? Tell us more about yourself, your hobbies, personal life, interests.

Hey everyone! My name is Anna Tang, I’m 17 years old and I’m live in North Carolina, USA! I was originally born in China, I moved to the US when I was four. Since then, I’ve been back two times, once in ’06 and in ’08. Life is never dull as I have a beagle named Elmo and a goldfish named Mister, I call him Mister Goldfish. My life revolves around green tea, and I swear by the Green Tea Frappuccino at Starbucks. 

My hobbies include reading and writing, listening to music, sleeping (it’s an epidemic in high school), writing to my penpals (of course!), and fashion!

My life revolves around my journal, it looks about as old as the Dead Sea Scrolls, and my books. I write and I write and then I scribble in my journal. My books define who I am so I try to buy new books as often as I can (I have boxes of books in my attic!). I read a lot of different books: last week, I started reading Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, before that, I was worming my way through Dante’s Inferno. Two completely different books, but both were interesting in their own way.

I don’t think I know a single teenager who doesn’t listen to some kind of music, everyone has an iPod or some music making gadget stuck in their ears on full blast these days! Anyways, I listen to music from a lot of different countries from Ayumi Hamasaki in Japan to Katy Perry in the US and Yulia Savicheva in Russia. I enjoy hearing music from different countries, it’s like being able to listen in on a different culture.

Probably my favorite hobby, sleeping. During the school year, it’s from August till June here, sleeping is something I wistfully wish for (and occasionally do) in class. It’s a symptom of senioritis, don’t worry, it’s not a terrible disease, it’s a state-of-mind that all rising seniors experience because they are just so happy to be leaving high school.

I’ll be writing about my penpals throughout this interview, so I’ll go ahead and skip that right now. I feel no guilt about it.

Fashion! Fashion! Fashion! I’m not a slave to fashion (it means I don’t wear it), I’m simply a follower. I have always loved clothes that are provocative and inspiring. Designers like John Galliano and Salvatore Ferragamo are my favorites, and Chanel and Ralph Lauren are classics. I have tried to design my own clothes, but in the end, they always look nothing like how I want them to look. I sketch my designs out and once I finish them, I like to send them to my penpals and ask for their approval. I read Vogue, W, Teen Vogue, Elle, and Allure.

If you have to describe yourself in only 5 words what would they be?

Only 5? I had to think really hard on this one, but here is my top five:

Parenthetical: I use parenthesis as a means of my “background voice.” It’s my way of telling the world that I talk a lot, because I have to use parenthesis to express my “opinion” on everything I write. Oh! And I almost forgot, there’s another meaning for the word parenthetical, I’m using my own definition of parenthetical (it means opinionated) here, the real definition has something to do with punctuation marks. 

Genuine: I am not another version of anyone else; I’m the first (and only, I hope) version of me.

On-the-Go: Ok, that’s actually three words, but for the sake of this interview, let’s just pretend that it’s one word. I’m always doing something at every moment of every day of my life (like now, I’m writing this interview).

Foody: I don’t think that’s actually a word, but I use this to describe myself. I cook and I cook and then I eat. I believe that food is a way to a person’s soul (hence: Soul Food!), so I always try to cook the best dishes for my friends and family (it’s not because I want to see into their souls, I can already do that, I just know that they are really hungry.)

Cheddar: Ok, another thing related to food. The truth is: my life revolves around cheddar, so I eat a lot of cheese. I guess this is my way of saying that I’m unique because this one time, I wrote a paper on the history of Gouda and the English teacher said that it was the only paper she didn’t fall asleep reading. (You should’ve seen the class’ face…)

Tell us something about your town, city or country.

I live in a small college town in North Carolina called Chapel Hill. It’s a relatively small town with some 30,000 people and 3,000+ college kids. Right in the heart of Chapel Hill is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and even though it is a public college (not private like Duke or Yale), kids come here to learn from all over the US and all over the world.

Chapel Hill is mostly famous for its basketball team, the UNC Tarheels. They got their name from all the tar pits that used to occupy NC back in the old days (and soldiers complained about their boots getting stuck in tar when they tried to move around.) Then, there’s the age-old rivalry between the UNC Tarheels and the Duke Blue Devils. Duke is another famous university that’s located near Chapel Hill. Basketball season is very popular among the locals (that’s me) and college kids alike.

Aside from all the colleges and sports, Chapel Hill has delicious Southern comfort food. I’m talking about fried chicken (very fatty, very delicious!), mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits and gravy (we eat a lot gravy down south!), sweet tea, and fried okra. There’s a lot more, I’m just naming my favorites! Most of the tourists are here for the food, and the fast food restaurants (think: McDonalds) don’t do nearly as well as the southern fast food restaurants (say it with me, Bojangles!).

 

How did you start penpalling? When was that? And why did you decide to start Penpalling?

I first started penpalling when I was a sophomore in high school. I started out wanting just one or two penpals from Russia because I had recently become fascinated with the country. But I would’ve been fine if someone from another country, say Finland, wanted to be my penpal. Looking back, I didn’t really know much, if anything at all, about penpalling. But now I know there’s more (a lot more!) to just writing letters, it’s about making a connection.

It was a bit scary at first because I didn’t really know how I would start. Typing the introduction to my profile at a penpalling website alone was harrowing. But after a while, I got used to the idea of messaging people and introducing myself. It got easier and finally, after a lot of trial and error (and some time in the Spam Box), I did find penpals whom I’m still friends with today.

