O.K. I am not really sure if I am posting this in the right place, but I am looking for any creative ideas that anyone might have of things that I could send to help pick his spirits up. I strive to be the creative one, always keeping him guessing as to what tomorrow's mail will bring and I think I might have run out of ideas. I have sent cards, postcards, homemade puzzels (I have a great link if anyone wants it), pictures, homemade heart balloons out of paper, stories of us, and paper presents with intimate IOU's. Does anyone else have ideas that they could offer me? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!!!!

Some of the ladies here have swaped postcards from their state and different countries, that may be an idea
Good luck

Joanna,
Thanks! That is a good idea.
-Linda

Hi lilmama,

I like to send Matt little things too. Some of the things I find are funny jokes I get online. I send him lots of pictures. I also send postcards.I have even sent in a few articles from a sports magazine, because he loves the Lakers. I don't know if he got those tho..hmm now i'm wondering. I kinda feel like you, what else do I send. I love your idea about the puzzles? How do you make those? Is that the link you were talking about? I'd love to get that from you if possible please. Well I hope you can come accross many ideas by posting this. Good Luck!

Take care, Drea

How about collaborating on writing a story. That's fun. You write a paragraph to start the story and have him add the second paragraph, and so on. Instead of just writing a regular story, every once in awhile you could throw him a curve and go in a silly direction or something.

Hey thanks guys those were both good ideas. I am going to start my story today. I did do a "Tale of Two Opposites" for him once which was basically the story of us. We were fighting, anyway he loved it.

DreaC here is the link http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/
It is actually I think geared towards teachers but I did a crossword puzzle - all about us that he had to complete. He loved it because no one would know the answers but us. I did another one all about Linda and surprisingly he did super. THen I did a couple of word searchers that were with intimate words. We've had lots of fun with the puzzles. Good luck and let me know if you have any problems.

www.pillowmail.com

great for fill-in-the-blank steamy stories!

kath

Ever think about writing a letter with glow in the dark ink? He would have to wait until night time to read it. Of course you will want to write it on the back of a letter you write in regular ink since it would look like a blank piece of paper otherwise and that's not allowed.

Do you like to play games? I've made a chessboard that I posted on PTO in the past. Here's a link to it

http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=300&perpage=15&highlight=chess%20board&pagenumber=3

I believe I also posted the directions on how to do this so that you can send the board back and forth to one another to make your move.

My man is into lot's of stuff so I never run out of stuff to send him. Actually he never runs out of request. He is very involved with the space program at NASA through JPL. So he has me send him articles about things he worked on for them and I know that he was particularly interested in the Mars projects since he truly enjoyed the days of combined effort in the creation of the Rover. There's ton's of stuff about that on the internet. Also have found some very nice pictures on the internet of space stuff. Sorry I don't know all the correct terminology it's his interest not mine.

I also found a site that has jokes about various professions. That had them all laughing. There's bound to be one he might find funny.

Another thing I do is use clipart I find on the internet on my envelopes. He really likes that and the stationary I make for him.

There's a few places that I've found paper models on line also. That was a huge hit where he is. Everyone wanted one. I've sent various old airplane, jet, and cars that they can put together.

I've made him a paper slide rule since they won't let him have a calculator. I realize that most everyone else has them but I think they are afraid of what he can do with one. They even called one guy that has a graphing calculator in to talk to him about the fact that they knew he associated with someone that was knew how to program. Yes, my man tutors this guy with his college calculus course. So not only do they prohibit him from having a graphing calculator but they watch anyone he talks to. They are a bit afraid of his knowledge. Honestly he's not a threat to anyone and would do no harm, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the knowledge to know how to do things they wouldn't approve of and I doubt they would understand it if he had tried. After all how many imates have pages from their favorite Nuclear Engineering book sent in on a regular basis? To tell you the truth I send him stuff that I couldn't even begin to tell you what it was.

You don't have to understand their interest just know the correct words to search for and how to find it. Then print it and send it and hope it's what he asked for.

Sorry I got so long winded. But there are a few ideas anyways.

msveggie - Thanks so much for your post. I am so excited, I am going to run out and get going on some of this stuff. He is really into to cars, racing and motorcycles so that will be my starting point. Do you remember where you found the paper models online?

Do you run your envelopes through the printer to get the clip art on them?

Oh and where do I buy glow in the dark pens? I am so excited about that idea I can't wait to send it.

BTW I work for a government contractor who directly supports JPL. Would you like me to gather some materials for you to send to your husband? I happen to manage the JPL archives. Small world huh?

Thanks for your great ideas, this is just what I was hoping for.
:) Linda

Could you please explain what JPL is? Thank you.

Emmy

I was thinking about glow in the dark pens also. I've asked at art stores, toy stores, looked at office max. No dice. The idea of having something actually private appealed to me. I bet I could find a recipe somewhere for the ink, and then use an old pen, but that is a lot of work.

That puzzles site is great! I sent the find a word puzzles, and what I did is not give him the words to find, I cut that part off, and only told him "stuff about our house" or "about our family" or "things about the SF Giants". It made it harder. Then I sent clues as to what some of the words were in another letter, or sent something like an article that had a clue in it. Ha ha he was tied up with those for days!

Isn't the puzzle website the best?? David calls me "cricket" so I've titled all of ours "Cricket Creations #xyz" and he loves them!! You can get pretty intimate with them if you'd like, or just leave them PG rated.. David just asked for an "adult" one,.. go figure!! Well, I love y'alls ideas,.. can MSVEGGIE put her links on for the rest of us girls/ guys??

