2016 JOURNAL PEN PAL SWAP

So, you write in a notebook and send it to your partner, then they write in it and send it back, and back and forth like that in the same 2 books with the same 2 people writing in it? Did that make any sense? Sounds neat, I just want to understand fully :)

@Chromia yes each partner/pal will have their own personal notebook. In the beginning its all about intros and questions and pretty soon life takes over and you both are chatting on about what ever the last entry was written. I always write about what I am up to, add stuff, send stickers. And I end on asking like 3 to 5 questions to get to know them better.

Sounds like FUN! One more question, if I may, approximately how many pages does each person fill out each turn?

@Chromia when @IsadoraWing and I first started doing this we did about 5 pages of Intro with our questions for each other. You know just to give each other a little background. And then sometimes when life was super busy ((like when I was having a baby))I wrote 12 pages. It just depends. I hope everyone writes a good amount on their first swap so pals feel like they get to know each other.

I am going to watch this for now. I know I would not start writing to my partner in the notebook until I know who they are, so, after partners are assigned. 1 week seems like a very short turnaround

@Zoebolt its not you entire life story the first entry. Just a nice intro about yourself and a few questions when you end it to give your partner something to answer when they receive your journal. Don't feel intimidated by the week. I finish in 2 days with 2 kids running around me, so its not too brutal. LOL

I'm new to journaling so this sounds like a good way for me to get started with journaling I've alwaya had penpals growing up so I love to write.. my question is what kind of journal book do I need to get for this swap since I am new to journaling. ..

@texasangel we would love to have you in the swap. Please use a soft bound but study journal. Not a hard bound (other wise shipping will be ridiculous), something 5x7 or bigger and at least with 80 pages so you have a nice filled in journal.

So we will have two back and forth journals essentially, yes? The one we mail out with our intro and the one our "receive from" partner and with his/her intro.

@PukeFacedFreak what you said is correct. xoxo

Where Is a good place to find a soft bound journal, so far all I'm seeing is ones made with chipboard that won't work will it?

@texasangel I found two Moleskin notebooks at Goodwill but the Moleskins are soft, a good size for writing a lot but not too big for mailing. It's about 4x7ish. Most bookstores will sell them and I've also found them at stores that are part grocery and part home goods.

What if we can't find a 5x7 soft cover journal

@texasangel please try Target and Barnes & Noble they always have 5x7 3 packs of soft bound journals, thats where I get mine and they always have a cute little designs or themes on them. If you can't find a 5x7 just go a little bigger. Nothing smaller than that, bc writing gets all squished up, not enough room for artwork and postcards and other things you will want to add later for your pal.

Thanks for everyone's help I'm going to target to find a journal today wish me luck I'm really looking forward to this swap I'm new to journaling but im not new to penpaling I've been pen palling for many years but I never had a journal pal so this really sounds like alot of fun.. Do you sometimes decorate pages in their journ like for valentine's day or their birthday w do you write a few pages to them and then also maybe decorate a page for them In their journal too

Found a journal I hope it will pass requirements cause it was very hard finding one target didn't have much to choose from there's no Barnes and Noble where I live I looked at Walmart dollar stores and finally found this one at target but I hope it will work it's made by the company greenroom.

Sometimes you can find knock-off or copy-cat brands that are similar to Moleskin at Office Depot or Staples. I think one brand is called Picadilly.