What do you like / dislike about Penpalling/correspondence?

I like writing the letters to my penpals and frantically searching the aisles at stores for presents to put in my letter. I HAVE to include something in my letter; I’ve been doing it ever since I started writing to my penpals. It’s a tradition with me that has never (never ever ever!) been broken.

When I’m writing a letter to my penpal, I feel like as if time has stopped. I can write as fast as I want or as slowly as I want, it doesn’t matter. It’s very low-stress and low-key. On the other hand, when I search for the “perfect gift,” that’s when the stress begins. I always want every gift to be special and a representation of something special.

What I don’t like about penpalling is when I’m writing the address on the envelope and halfway, I mess up on a letter (or once in my case, a whole line!). I don’t want to send the letter that way because it’s got a huge blotch of white out on it and when it’s on a manila envelope (yellow!), you can so totally tell. So I have to get a whole new envelope and rewrite the entire address over. That’s my ultimate pet peeve of penpalling.

Another thing that bothers me (ever so slightly) is reading a letter in which the person put in absolutely no effort to write. It leaves the reader (you, me, and all who read their penpal’s letters) with a very down feeling followed by a period of resentment. I spend on average three hours (and counting!) writing and working on each penpal’s letter because I believe that every letter should be special and of some significance.

I’m not too picky, am I?

How do your friends react when they discover you are into Penpalling? Are they also into it or they give you the “strange” faces?

My friends are neutral when it comes to my penpalling habits. Two of my friends have their own “version” of penpalling, they write to their friends that live in other states (as in, they moved and communicate with their friends through letters). I was actually the first one to mention to my friends that I did penpalling. They were shocked at first because I told them that I met them on the Internet. There was (and still is) this big policy at my school about Internet safety and this elaboration that no one online is who they claim to be. I think that’s probably a big reason why my friends were cautious about my penpalling, because of how I met them. But after I showed them pictures of my first (and current!) penpal, they calmed down a bit and started doing their own penpalling.

Do you still stay in touch with your first penpal? Tell us about your first penpal even if you have lost touch with them. We might be able to help you locate him/her.

YES! I am still in touch with my first penpal! We have known each other for over two years now, and there’s never been a dull moment. She’s from Russia and five years older than me but we still have so much to talk about. We met on a language exchange website called italki. Most people on there are looking for someone to practice a language with, I don’t think anyone on there is solely concentrated on penpals. Anyways, I sent her a message commenting on how exotic her profile picture was, she replied, and we’ve been friends ever since. We talk to each other about everything: her university, my beagle, her love for languages, and my outrageous scribbling abilities.

It’s only been about a year and half since my first penpal and I started exchanging letters. I was a bit nervous about the idea at first, but I learned that it was just as good, even better, than sending messages to each other all the time through email. We also recently started using Skype to communicate. We send each other instant messages through Skype and (with the permission of my grunting parents) we also have video chats. I have a fondness for video chats because it feels like you are actually meeting your penpal since it feels like as if they are in the next room talking to you.

How many Penpals do you have? Where are they from?

Don’t laugh, but I only have 5 penpals. Two are from Russia, one is from Italy, another from Hungary, and the last one is from England. I am really close with all my penpals as we have known each other for over a year now (save the first penpal, that’s two years), and I write letters to them on a daily basis (once or twice a month, depends on the mood of my local post office).

Back when I first started penpalling, I went wild. I had met a lot of people, and we agreed to write letters to each other. But after about a letter or two, someone usually lost interest, and for that reason, we stopped sending letters to each other. At one point, I had over 30 penpals that I wrote to. It was really hard to keep track of all of them, so if one or two didn’t reply, it took a while to notice. I had penpals from Brazil, Argentina, Spain, France, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Finland, Belarus, Austria, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Israel, Qatar, Thailand, Australia, and Scotland. It was fun while it lasted and if I could do it all over again, I would.

Are you searching for new Penpals? If yes, please give us some contact information that we can publish in the magazine so that people can write to you back.

Haha, that’s a good question. I think that I am still looking for penpals because I’m always looking to learn about new people, their lives, and their cultures. I like getting to know new people, and for that reason, I always try to find new penpals.

My email address is youqi2004@yahoo.com

And finally, my Skype is lolanna21.

What are you looking for in a penpal?

Oooh, another tough question! I don’t have anything specific that I look for in a person. I’m looking for someone who is willing to share their culture openly with someone else, who is a loyal friend, who loves to talk and make new friends, and who has an insatiable appetite for knowledge. Well, maybe not the last part so much, I just like people who are inquisitive.

Really, I just look for people who are adventurous, that’s what penpalling is all about, it’s an adventure.

Where do you find new Penpals from? Do you rely on FBs or Facebook or other websites/blogs.

When I started penpalling, I found several penpals on the language exchange website, italki. I found my first penpal there. I still use italki, but I also like to use studentoftheworld, it’s my #1 website for finding a penpal. I would definitely recommend studentsoftheworld to anyone new to penpalling, there are so many nice people on there! I met the majority of my penpals on there! Other than those two websites, I don’t really use any other websites.