Linda that would be great. You probably know what all he's talking about when he sends me his requests for that stuff. Hey you say you handle the archives for JPL, he's written a few articles for them. Do you handle that stuff too? What all do you have in the archives? What about information pertaining to those involved with designing various aspects of equipment like the rover. I understand that a good deal of the research and design of it was done by various engineers over the internet. He will be shocked if I can find some of the stuff you have access to.

Ladies some of the links that I use are

papertoys.com

this link has NASCAR racing cars, space shuttle, just tons of stuff

http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/

the above site has several free downloads like the
Morane-Saulnier N Bullet airplane
R-1 Gee Bee airplane

Now about those invisible ink pens. I've not ordered any yet, but here are a few links I found with them online.

www.toys2wish4.com/rainglowpain.html

www.toys2wish4.com/glowpen.html

www.epartyunlimited.com/glowpen.html

www.akrondesign.com/Novelties/descriptions/glowpen.html

There's a few to get you all started.

Forgot to give you all the link to the profession jokes.

http://www.workjoke.com/projoke.htm

they are really kind of funny. Of course he wanted the one for mathematician's so I didn't get it. But check out the other's for the rest of us normal people. I tell you something not right about reading a book that only has pages of numbers and formulas for fun. But that's my honey. He's different, but I love him.

lilmama,

Thank you so much for that link to the puzzles. I went there and made up a puzzle and named it "Things I See In You" Then I just wrote each and every word I could use to describe what I love and feel for him. It was so much fun. I also took the advice of holding onto the answers to have him find them first. Then I'll send him the answers later. I also printed out a maze for him. This is so cool :) Oh, by the way I sent him a story from pillow mail and he loved it.

Thanks, Drea

Emmy - JPL is the Jet Propulsion Labratory. It is a NASA Center that is run by the California Institute of Technology. They launch unmanned space craft into space and explore the solar system - like Mars. Let me know if you have any other questions about that.

Ms. Veggie, I am so excited about your ideas that my mind has been running wild all day. I printed out a paper motorcycle, but I don't know if he has tape or glue to put it together. I figured I should probably cut the pieces out myself because he probably doesn't have sissors. I am going to check out a few of the other sites you mentioned as well.

Now for the stuff for your husband, I have over 5,000 cubic feet of archival (historical material) within my facility related to all mostly the older JPL missions. I also have tons of hard copy lithographs and other really cool space related stuff. I have 3 full time archivists who work for me filling requests of historians, so tell me what specific information he is seeking and I will try to get it. Also would you like me to mail you some lithographs and if yes, give me an idea of the projects he is interested in. Most of it for me is just cool pictures.

Everyone thanks so much for responding to my post. This is my first one and I am so excited about the outcome.
-Linda

Linda, I too am excited about this. I will write and ask him for more details and send them on to you. Not sure what lithographs are? He was invovled with the older projects anyways. Just thought that it would bring some happy memories to him. He really loved that stuff. I'm sure no one else wants to hear all the details of this so I will send you a pm. Thanks for your offer to help.

And no they don't have access to glue or tape in the prison but they manage to make it work. He's very creative and resourceful. I guess there are other things they can have that has glue like properties. And if they are buddies with someone that has access with office supplies then sometimes they can get a small amount of the real thing. Glad you liked the site.

I am in the process of requesting a song for Bryan on his favorite station he listens to alot :) Not a mail idea but .....
Bryan likes Scotland and I had posted in another thread I "ordered" some brochures and now that i have them I am looking for more info to go with it.So we can take a vacation/holiday to Scotland together :D Well on paper anyway! Can't have maps,ironically I think that includes Scotland! But I will pick pics from an area a place for accomodation and there amenities,menus of places to eat,activites,etc.You could do it for anywhere....did the Poconos too :)

They can't use tape in MO?(I can't send it in but B can send it out)Or blank paper?Might have to try the paper thing *smirk* Bryan made me a card recently and it used tape but I just remembered he works in the library and as a clerk/pencil pusher too so maybe thats how he gets the tape!(I never ask!!!) Stickers there may get in depending on who checks but not usually.

I have sent Bryan um...cookies!I made some homemade choco chip cookies(our fave) and took a poloroid and sent it :) ooh maybe that's like "teasing" him!:confused:

BryansGRRL - Hey i really like the vacation idea and the cookie idea. Maybe I could create and entire "story" with food and all through brochures, pictures etc. Like we had a real vacation. Thanks for the ideas. My mind is racing now.

Thanks, Linda

No polaroids in Missouri either. But you can take regular pictures or use a digital camera. I've put stickers on his envelopes that are smelly ones of chocolate cake, and cookies. They are the scratch and sniff ones.

The find a word and the mazes are fabulous! Did anyone see the link to the paper doll thing? Oh my gosh, that could provide hours of snickering fun for my guy! ha! I think i'm going to try to make my own paper doll of myself & send it to him and then send him outfits & stuff to play dress up with me! I know it sounds twisted, but anything to pass the time & keep focused on the positive instead of all the bad stuff around him!

wow!! what great ideas---i just finished a word puzzle and just ordered a glow in dark pen! thank you!! xoxo

i'm glad you started this post! i haven't read it all, but i'll keep plugging away at it. anyway, an idea i came up with a few weeks ago was to take a pic of myself every hour for 24 hours so he can see what a day is like for me. i've been trying to figure out how to do the sleeping pics, but something will work out. hope this helps.

