Krystal's Kudos: {Kellie @ Get the Words Out}

Every Tuesday I will be giving "kudos" to a lovely lady blogger that deserves some recognition for being innovative or just plain amazing.

This week was an easy pick. Kellie at Get the Words Out has launched a pretty neat pen pal project through Blogger and has had great success. Let's get to know her, shall we?

Name: Kellie
Blog: http://www.getthewordsout.blogspot.com
Tell us about Pen Pal Project: I created this project in hopes that people all around the world (yes, we have several international pen pals) could get to know each other better. Blogging is amazing, but it sometimes doesn't allow you to be personal, for fear of unknown persons reading.

The way it works, is that every 2 months I "open the group up" (for lack of a better term) to anyone who wants to join. I give everyone a couple weeks to sign up and then send out an email listing the participants names and info. When the 2 months are over and I open the group back up, I send out emails to exisiting pen pals asking if they want to join again for more pen pals, or just keep the ones they have. From there I combine returning pen pals and new pen pals, forming a new group. I try to make it pretty relaxed with no rules. All I ask is that everyone writes to each person once, after that, it's their own call. Since snail mail can take awhile, as can writing back I feel that having the large groups (10 people) works out just fine, because except for the beginning, you never have to respond all at one time, it seems pretty spaced out.

How many people are involved? The first go around (March and April) about 10 girls joined, in the last group (May and June) the same amount joined, some new and some from the previous group. This go around there is about 15 girls on the list.

What's the coolest thing you've received? Unlike groups like happy mail (which is totally awesome, and i think everyone should join!) this is mainly just sharing letters and getting to know each other. With that being said, I love all the letters I get. Some gals have been incredibly creative and have decorated or created their own stationary, which is always so great to see. And other letters are just personal and I love them a lot too. The bonding experience that this seems to have created is incredible!

Why did you start this project? I'm very list oriented and I try to set goals for myself quite frequently to keep myself from being bored and also to challenge myself. One goal that I had for awhile was to have a pen pal. I shared this list on my blog and all of a sudden I got tons of responses from girls saying they too wanted a pen pal... I was pretty blown away by how many wanted to share in this with me, so I decided to make it more of a group thing and try and involve as many people as I could. I really enjoy how it's worked out so far, and signing up a new group every 2 months has really proved successful. It allows people to try it out and see if they like it, as well as allowing people to have as many pen pals as they can handle.

How does someone join? Just email me at kellz0505@gmail.com with your full name, mailing address, link to your blog, and your birthday (year not included). (Birthdays are included only if you want, but I feel that everyone having it allows them to write to you on your very special day). :)
And, now, let's get to know Kellie the blogger:
Favorite color: pink, orange, teal, mustard yellow (i can't pick just one!)
Favorite Restaurant: i looove food, so this is a hard one. But I will say, I could probably eat pizza everyday!!!
Hobbies: scrapbooking, reading, journaling, blogging, watching movies, photography, bike riding (when i can)
Favorite thing about yourself: that I'm open minded
What does your room look like: my bedroom is blue, white, tan, and black. I'm trying to make it as peaceful as possible. my living room was red, black and gold (trying to make it theatre like), but I've lightened the colors for spring/summer to pink and yellow. my bathroom is pink (well has lots of pink accents), and my patio will soon be white and lavender.

If you could have dinner with 2 people (dead or alive) who would they be: Tough call. I would love to meet someone like Albert Einstein, Louis Armstrong, or Mother Theresa, but I would also love to get to know people that are still alive like Shane Claiborne, Rob Bell, or Paul Rudd. Can I just put all the names in a hat and pick out 2????
What is your next “big splurge”: I guess it will be an airplane ticket to St. Louis in September for the blogger bash that jamie at inspired mess is having!!!
What is your favorite joke, quote, or saying: love until it hurts, then love more. -mother theresa
Share a random fact: I've only ever lived in FL and since I'm so use to the heat, I'm not sure I could live anywhere else.

I'm a part of Kellie's Pen Pal list and I've really enjoyed it so far. It's been fun using my cute stationary (finally!) and getting to know bloggers that I have read for a while. If you sign up, let me know so I can mail you a letter. =)

Want to be given "kudos" for something that you're doing on your blog? Email me at Krystal@Krystalskitsch.com