I rely on Facebook for keeping in touch with my friends when we aren’t sending letters to each other. For my penpals who don’t have Facebook, I like to use email, it’s as good as Facebook, and even though I have had more than my share of time in the Spam box, I enjoy communicating by email.

Tell us a funny/interesting story from your Penpalling experience?

I think the funniest thing that ever happened was the one time I sent my driver’s license to my penpal. (In the US, it’s possible to get a license at 17, some have gotten theirs at 15.) I had to deliver a huge box to my penpal (it was a Christmas present), and the lady at the post office asked to see some ID. At the time, the box wasn’t sealed, so I handed her the driver’s license and when she was done, she put in on the box. At that moment, I was getting cash from my purse so I completely forgot about my driver’s license. After I finished paying her, I shook the box a little (don’t ask why, I don’t know!) and behold! The driver’s license fell through the crack and into the box! I didn’t know that I had sent my driver’s license to my penpal until she called me and ask why I had sent it to her! I had to get another one.

How do you keep track of your mail? Share your tip on how to organize ourselves.

I have a set of decorative boxes that I use for the letters that my penpals send. I try to create a special box for my penpals and I keep the boxes in special place in my room. It was a lot of work making and decorating the boxes at first, but it was worth it in the end. Now, I don’t have to worry about misplacing or losing a letter because I put lids on the boxes. Then I stack them on top of one another so they don’t take up too much space in my tiny room. So in one corner of my room I have these really wacky designs practically shooting from the floors.

Do you swap things? Do you like sending gifts to friends? If yes, what is the funniest gift you have ever sent/received?

From the first letter that I have ever sent to my penpal, I always put some little gift in the letter. It’s like my tradition and it’s never been broken. I guess because it’s a tradition with me, I like sending things to my penpals.

The funniest thing that I have ever sent was a board game. I sent the game “Mouse Trap” to a penpal for her birthday. She wrote back and told me that she had a good time setting up the mousetrap and playing the board game.

I once received a report card from a penpal. It was really funny to see that in Italy, the grades were in numbers (1-10) while here, the grades were letters (A,B,C…). I could just imagine an American kid going home afraid that their parents would see a bad grade on their report card only to open it and find that it was a number instead!

Have you met a penpal? If so, let us know how the meeting went.

Unfortunately, I have not met any of my penpals! I will definitely try to visit all of them, sooner or later. I love to travel, so I think I will meet all of them.

What do you usually like writing/reading about in the letters?

I like to write about my life, my highlights, my dooms, myself, and my increasing desire to get my hands on a box of calissons, a delectable French candy made exclusively in Aix-en-Provence.

I write about daily happenings from a cute boy that I saw in the hallway at school to the upcoming presidential elections. There’s no one specific topic that I focus on, I try write about as many different things as possible. Sometimes, I would have endless conversations about one specific topic with a penpal, other times, I would just mention it and they would comment on it and that would be the end of it.

Reading-wise, I like to read about everything that the penpal has to say. There’s no limit as to what to talk about, I’m really interested in knowing about a new lifestyle, custom, or just a different opinion. Who knows? I may find a new topic refreshing and exciting and new! But most importantly, I think that the idea that I’m reading something from someone who is so far away and at the same time so close is enough for me.

When it comes to making cute and personal letters, everyone has his/her own style. Tell us your trick how to make a letter/envelope unique? Do you decorate it? If yes, how. Give us some tips on how to make the letters more interesting.

Oooh (I do that a lot!), was I supposed to decorate the letter? I believe that while we should not judge a book by its cover, we also should not judge a letter by its envelope. I usually mail my letters in a plain manila envelope. I guess that’s my unique trademark: an ugly envelope in the mail.

I don’t really decorate the outside of my letters nor the actual letter itself. That’s another trademark: a letter written on notebook paper. I like to keep it simple because it’s distracting (to me) to read a letter that has flowers and puppy dogs swimming all over it. My “style” comes in when I make the gifts that I send to my penpals.

I love fashion so I sketch my clothing designs on paper and I send those to my penpals and ask for their approval and what they think. Also, I like to include things in my letter from my daily life like school newspapers, fashion magazines, sketch books, fruit roll ups, Jello and pudding mix, and origami paper. And of course, I try to be extravagant and spoil my penpals when I send things like teddy bears (Build-A-Bear!) and perfume (D&G anyone?). My goal is to always keep my penpals guessing on what I will send them next.

Where do you buy your stationery supplies from? Do you prefer traditional shops or e-shops? If so, give us some links.

I can usually get most of my supplies from a local office supply store. I get my art supplies from a specialty crafts store called Michaels, they have everything from stone to cotton balls! In this sense, I’m a traditionalist when it comes to shopping for things for my penpals. Of course, I get my gifts from a multitude of stores, department stores and boutiques. It all depends on how I’m feeling (and how much money I saved up from my allowance.)

I have never bought anything online before for my penpals, not yet. Currently, I have my eyes set on Janet Store, they have the cutest things, and I’m coveting their things right now!

Penpal Interview: Bev Sykes

Bev Sykes gives this PenPal Interview for Sandbook PenPal Magazine, August 2011, issue 10.

 

Hello there! How are you doing? Tell us more about yourself, your hobbies, personal life, interests.