I'm no artist but I pull out the paints, water color, pastels colored pencils and paint pictures for Miguel. sometimes they're funny picutres. anything to make my babe smile.

lam422 - you know I did something very similar. I did "A day in the life of LilMama" photojournal for James. While I didn't take pictures of myself every hour. I took pictures of everything I did and saw. The shower, me getting ready, the bed unmade and then made. the commute to work, lunch, walking to the post office, picking the kids up, etc. and I must admit he loved it. He told me it gave him something different to look at and he felt like he was part of my day. I have done several more photo journals. "Visiting James" a whole day about getting ready to visit him etc. oh and a Fall is in the Air, with everything about fall. He loves them all. I am currently working on one that documents the making his favorite meal process and lots of pictures with stories. I never have enough ideas, since I strive to send 5 envelopes per week of something different other than more pictures of me, which he always wants. So if anyone has anymore ideas, please keep them coming.

i created and sent my sweetie a word puzzle, he loved it !! has anyone sent the paper models?? they have some cool ones available but haven't purchased any of them as of yet...the journal is an awesome idea..thanks everyone for sharing their ideas---yeh, i figure so many pics of my face and etc, is gonna get old eventually...i mean lets face it, only so many smiles and poses one body can do!! haha

There are so many grrreat ideas here! My friend and I have an on going Chess match ~ so we spend alot of time writing back and forth.

LiL Mama, that is such a cool idea!
I'll look at things around me and think of Miguel seeing them with me but for some reason i didn't think to do photo journal.
thanks

The paper models at papertoys.com are free. There are some other sites also. But that one has a great deal available.

If you want to send them a turkey to put together try this link.

http://papertoys.com/turkey.htm

It should look kind of like this when it's put together.

http://www.miamihost.net/ims/u/msveggie/PTO/3D Turkey.jpg

I just got done with Pillowmail and oh my goodness! Jeff is absolutely going to love it! I can't wait for him to let me know what he thought of it! THis is a great post, thanks everyone for contributing the links! :)

Well I dont have as classy of ideas as the rest of you, but mine are different. I send the paper placemats from restaurants, like the Chinese Zodiac and different historys of places, just have to be careful there are no maps.
I also pick up travel brochures (free) like at gas stations, truck stops. They have museums sometimes and things like that.
And in the weekly magazine section of the newspaper, sometimes there are articles for free you can send away for and I put his name on them. Some he gets, some he doesnt.
I also send him some funnies from the newspaper.
He is interested in Health Issues, so I am all of the time clipping things out of that sort and mailing him that.
Those glow in the dark pens, we have been able to get at our local Wal Mart. I dont know if yours carrys them or not.
Sometimes there will be something interesting in my TV Satelite Guide, I will send to him, he likes those as well.
You all have great ideas, keep them coming.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

I've thought about the pillowtalk thing, but stopped myself mid-way thinking that maybe I was just torturing him by sending stuff like that? Should I just not worry about it and send it anyway?

Joy, I went through the same thing. And for almost a year a steered away from the anything that was suggestive in nature. But recently he told me that although it was somewhat tortorous, it made him feel as though I still desired him or something of that sort. Don't remember exactly how he said it but he practically begged for this kind of talk in my letters to him. I'm sending them to him. I told him about the pillowtalk and he is very excited about getting. Actually he started calculating how many days it would take to arrive. I hadn't even printed it out yet.

My suggestion is to talk to him about this subject and ask him how he feels about it. Is it too hard for him to handle the excitement. Or does his need to feel desirable to you out weigh that inconvenience. Is he willing to take care of things himself if he gets aroused. Should he be afraid to do so or uncomfortable like my guy was then you may want to steer away from it. But let me tell you where there is a will there is a way. Until recently he said he never had a moment alone since they are locked down 22 hours a day. And this is just not something a man does in front of another man. But if it is something he needs then he can figure it out. My guy skips breakfast so he can have some alone time with my letters. Don't know why he never figured that out before. But there are ways to handle things if they need to.

AMEN to that msveggie! They do have to handle that. And where there is a will there is the way. When my husband had a cellie, who spent most of the time in the cell, he would wait until he went to sleep.
I say if your man enjoyed sex on the outside, he will enjoy it on the inside as well. The only difference is we have to be imaginative and try to create the atmosphere that will put them in the right frame of mind.
Just found out about pillowtalk myself and am anxious to check it out and try it.
At first it took me a little while to write much sex in our letters, because I know they are being read and then I changed my tune, because I am not doing anything wrong, he is my husband and these are natural feelings.
And I know I am not the only one the CO's (Internal Affairs) are listening to.

I have another idea that I haven't done yet but am getting ready to try. For those of you who are shy about others in the mailroom seeing bedroom pictures of you and your man wants some here's an idea. I'm thinking about sending the picture in strips. Actually that was his idea cause it would be easier for him to put together since he says his excitment level would be high and so he says his hands my be shaking as he puts it together. Silly huh? Well my idea was to cut the picture up in puzzle pieces so that nothing in particular can be identified. Then let him put it together and he will be the only one that could see it (unless he shows it to someone else). Want to be sure that no one else can put it together? Send one piece every few days. Anyone ever try this? Just wondering how it worked for you.

wellll....i'm sending out my first 'bedroom' photos tomorrow! *grins*... i took 4 rolls tonite, hoping i may get at least ummmm, 4 or 5 pics i may like!! lol

Are they pictures they are allowed to have? Do they follow the rules. You realize that some nudity is allowed while some is not it is clearly defined.