Thank you for asking. I am a bit warm today because the temperatures are in the mid-90s, but I am enjoying the fan here on my desk. I am Bev Sykes, retired from medical office management but writing theater (not movie) reviews for the local newspaper here in Davis, California. Walt and I have been married 46 years and raised 5 children. We have 1-1/2 granddaughters (baby due in September). I love writing, reading, TV, movies, theater, photography, PhotoShop, mucking around on the computer, travel and giving friends tours of my hometown, San Francisco.

If you have to describe yourself in only 5 words what would they be?

Fat, funny, sarcastic, loyal, affectionate.

Tell us something about your town, city or country.

Davis is a medium sized town, 60,000 people (it has doubled in size since we moved here nearly 40 years ago), located about 80 miles east of San Francisco and about 20 miles from Sacramento, the capitol of California. It is a university town, with one of the best veterinary medical schools in the US. The terrain is very flat and bike lanes are very wide, so lots of people bike and we are known as the City of Bicycles.

How did you start penpalling? When was that? And why did you decide to start Penpalling?

I had my first penpal, a girl in England, when I was in grammar school. I think I just read an ad from a Mrs. Chegwidden (seriously) who offered to find penpals for girls who wanted to write to someone of the same age in England. Sadly, I no longer remember my pen pal’s name. I have always written letters but kind of switched to e-mail for a long time, being a person who likes instant gratification. But I miss the actual writing of a letter (though I type, rather than hand write my letters because even I can’t read my handwriting). I went search on the internet last year, to find out about connecting with penpals and discovered this whole huge community, which I am enjoying exploring.

 

What do you like / dislike about Penpalling/correspondence?

I love the interaction with people, learning about other lives and other countries. I haven’t been back into official "penpalling" long enough to have made it past the initial "getting to know you" phase and into perhaps deeper discussions. But I am enjoying the whole process. Nothing, really, that I dislike about it. Yet.

How do your friends react when they discover you are into Penpalling? Are they also into it or they give you the "strange" faces?

My friends and family always think I’m a little strange.

Do you still stay in touch with your first penpal? Tell us about your first penpal even if you have lost touch with them. We might be able to help you locate him/her.

As I said, that was a long time ago–maybe 50 years and I don’t remember her name. We probably wrote to each other for a year or so.

How many Penpals do you have? Where are they from?

At this point too many to count (I always was an overachiever), but I can sense that some of the ones I have will fall off the radar in the foreseeable future. I know that some will remain and it would be nice to have a couple of dozen good penpals to keep indefinitely. There are probably more from the US than anywhere else, but also from Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Canada and perhaps one or two other countries. I have a few email penpals who are from Germany, England, and Russia.

Are you searching for new Penpals? If yes, please give us some contact information that we can publish in the magazine so that people can write to you back.

I would never say no to someone who wanted to exchange letters with me. My address is: Beverly Sykes, 539 Villanova Dr., Davis, CA 95616 USA

What are you looking for in a penpal?

Someone who will write regularly, without too horribly long a gap between letters, who is open to exchanging ideas, even when opinions differ, who won’t try to convert me to any sort of ideology, but who can respect my ideas as I would respect hers (would prefer not to correspond with men).

Where do you find new Penpals from? Do you rely on FBs or Facebook or other websites/blogs.

I don’t think I’ve found any from FBs or Facebook. They have come either from Sandbook, from SendSomething, from LWA (Letter Writers Alliance) or from one of the many penpalling blogs I follow. I also write to two soldiers in Afghanistan, with whom I connected through Soldiers Angels.

Tell us a funny/interesting story from your Penpalling experience?

The only story I have is perhaps more odd than funny. I got a couple of names from a site for people who like to write long letters. My letters usually run about 3-4 typewritten 8-1/2x11 sheets of paper, which I think of as relatively long. But I was not prepared for the thirty typed page letter of introduction that I received from one of those long-letter people! I responded (4 pages) but have not heard back from her. Not sure if I will!

How do you keep track of your mail? Share your tip on how to organize ourselves.

I do everything on computer and type my letters, so I have copies of what I have written. Each person has a separate file and I keep track of the dates of incoming and outgoing letters, what stationery and/or envelope I used, and what (if anything) I sent off to each person. Incoming mail right now is kept in a plastic sleeve in a binder. Each pen pal has one sleeve and I just put all the mail from that person in her plastic sleeve. I can see that as I keep at this, I will have to switch to a better system, especially for incoming mail!

Do you swap things? Do you like sending gifts to friends? If yes, what is the most funny gift you have ever sent/received?

I have sent a few things along with letters, like postcards and stickers and occasionally some stationery. I sent one penpal a book because she was interested in the subject matter.

Have you met a penpal? If so, let us know how the meeting went.

I had an e-mail relationship with a woman in Australia, starting in about 1999. She was a friend of a friend, but we clicked and began writing to each other daily. In 2000 she came to the U.S. and spent 6 weeks with us (she said "if it doesn’t work out, I can always get a bus tour somewhere"). It worked out better than either of us expected and 3 years later, I traveled to Australia to spend six weeks with her. We still remain in contact.

What do you usually like writing/reading about in the letters?

I write about what’s going on in my life (like everyone else) and especially like to write about oddball things that have happened, like something unusual that I saw in the theater or read in a book, weird things the dogs have done, places we have visited, etc. I love hearing that same kind of thing from other people, and I sometimes ask questions that will help elicit a response. I also like being asked questions because it lets me know what the penpal is interested in reading about.

When it comes to making cute and personal letters, everyone has his/her own style. Tell us your trick how to make a letter/envelope unique? Do you decorate it? If yes, how? Give us some tips on how to make the letters more interesting.

I just learned how to make envelopes and am going crazy turning every oddball piece of paper into an envelope. My favorites were a Trader Joe’s shopping bag, a coffee bean bag from Peet’s coffee, and an air sickness bag from China Air. Theater programs are great material for making envelopes, as are old calendars and I always seem to have an inexhaustible supply of both. As for the letter itself, I don’t have much of a creative gene, so I often use pre-printed stationery, or decorate plain pieces of paper with stickers. Nothing really creative.

Where do you buy your stationery supplies from? Do you prefer traditional shops or e-shops? If so, give us some links.

I have a ton of stuff leftover from other projects many years ago, so I haven’t had to shop much, but have bought things from Etsy, mostly from sites that I read about on blogs. And of course, I’m a sucker for Michael’s.

PenPal Interview with Gabriele

By: Rachel Brazeale

http://lillypadgraphics.wordpress.com 

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview my pen pal from Lithuania, Gabrielė. We chatted via IM on SKYPE.

Rachel for the Lime Green Giraffe: “Where is Lithuania on the map?”

Gabrielė: “:D It is in central – East Europe, near Poland, Belarus and Latvia. There were some calculations and it is certified that the centre of Europe is in Lithuania!”

R: “What is school like in Lithuania?”
G: “Um. Our classes start at 8 am and we have from 5 to 8 classes everyday which last 45 minutes. After each class we have 10 minutes break. Unfortunately, our school system tends to be more theoretical, if you understand me? We don’t have a lot of practical works. In my school every year students are directing a big musical! This year it will be ‘Grease’. I’m very excited about it.”

R: “What do you mean by you “don’t have practical works?”
G: “It’s just that we learn from the books and not from the practice.”

R: “Ah, okay. What is your favorite Lithuanian food?”
G: “It has no translation to English but it is a cold beetroot soup. It is in such a lovely pink colour! We call it “šaltibarščiai”. It is eaten with hot potatoes. In fact, all our traditional dishes are from potatoes.”

Read the whole interview on Rachel's blog or by download the issue 10, August 2011: SandbookNet PenPal Magazine from our website.

Beauty Brite visits SandbookNet

Beauty Brite shares their addiction for great coffee and yoga on the pages of our magazine. Read this and more on the pages of SandbookNet PenPal Magazine issue 10, August 2011.

 

2012 USA Stamp Program

by Misty Davis
www.pen-thief.blogspot.com

The photo is taken from issue 10, August 2011: SandbookNet PenPal Magazine

Since I started really mailing things (I have been mailing things since forever, but never as much as now) I have become more fascinated with stamps themselves. And really who hasn't? I mean there is so much effort that goes into making postage stamps (this would be an awesome topic in and of itself wouldn't it?) and not many people take the time to look at them.

Well..now that I am a postage stamp fanatic I keep up to date on all the news surrounding the stamp releases. I read about the artists that take the time to create such masterpieces. I even have a poster on my bedroom wall that shows all the stamps releasing this year. And I try to buy the new ones when they come out.

Now after that SUPER long beginning lets get down to business. The 2012 stamp program is releasing previews of some stamps that will be released next year. One stamp for each day. You can find this information in various places (Facebook, Twitter and Beyond the Perf)...OR you could just tune in here for a quick overview.

 

PenPal Magazine - August 2011

Our latest issue is available at Sandbook PenPal Magazine.

Find this issue and more at www.sandbook.net

Kids' Zone

It's very difficult for kids to find penpals. That is why SandbookNet started the Kids' Zone pages in our penpal magazine. We are going to publish ads that are made on behalf of the kids from their parents or close relatives. Please note, that Sandbook Net prefers communicating with parents to ensure that someone screens the incoming mail for the kids as we all know that there are always "spam" mail that reaches us.

To publish an ad in this section, please send us an email at raiasandbook(at)gmail.com with a Subject: Kids' Zone or penpals for kids. Thank you!

The photo is taken from July 2011, issue 9 of our free PenPal Magazine. 

PenPal Interview: Alyssa Ricigliano

Alyssa Ricigliano gives this PenPal Interview for Sandbook PenPal Magazine, July 2011, issue 9.

Hello there! How are you doing? Tell us more about yourself, your hobbies, personal life, interests.

Hi! I hope everyone is doing splendid! I certainly know I am. My name is Alyssa, I'm 19, and I hail from New York, USA. Not New York City, mind you, though someday I'd simply love to live there. I am a college junior studying Television and Film Arts. I plan at some point on getting a dual degree in Interior Design as I finish up my film studies. Someday I would like to be somebody's personal fashion consultant or personal shopper. I am a crafter of jewelry and journals and I have my own Etsy shop called Jar of Dreams, for each little thing I create is like a dream coming from the jar that is my imagination. I am a creator of films and videos. I prefer to shoot 16mm and I have my own Bolex, but due to the expenses required to shoot in film, I only use it for experimental movies. I have a YouTube channel but my blog is where I post everything I've worked on, including some things others have posted on their channels. As a blogger, I also include fashion, crafting, cooking, shopping, organizational, and self-improvement tips and advice. I am the youngest of two kids. My older brother is a chef and cooking is something my entire family enjoys, myself included. Sushi is my favorite food! I love eel and squid more than a normal person should. I also love to write. Short stories, novels, poems, letters, scripts... I am working on my second novel at the moment. I tend to write in the supernatural or urban fantasy genre, though the novel I am working on now is regular fantasy. I have completed a feature-length script and after some tweaking I will send it out to contests. My secret confession is this: I am a HUGE geek. I play video games, board games, card games, role-playing games, and I collect Pokemon cards. Now all I need is a Magic: The Gathering deck.