Got to ask are you sending them as whole pictures or in pieces? I'm sending one out in 14 pieces. I know this picture is not acceptable in it's orginal form. However the slivers of the picture are impossible to detect what it is. So we'll see what happens with it. I'll let you all know. I was thinking about possibly doing one of an acceptable picture first just in case it is questioned.

they allow them to receive anything except --- no type of penetration photos...which i wouldn't do anyhow! *grins* but now i'm wondering if the drug store, the one hours will develop them---i'll be so embarassed when i pick them up i'm sure! lol ---

Well I have to admit I have never sent pictures in before, not of those type anyway.
However where my husband is here in Kentucky, it seems to matter who is working the mailroom and what kind of mood they are in when they open the pictures up.
He has some friends who seem to not have a problem and others who get theirs rejected all of the time.
I would think tho (and this is just my own personal opinion), that by sending a picture in there in pieces, it might raise suspicion.
But like I said that is just my opinion. I think it is a great idea and I hope it works for you.
I know that every prison is different and every state is different.
I just know that one time I drew something, very crudely because I am no artist, everything was labeled and I even wrote about it in the attached letter and they rejected it. They said for security reasons. So go figure. Here in Kentucky there are only 3 things supposedly that you cant write about - 1. Guns 2. Doing drugs 3. Anything that has to do with ESCAPE.
Other than that we are suppose to be able to write about whatever floats our boats.
Please post back and let us all hear from you how it goes and if he gets all of the pieces.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

Oh I am sure they will develop them without a problem. I think the only time stores have a problem in developing pictures of this type is when it involves minor children and that is as it should be.

thanks babygurl---i'm excited...i don't mind taking photos for him, it's just like i mentioned earlier tho--sometimes ya thinkin ya lookin all sexy, get the pics back and be like *ewwwwwwwww, what was i thinking*!!!! HAHA!! oh i created a pillowtalk letter---wow, i luv it!!! That is such an awesome free service! xoxox

Be sure and let us hear back from you if he was able to get them without a problem.
He will really have a great day if he gets your pillowtalk letter and pictures!
Remember Hope is a good thing, springs life eternal.

okay....so i got the pics back today from the one hour...out of 4 ROLLS, yesssssss 4 ROLLS, i only liked 6 !!! Oh my gosh...my azz took up the entire frames in most!!!!!!!! wayyyyyyyy too much light...terrible angle!! LOL!! I have a 5 second timer on my camera, that's how i took them myself by the way. When i dropped them off, i told her--"ummm, they are rather explicit is that okay to develop"...she was like "long as no dead people in 'em i don't care"---I busted out laughin!! Soooo..i go back later this afternoon to pick them up---i had one foot in the door and the girl at the register says, "oh, you're here to pick up photos"...now 'mind you this is NOT the same woman who developed them for me...i was thinking ..OMG, they've all seen 'em--i was like, yes i am---i paid for them and i was out the door!! So of course i had to look at them while i was stopped at the light...haha---i became instantly ill, it was frightening...it really was, i was look who the xxxx is that!! I'm dieting!!!! sooooooo anyhow that is my picture drama for today---i'm taking MORE---'til i get some good, complimentary shots, this time i'm adding a lil more clothing and less light!! hehe -- i'll keep you posted!! :fb:

rondaj omg you sounded like me only i only used two rolls of film my god i swear your never alone here at pto. mike says ahhhh baby, and i'm thinking omg he's gonna make fun ,but he was much thankful.i need to know onething did some of them have the deer in the headlight look.lol i'm laughing so hard i gotta go.i thought i was the only one and i wanted to run out of walgreens and i can barely walk.lol

Ladies, find someone with a digital camera that you are comfortable with to take the pictures for you. I have a digital camera with the self timer. So I can look at the pictures immediately and delete the ones I don't like.

However I still have trouble with the angle also. Kind of hard to pose for the camera when you are running back to your position and trying to make sure you are in the right place. Sometimes you get close up shots of various parts of the body that was not intended. Like he really wants a picture of my nose. But at least I can delete them. Doesn't cost a thing.

Still trying to figure out how to get someone to take them of me that I wouldn't be too embarrassed to see that much. My sister has offered. Maybe I can do something like that.

Now about the too much this or that stuff. That's what photoshop is for. I always trim a little weight off all of my pictures. Especially the hips. It's really easy to do too. If you need any help and aren't too embarrassed send me a photo and tell me where you want to lose weight or what ever else you want done. Let's make some nice ones for them for Christmas. If you don't have a digital camera you will need to scan the pictures or when you have them developed they can put them on a disk or CD also. You can also download them from the internet. Just a few suggestions.