If you have to describe yourself in only 5 words what would they be?
Random. Quirky. Independent. Imaginative. Sarcastic.

Tell us something about your town, city or country.

My city is where the Erie Canal neared completion. We also have this huge art festival called the Allentown Art Festival which is held annually in the heart of the city's art district. It's an incredible event. Vendors sell their jewelry and paintings and sculptures and soooo much more for an entire weekend. There's also Thursday at the Square, which is a live music event every Thursday of the summer where different bands come to play the whole night.

How did you start penpalling? When was that? And why did you decide to start Penpalling?
I spent a month in Ithaca, New York as a part of the New York State Summer School for the Arts film program during the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, I believe in 2008. I wanted to receive letters from my friends and family to keep me close to them since we weren't supposed to use our phones during classes and lectures which ran most of the day and night. So I gave my address to my friends and family and wrote letters back to them, and that got me thinking. What if I could write letters to strangers who were similar to my friends? What if I found people who had interesting stories to tell who would want to know about my life in exchange for sharing their unique experiences? I made friends at the program and we lived from all parts of the state, so we exchanged addresses and numbers and began writing letters. I guess ultimately I decided to seriously start a search for new pen pals during the start of my senior year in high school. I realized I wanted to see what other people were like in other parts of the country and, in some cases, other parts of the world. I wanted to hear these people talk about their daily lives, their interests and opinions, and see their creativity come out to play.

What do you like / dislike about Penpalling/correspondence?
I like creating or buying stationery to write my letters on. It's so much fun to design something myself or discover new ways to write letters to my friends. I also like waiting. I know that sounds weird, but I love to wait for a letter to arrive. There's something magical about it, like developing film. You have to wait for it to finish developing and even then, you still don't know what's going to show up in the frames. That's how I view letter exchanges. As for what I dislike about the art, I'd have to say when you get a pen pal who doesn't seem to put in as much effort as you do. For example, when you find someone who writes less than a page for each letter, responding with one sentence answers or less. It becomes obvious they are only collecting pen pals and that bothers me.

How do your friends react when they discover you are into Penpalling? Are they also into it or they give you the “strange” faces?
My friends don't care much for penpalling. My parents, luckily, let me exchange letters without much concern, but my friends are always on my case about how expensive it is and they always ask me, "How is it you have a stronger bond with someone you've never met than with me?" I have a friend or two who find it interesting, and that's all I ask for. Not someone to smash the dying art of penpalling, but to embrace it and consider the possibilities.

Do you still stay in touch with your first penpal? Tell us about your first penpal even if you have lost touch with them. We might be able to help you locate him/her.
I still stay in touch with my first real pen pal. As in, the first person I never met but found online. I have been buddies with her for almost two years now. Her name is Winslow and she is one of the coolest people I've ever had the chance to communicate with. We exchange little gifts with our letters which can be written on anything from handmade paper to index cards to Alice in Wonderland stationery to strips of paper to little journals. We have this ongoing recommendation list where we put down our favorite movies, music, and books. We're both huge indie fans, so any music and movies we find tend to be obscure or of the indie variety. I love Winslow dearly and I would love to meet her someday and just go on an epic road trip across the country, living in a tent at night and just having a blast.

How many Penpals do you have? Where are they from?
I have about 12 pen pals who I still keep in touch with. I know, it sounds like a lot but I can tell who each person is usually just by their handwriting and what their envelope looks like. I used to have over two dozen pen pals but unfortunately most of those people were one-timer pen pals and stopped writing after their first letter. The pen pals I currently have are from all over the USA from places such as California, Georgia, New York, Nevada, and Texas, and I have one from Australia, one from Europe, and two from Canada. Some are about 17 or 18, some in their mid-twenties, others past their forties.

Are you searching for new Penpals? If yes, please give us some contact information that we can publish in the magazine so that people can write to you back.
Yes, I'm searching for new pen pals. See below for my e-mail address.

What are you looking for in a penpal?
Someone who isn't afraid to talk to me about their personal problems, but who is willing to give advice when I talk about mine. I look for equality in a pen pal friendship, and for something unique or different in each person. Sharing something in common with me is nice, but not necessary.

Where do you find new Penpals from? Do you rely on FBs or Facebook or other websites/blogs.
I usually find my pen pals from www.Interpals.net or LiveJournal groups.

 Tell us a funny/interesting story from your Penpalling experience?
I was having a rough time dealing with some personal issues once, and my second oldest pen pal who is from Georgia sent me a letter that was made up almost halfway of stickers. She wrote the words she didn't have stickers to represent and used what stickers she did have as the words for me to read. It made me so happy and honored that she had spent so much time finding the right stickers to replace the right words, and I could only imagine how many drafts she went through of the letter before she made the final draft to send to me. It was, hands down, one of the coolest letters I have received to this day. And of course I keep all my letters, but that letter will always have a special place in my heart.