I sent two strips to my puzzle picture to him yesterday. I'll know by this weekend when I see him if he got them or not. And of course I will let you know what happens.

msveggie - I just have to ask (ha, ha) can you perform that magic of taking weight off anyplace you want it, in the flesh? If you can I am on the next plane to your house. Wouldnt that be a wonderful way to loose weight.
I do hear those digital cameras are wonderful, quite the thing.
Keep those pictures coming, I am sure they will please your guy.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

Hey, just noticed your in Missouri next state over, I can probably drive there faster than I can get a plane out of here in Western Kentucky.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

I use to work at Motel 6 and we had reservation cards. If you can get a nice front desk clerk to give you a few they can be filled out very creatively.

drk---gurrrrrrrl , you are sooo right, we are never alone here are we, hahaha!!! I can NEVER show face (or anything else!!!) into that CVS again, will find another one hour photo shop today when i get to work!! Now, had 'the deer in headlight' pics been good, be 'nother story of course, hehe -- whatta trip, had nightmares all night of such frightful poses!! Well i know the dig. cams have come down in price but still not affordable to me at this time unfortunately...plus i don't know anyone close enough i'd ask to take such photos--OMG, don't think i'd do that to anyone, me knowing now what they'd be subjected too!! hahahaha.... oh my gosh, babygirl save me a seat on dat plane, ms.veggie i want that shaved weight loss as well!!!! toooooooooo funny---why are we our own worst critics! *smiles* msv---i may take you up on that offer tho, there is one photo that was 'almost' okay but when i shaved, upper inner thigh had a rash (which of course showed up the wonderful photo shoot) lol--- if i erased that...hmmmm---i'll send a message sis--thank you for making that offer! xoxoxo oooooooo...a great way to start the day, what we women go thru to keep a little smile on his face huh!! be safe all and have an awesome day!!!! :)

Babygirl, I can shave the weight off only in photos. Now don't you think if I could do in that in real life that I would have already done it on myself and not had to use the computer to "fix" things? You bet I would have done it long ago. And if I had that kind of magical powers than I'd be happy to help you out.

Hey if you're in my neck of the woods stop by and you can use my digital camera. And I'd be happy to do some photo editing for you if you'd like. Sure makes them happy to get these pictures. This time of year they really need something extra to put a smile on their faces and make them feel special.

Rondaj, You send that picture to me and I'll fix it up for you. And before you go through all the one hour photos in the area let me suggest that you consider sending your film in the mail to be developed. Remember you can have the option of downloading them to your computer and no one would have to see them. If you choose to also get the prints the mailman would bring them to you without seeing them. Let me know what you want done as far as weight loss or any other like blemishes you'd like changed.

Ladies keep your sense of humor. This is great. I'm here to help and take any suggestions you all have.

Well I definitely will keep you in mind, if and when I ever get the courage up to do it. Trouble is I dont want to bust your camera, ha, ha! Does that magic hide scars as well - I mean stomach scars?
Remember Hope is a good thing, springs life eternal.

msveggie - What large city are you near in Missouri? I only know a little of the state, but I am in far Western Kentucky, near the Illinois border, Missouri border, Tennessee border, all within 40 min of me.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

Babygirl, yes it does remove scars along with a few other adjustments that I like to make. Sometimes I will need to fix my hair a little or adjust the color and stuff too.

I am near Kansas City. And don't worry about breaking my camera. It's used to me so it can handle anything.

Oh my goodness, it does all of that, well I just may have to make a trip out to see you. Too bad winter is upon us now though. It sure would be nice though. I know my husband sure would LOVE it. Have to see what I can come up with. I thank you for the offer, may just take you up on it.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

that's certainly amazing....msveggie-----gonna send you a private message!! how was everyones day?? mine was fine, my diet lasted 'til noon *woohooo*...hahaha Getting ready to take my son to the mall so he can spend his money on a playstation game..hope everyone is well!! xoxox

hmmm...how do you get an image/photo to show up in the left column???

can't wait to hear about the puzzle strips MV---how exciting!!! Amazing what they look forward to isn't it ~sighs~... I get so annoyed at people 'out here' who think their lives are so miserable, whine all the time and they have their loved one right there with them---sure makes me appreciate things in a different way i know that! I hate it they don't have visitation on holidays!! gosh, this place is addicting!! LOL

Pictures on the left are called avatars. Go up to search and type that word in and you will get detailed information on how to put one in. They have to be quite small in size. There are some here on PTO that design them and do a very good job for the rest of us. Check out what's available.

thank you! didn't realize there were so many options... :)

I knew that was what they were called, just didnt know where to look for them or how to put them on here.
I agree, people who have their loved ones with them dont know how lucky they are.
What is that saying - You miss what you dont have!
No holiday visits at my husbands prison either.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

welllllll...i guess a few of my photos didn't make it thru...*cries*--- talked with him tonite--he said he got a slip saying "too explicit" -- rules were 'no penetration' and i didn't even come close to that--what we thought was rather bizarre was his roomie got pix just last week with his girl , close up shot of her--well..i'll just say an 'after shot' and she was spread open. He said he thinks he knew why but he'd have to tell me on saturday, on our visit--didn't wanna say too much over the phone ya know. okay, something else for you all to ponder--*grins* -- he sent me a photo of himself okay--he asked me awhile back if he could get one sent from home if i'd mind making copies--i said of course not, okay...hmmm, so he says he wants 9 copies---i realize i'm blonde and notta rocket scientist here ..BUT--do i see any hands agreeing that , that means he has 9 other 'special ladies' he's been communicating?? Not that, it's a huge deal BUT, he brought this up last week and wants to be paroled to my house, so i think i may have a little more at stake than the other ladies perhaps, oh, i dunno--this actually has been a rather sucky day, just topped it off about an hour ago! lol---think i'll go to bed and clear my mind..grrrr *smiles* xoxox Thanks for letting me vent :)

rondaj, are you going to make those 9 copies for him? Let me get this straight these are bedroom photos of him that he was to give out to others. Right? Hmmmm Want to have some fun? Send me the photo and let me do some editing on it first. Want to put some sexy nightie on him? How about putting a few extra pounds on him? Maybe a warning to the special man or woman that recieves this picture that they are number 1 of 9, 2 of 9, etc. If you want to send it to him let's fix it up good first. Up to you.

LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!! ooooo, you are a trip!! i luv it, 'nightie'...hahaha--i'm gonna scan it tonite and send it! Actually, it's just a single photo , him standing against a wall, no shirt, short kinda lo w/boxers hangin out -- YOU KNOW, i'm NOT gonna be able to sit there in that visiting for all those hours and NOT bring this up...in a tactful way of course...hehe -- hmmm, think it's ' a sign '?? whatta way to start my day! thank you ms v!!! luv ya!! xoxox

You're welcome. Now let's send him something he'll never forget.

Remember ladies we can not only be creative in things to send to make them happy but we can also be creative in things we send them to let them know we are not happy with them also. Trust me he will get the point without you saying a word. Now isn't that better than fighting? And more fun too.

ooooo certainly...i surely despise fighting but do luvvvvv getting my point across!! *grins*

Rondaj - It does seem so strange that some of your pictures got rejected. And yet others made it through. I think sometimes it just depends on who is working.
Here in Kentucky it is suppose to just be no penetration photos.
Now as far as him wanting photos of him,I definitely think a flag should go up there, however, I would give him a benefit of a doubt and ask him in person WHY and WHAT is he going to do with them.
Be sure and keep us posted and remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

Do you really think he might want to send those kinds of photos to his mom or does he just like looking at himself and want to plaster the wall with them. Sure ask him what he wants to do with them. I'd get a kick out of hearing what he has to say. But you know there is no good reason for wanting that many pictures of himself. Does he think we're stupid or something? What gets to me is he is being so bold about it. Makes me want to have a talk with him myself.

agreeing msV..was pretty ballsy to say the least huh...yeh, i've done the logical talking in my head, like---yeh, he's been in 8 years, am sure he's got and developed quite a few 'relationships' perhaps and just cause i've come along should i expect him not to continue to write them, ..BUT, BUT---a few of his requests are at my financial expense! lol -- ooooo, dont'cha worry, i'm gonna ask him casually who he's sending them to, can't wait to share with you what his comments are, ummmm---perhaps starting a border for his dorm???*grins*---and i'm sure you would like to have a lil talk with him MsV!! LOL! ohhhh, have all the puzzle pieces been sent??? :) xoxox

ohhh..and i do hope i get those rejected photos back soon! the thought of some nasty~azz CO having them in his hands is such a disgusting thought!! eww, ewww, ewwwwwwwwwww!!

Dont know what your turn around time is for getting rejected mail back, but here in Kentucky, the inmate has to take postage and an envelope addressed and then they will send it out. Ususally is just 2-3 day process when I have had things returned.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

well....he said he was going to use envelopes i sent him so he won't need to worry about postage so maybe that'll speed up the process, who knows. How are you bgirl?? *smiles* I'm having a time with my internet connection this evening for some reason..grrrr

Well I am doing alot better, thank you for asking. Came through my surgery fine yesterday and am back home now taking it easy. Have alot of medicine to take and a strict diet, but it wasnt a death sentence like I had expected. Thank goodness. Still feel a little weak is all.
I am going to try and get strong enough to make the two hour drive to see my husband in the morning. He needs to see me, as I need to see him. It has been two weeks since I was there. He was so afraid for me yesterday, but was able to call me early this morning and knew then I was going to be ok.
Have a good one.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

For those interested I saw my guy tonight and he has received 2 of the puzzle pieces so far. Looks like there won't be a problem sending them. He is very excited about getting the rest of them.

Oh I think that is just wonderful. It certainly will give him something to look forward to and also give him something to do. I am assuming you cut them in small pieces. Oh wont he just love putting you together. Right on Girl. Good for you, so glad you found a way that works for you.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

It's just one way that those of us who would rather others not see our intimate pictures can get them to our guys. Wasn't sure myself how it was going to work but didn't figure there would be a problem since I've sent paper models with pieces to them also.

Now I'm going to be on this big puzzle kick. He loves it and will really go crazy waiting for the other pieces. Gives him something to get excited over. It's kind of like having a present to unwrap. You can see it's there but don't know what it is. It's the anticipation of finding out what's inside that gets our undivided attention. Same with putting together a puzzle of something and not knowing exactly what it is.

If anyone else tries this let us know if it works for you. Just so we can get an idea of what is acceptable where.

I am just so happy it worked for you at his prison. When my husband gets his transfer in, I will let you know about Kentucky, if you havent heard. Gee, if it works think about all of the Christmas gifts you can send him that are legal, that is if he celebrates Christmas. No offense meant, if he doesnt.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

He doesn't actually celebrate Christmas in the same manner that we do but he would be more than happy to have any gift I send him. Actually he even sent out Christmas cards last year that I made for him with pictures of the two of us on them. He just wrote something about Holidays being for families and didn't mention much about Christmas. But no offense taken. As I do celebrate it to some extent. Or at least I did before my loved ones were incarcerated.