How do you keep track of your mail? Share your tip on how to organize ourselves.
This is my old system as I'm in the process of switching to a new, more efficient system. I have colorful photo boxes I bought on sale from A.C.Moore in which I keep my incoming letters that I've responded to. When I receive a letter, I write the date on an index card that has the person's name written on the top of it. I keep stickers and stamps and deco tapes in a small snap-lid box, my big stationery in a large snap-lid box, and my small stationery or kawaii stationery in photo organizers, sorted by category (fairy tale, Hello Kitty/Sanrio, Disney/cartoon, animals, and miscellaneous). I have a snap-lid box full of envelopes to use, as well. My new system will include the computer, somehow. I'll probably make an Excel sheet and list my pen pals and the dates they've sent me letters. I'll get folders or binders for each person and put their letters inside, as well as note the gifts they give me. I have a binder already which has the name, address, and e-mail address of each pen pal I have, as well as their username from wherever I met them and a profile if they had one up. The names are listed alphabetically so I can just pop in the information of a new pen pal easily.

Do you swap things? Do you like sending gifts to friends? If yes, what is the funniest gift you have ever sent/received?
Yes and yes. The funniest gift I ever sent wasn't necessarily funny, but it was pretty neat. My pen pal Winslow is obsessed with anything Alice in Wonderland. So I made her a pair of Alice in Wonderland earrings out of Scrabble pieces, paint, and pictures. I used the A and W Scrabble pieces, pasted a picture of Alice and a picture of the Cheshire cat on each earring, and sent the pair to her on a queen of hearts mini playing card in an organza bag. Her reaction was pretty funny. She wrote in all capital letters for, like, three lines. It was awesome.

Have you met a penpal? If so, let us know how the meeting went.

I have not yet met a pen pal but I have plans to meet my pen pal Suzanne from Georgia and my pen pal Adam from California.

What do you usually like writing/reading about in the letters?
I love to read about the unique experiences each person has. What makes their day work or what people they meet, or how they've been influenced by certain things. I like to write about unusual things that happen to me sometimes, or ideas for movies and stories, fashion designs, etc.

When it comes to making cute and personal letters, everyone has his/her own style. Tell us your trick how to make a letter/envelope unique? Do you decorate it? If yes, how? Give us some tips on how to make the letters more interesting.
I like to ink stamps I've carved myself and stamp them on the envelopes, or decorate the envelopes with lots of stickers. If carving stamps sounds hard, it's really not too difficult. With the right tools and the right rubber pad, you can make just about anything.

Where do you buy your stationery supplies from? Do you prefer traditional shops or e-shops? If so, give us some links.
I like JanetStore and some shops on Etsy such as Xiwang (http://www.etsy.com/shop/xiwang). I also make my own stationery sometimes. Aside from Target, I rarely find stationery I like in a store. I guess there aren't too many places for stationery in my city.

Your contact information:

Your Email: aricigliano(at)ymail.com

Facebook user: Alyssa Rae

BLOG: http://livingcraft.blogspot.com/

ETSY: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jarofdreams

PenPal Interview: Kerry Ellis-Ouimette

Kerry Ellis-Ouimette gives this PenPal Interview for Sandbook PenPal Magazine, July 2011, issue 9.

1.      Hello there! How are you doing? Tell us more about yourself, your hobbies, personal life, interests. Hello I am Kerry Ellis-Ouimette I am 35 yrs. old. I am married to Jason. We married Oct 29th 2005 in a Halloween Themed Costume Party Wedding. We have no kids but want some.

2.    If you have to describe yourself in only 5 words what would they be? Crazy  funny  great listener  helper  loving

3.      Tell us something about your town, city or country. I live in Syracuse NY a pretty big city many famous people have lived here gone to college here or were born here

4.    How did you start pen palling? When was that? And why did you decide to start Pen palling? I was 17 or 18 when I started pen palling to get to know other nkotb fans around the world

5.      What do you like / dislike about Pen palling/correspondence? I dislike when people ask you to be pen pals and never writ

6.    How do your friends react when they discover you are into Pen palling? Are they also into it or they give you the “strange” faces? Nope almost all of my friend pen pal also

7.      Do you still stay in touch with your first penpal? Tell us about your first penpal even if you have lost touch with them. We might be able to help you locate him/her. Yes I have met two wonderful women Kelly Brocato from Rhode Island and Denise Owen from England. I still email Facebook and twitter them to keep in contact.

8.    How many Pen pals do you have? Where are they from? I have 50 from all over the world. USA Canada France Poland  checz republic  England

9.   Are you searching for new Pen pals? If yes, please give us some contact information that we can publish in the magazine so that people can write to you back. Not right now I am not looking for any new pen pals.

10. What are you looking for in a penpal? Someone that has some of my same interests and will write me back.

11.  Where do you find new Pen pals from? Do you rely on FBs or Facebook or other websites/blogs? When I look for new pals I make F.B.’s or f.s. or o I write an ad on a pen pal site.

12. Tell us a funny/interesting story from your Pen palling experience? I had 5 bad experiences from Africa where I was asked by pen pals to sell their wares or send them money and when I said no they said mean things about me and told people not to write to me.