Which reminds me of another idea on how I make Christmas cards for him to send out. Most of our guys don't have access to buying Christmas cards. The facility he is in won't let me send in blank cards, paper or envelopes. Can't preaddress envelopes either. So if I want to send him something he can send out to others it has to fit into the regular size envelopes that he uses to send to me letters in. You can buy the very small note cards that are Christmas cards. But if I do that I must write something on them and send one at a time. I always use pencil if I want him to be able to erase it so he can write something else. However for the Christmas cards he wanted it to be from both of us last year so he wanted me to write a message myself to those we were sending them to. Then he would add his message and send it to them.

However if I chose to make the card myself, I just chose a nice Christmas graphic or actually use the ecards you can find online as my graphic for the front. I place these graphics on a page in a Word document aligned to the right. That way once I print them out I can fold the page in half like a card. I can usually get about 3 cards per page this way. Then if I want to print a picture of us on the inside all I do is turn the page over and put it back through the printer. It might not be quite as nice as a store bought card but he likes them just as well if not better cause I made them for him.

If I want to use the little store bought notes cards, then I print a page of stickers with our picture on it and then can just peel it off and apply it to the inside of the card. Just an idea if you want to send cards to friends and family from the two of you. Also makes them feel more of the holiday spirit as you involve them in things. Just another suggestion.

msV..you have the most awesome ideas *smiles* Can't believe it's suppose to SNOW there--wow! It's going to be 70 here today, actually that's very unusual for this time of the year...gosh, feel like i should go mow my grass! hehe -- but think i'll go to my garage and TRY and find my christmas decorations, hmmm, now that is gonna be a challenge trust me! my garage is a mess, i gotta get organized! LOL -- xoxox

msveggie - great ideas you have. You know I read the different posts here at PTO and it amazes me at how very different all of the prisons are. Some you can send things and some you cant.
There is even a difference in prisons in the same state here (Kentucky). Two of the prisons he has been in, you CANT send in stamped envelopes, cards, etc, because they say it can be purchased at the Canteen. But the one he is in now, you can, as long as it is the envelope with embossed postage stamp that you buy at the post office.

I use the pencil also, there just isnt a good selection of cards for my husband to choose from.

Great ideas, keep them coming.

Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

By the way it was 66 here today, suppose to be 30 tonight and going down to 23 Monday night. Old man Winter is uppon us, brrr!!!

Hi I was wondering if someone could help me. I currently have a penpal at Hughes Unit in Gatesville, Texas. I was wondering if I could send him a package? If that is even allowed. If so, does anyone have any idea of what I can send? I would love to do something special for him for Christmas. Any help would be appreciated :) God bless everyone :)

Swtmel, you will have much better luck (I think), if you will scroll down to the Texas Forum and post there. There is a large delegation from Texas on this site and I am sure I recall people in that unit. If that fails any responses for you, you can always contact CenTexLyn by PM and she will get back to you with the answer.
Sorry, I cant help you any further than that, here in Kentucky, not allowed packages.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

SWTMEL,

My son is in USP Beaumont in TX. and he tells me no pkgs. of any kind--I love to send "care" pkgs. but it has been so long since I was able to do that I can hardly remember where he was but I think it was holding in Holton, KS and that was a very LONG time ago.

Wish I had better news for you or that you get a better reply to your post!

Take care & GOD BLESS!

Love

Bonnie

Hi ladies
I'm new here, and was just reading through these posts. Saw that some of you are close to my area, so I thought I'd say hey. I'm in Southeast Missouri, and my honey is in county jail right now but getting ready to go back to prison. He goes to court tomorrow actually, and we'll know from there what's going to happen.
I love the support you guys are sharing here, and I hope to be a part of it. Honey says he isn't scared, and that he'll only end up doing about 6 years, so it's better than 30 or 40 at least. He tells me to not cry, but it's so hard. I think I've watched too much tv. Have you seen the movie Stranger Inside? Or that show on HBO called Oz? Those two alone are enough to keep me up at night worrying about Honey. I know he has to be scared but doesn't want me to be upset. I can't help it. I feel like I just found him and am losing him.
We met when we were 12 or 13-ish, then lost touch for a good 7 or 8 years. We finally met up again and started dating, and things were just starting to go so wonderfully, and now this. He's only 26, I'm 23. This will be his 3rd trip to prison already, but he swears it's the last. Another thing that has me so upset is he has a 5 year old son, that will be 10 or 11 years old when Honey gets out.
Honey explained to Austin what was happening though. He told him he had broken the law and been bad and he was going to jail, and he told him that it wasn't at all anything he had done, but that he wouldn't be able to see him for awhile. Austin tells everybody that his daddy loves him and that if he's not good for his mom, his daddy will spank him when he's 10 or 11 LOL
Anyway, I love the ideas you guys are posting here. I wanted to tell you, you can let your guys in on this idea if they don't know it already. Since they can't have tape and glue and such, tell them to use toothpaste if they want something to stick. A small dab of toothpaste will act just like tape. During those years Honey and I lost each other, I married someone else, and he was in jail a lot, and he used the toothpaste idea.
Keep the ideas comin, and thanks for all your support!!