13.  How do you keep track of your mail? Share your tip on how to organize ourselves.

14. Do you swap things? Do you like sending gifts to friends? If yes, what is the funniest gift you have ever sent/received? I love to swap stickers stationary and postcards. I even made a page on my website called Kerry’s Trading Post.

15.  Have you met a penpal? If so, let us know how the meeting went. I have met two of my past pen pals and we have stopped being pals back in 1996.

16. What do you usually like writing/reading about in the letters? I type out my pen pal letters with cute pictures because my handwriting it horrible.

17.  When it comes to making cute and personal letters, everyone has his/her own style. Tell us your trick how to make a letter/envelope unique? Do you decorate it? If yes, how. Give us some tips on how to make the letters more interesting. I find pix on the internet I like and place them at the top of my letters and then write my name and address so no one can ever say they don’t know my address.

18. Where do you buy your stationery supplies from? Do you prefer traditional shops or e-shops? If so, give us some links. I don’t always buy it I make my own or swap what I have. I buy my stuff from THE DOLLAR TREE or WALMART. Please check out K & B Accessories~http://members.tripod.com/my_place_2/id40.html

PuchiMo visits SandbookNet

PuchiMo, the stationery shop that we featured in our current and previous issues of SandbookNet PenPals and Swappers Magazine, has a new blog. You can read the PuchiMo news on the blog. Don't forget to check out the PuchiMo Etsy Shop!

PuchiMo Products

PenPal Interview: Wyn Pilosi

 Wyn Pilosi gives this PenPal Interview for the Sandbook PenPal Magazine, July 2011, issue 9.

Hello there! How are you doing? Tell us more about yourself, your hobbies, personal life, interests.

Hi!! My name is Wyn, I'm a 58 year old female, looking for pals 40 and above.  Live in Central Florida.  My hobbies are my pals, chatting on the computer, traveling, reading, latch hook rugs, walks on the beach. My collections are snowmen, lighthouses, tea pots, stickers and stationery.  My family is my life. I have 2 daughters and 1 grand daughter who is the love of our lives.  My pals are my family as well. I cherish each and every one of them.

If you have to describe yourself in only 5 words what would they be? 

Funny, faithful, loves life, not a back stabber, always there for a friend or family.  Hmm that's more than 5 words!!!

Tell us something about your town, city or country.

Palm Bay Florida is located in Central Florida on the Space Coast, we are south of the Space Center and East of Disney.  I think Palm Bay is the largest area growing in Florida right now.  We first moved here 27 years ago, the changes and growth are unreal!

How did you start penpalling? When was that? And why did you decide to start Penpalling?

I started pen palling when I was in 5th grade. I love to write and found an article in a teen magazine about palling.  I have never regretted it at all!!!

What do you like / dislike about Penpalling/correspondence?

 I love the friendship, laughter with people.  Love to meet my pals, only had one bad experience.

How do your friends react when they discover you are into Penpalling? Are they also into it or they give you the “strange” faces?

A lot of people give you the strange face, but when you tell them about it they go, wow that does seem very interesting!

Do you still stay in touch with your first penpal? Tell us about your first penpal even if you have lost touch with them. We might be able to help you locate him/her.

I do hear from my first pen pal, she and I just talk on the phone once in awhile. She lives down in Fort Lauderdale.  We started writing when we were in 5th grade.  She is going thru a hard time so I'm a very good listener.

How many Penpals do you have? Where are they from?

I have about 30 or so pals, they are from all over the US, Alaska, Ireland, UK.

Are you searching for new Penpals? If yes, please give us some contact information that we can publish in the magazine so that people can write to you back.

Yes I am looking for pals!! I'm looking for anyone over 40 and will write to all who live in US, UK, Ireland, Germany, France, I only know English. You can e mail me at snowb53(at)aol.com  NO INMATES!!!

What are you looking for in a penpal?

Friendship, laughter, and just enjoy letters from each other.

Where do you find new Penpals from? Do you rely on FBs or Facebook or other websites/blogs.

I get most of my pals from other pals, I don't sign or do FB's anymore, I find when I do that I hear from Inmates.

Tell us a funny/interesting story from your Penpalling experience?

I was writing to a pal and the pal had a male or female name and I didn't know until months later, for some reason I thought that was funny!!!

How do you keep track of your mail? Share your tip on how to organize ourselves.

I keep all my letters together and write down the day I receive it.  That's how organized I am!! HA!

Do you swap things? Do you like sending gifts to friends? If yes, what is the funniest gift you have ever sent/received?

No I don't.

Have you met a penpal? If so, let us know how the meeting went.

I have met several pals and all went great except for one.  She was crazy literally and I didn't realize it until it was too late. Luckily she lived only 20 min from me so I left quickly!

What do you usually like writing/reading about in the letters?

Everyday life makes you realize that you may not be the only one with something going on.

When it comes to making cute and personal letters, everyone has his/her own style. Tell us your trick how to make a letter/envelope unique? Do you decorate it? If yes, how. Give us some tips on how to make the letters more interesting.

I use stampers or stickers.  Try to make it cute!

Where do you buy your stationery supplies from? Do you prefer traditional shops or e-shops? If so, give us some links.

 I get most of my stationary from Image Shop On Line, staples, Fed Ex/Kinko's and now the dollar store has great stationary!!!