-Cathy

Hi ladies
I'm new here, and was just reading through these posts. Saw that some of you are close to my area, so I thought I'd say hey. I'm in Southeast Missouri, and my honey is in county jail right now but getting ready to go back to prison. He goes to court tomorrow actually, and we'll know from there what's going to happen.
I love the support you guys are sharing here, and I hope to be a part of it. Honey says he isn't scared, and that he'll only end up doing about 6 years, so it's better than 30 or 40 at least. He tells me to not cry, but it's so hard. I think I've watched too much tv. Have you seen the movie Stranger Inside? Or that show on HBO called Oz? Those two alone are enough to keep me up at night worrying about Honey. I know he has to be scared but doesn't want me to be upset. I can't help it. I feel like I just found him and am losing him.
We met when we were 12 or 13-ish, then lost touch for a good 7 or 8 years. We finally met up again and started dating, and things were just starting to go so wonderfully, and now this. He's only 26, I'm 23. This will be his 3rd trip to prison already, but he swears it's the last. Another thing that has me so upset is he has a 5 year old son, that will be 10 or 11 years old when Honey gets out.
Honey explained to Austin what was happening though. He told him he had broken the law and been bad and he was going to jail, and he told him that it wasn't at all anything he had done, but that he wouldn't be able to see him for awhile. Austin tells everybody that his daddy loves him and that if he's not good for his mom, his daddy will spank him when he's 10 or 11 LOL
Anyway, I love the ideas you guys are posting here. I wanted to tell you, you can let your guys in on this idea if they don't know it already. Since they can't have tape and glue and such, tell them to use toothpaste if they want something to stick. A small dab of toothpaste will act just like tape. During those years Honey and I lost each other, I married someone else, and he was in jail a lot, and he used the toothpaste idea.
Keep the ideas comin, and thanks for all your support!!

-Cathy

Thanks for the info about toothpaste I will ask to see if they knew about this or not. I send alot of things that require tape or glue and am not sure how they usually make it work.

I just made some decorative gift bags to send so that they can have nice Christmas packages for others in prison with them. I figure my son would buy some candy and put a few pieces of it in the bag for a friend. I made the bags with Print Master program on the computer. I have some of them saved as a PDF file if anyone would like to have me send it to you.

I cut the bags out and even folded along the appropriate lines. Sending the instructions also. Now all they have to do is fold it and glue one spot. They are quite cute if I do say so myself. I've made several versions of the same bag. Even made some for birthdays. My son's birthday is Saturday. Had hoped to send them to a friend of his that is getting transferred to his facility any day now. That it would be nice for him to actually have a package to open.

Anyways just a few more ideas. Also printed out some Christmas ornaments that can be put together by folding also. Still looking fo a good 3D Christmas Tree. Found some but wasn't thrilled with them. Then the guys could hang their ornaments on the tree.

A friend of mine here at PTO said that where her man is they had a picture of a Christmas Tree hanging on the wall in a main area for all inmates. Guy would be able to hang "ornaments" their kids made and sent to them. Wonder if that would be allowed here. Might ask and see. Just want them to feel like they have a Christmas also even if it's not much it's better than pretending as though the day doesn't exist, right?

hello all!! I see the great ideas are still flowing...*smiles* have been out of town quite abit and laptop works about 1/2 the time....grrrrr MsV--how are you!! xoxo

Babygurl...feeling better?? been on any visits?? *smiles*

Babygirl....is your sweetie is manchester by chance?? Just curious. Was sent a name to send mail to, he's in manchester, not familiar w/KY at all *smiles* xoxo

rondaj - No my husband is in Central City, Kentucky. Green River Correctional Complex. The worst prison in the state of Kentucky and also the most expensive one canteen wise and vending machine wise.
Was on a Non Contact visit again this past Sun for two hours. It was good to see him, however, we are hopeful his transfer will go through and he gets back down here near me at KSP in Eddyville and we will have our Contact Visits back again.
My health has improved some with this new medication and diet they have me on along with Vitamin B12 shots weekly. I actually for the first time today started to feel some better. Had some energy for a change.
Anytime I can accomplish I feel better. It definitely is a mood pick me upper.
What will really pick me up is when my husband can hold me in his arms and give me a nice kiss and a hug. That will get these old juices flowing. LOL
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.
Keep posting, good hearing from you.

Hi ya'll just wanted to know if you could send stamps.

With regards to sending stamps, you need to check with the state your loved one is in and the particular prison he is at, if anyone else here is there.
Here in Kentucky, 2 prisons do not allow stamps. Another one will take the embossed stamp on the envelope you buy at the Post Office. Anything to make it harder on us. I wish we could all send stamps, would make my life alot easier.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.
Just scroll down to the bottom and pick the state and post your question there, I think you will get a faster response that way.
If you are in the Texas Forum, I am almost positive your answer will be almost immediate, as they have a very wide following of members on PTO, along with California of course.
Good luck to you.

*smiles*...well, i see your spirits are still high. I am sooo glad to hear you are feeling somewhat better, keep following those doctors orders now!!! I do hope the transfer comes soon for you

Hey rondaj, I'm doing alright I suppose. This is a depressing time of year for me. But doing my best.

I made a 3D Christmas tree to send. I'm happy with the outcome of it but haven't sent it yet. Hope he can have it. Here's what I did.

I used a template from the following website.

http://paperzone.com/Crafter_Corner/cornerxmas4t.html

The I went to a site and found a decorated tree that I liked. This is the one I chose

http://www.treeclassics.com/product.asp?ProductFamilyID=DBS#

Clicked on see enlarged branch picture and saved it to my computer by right clicking on it.

Next I printed out several copies of it and used it instead of the construction paper suggested with the template. You'll need four copies of the decorated branch. I printed the branch on both sides of the paper so that it displayed appropriately all the way around.

Not sure if he will get it since I did put a few staples in it to hold it together. If he can't have it then I will send him another one and let him do the toothpaste thing mentioned previously. I'll let you all know.

Also printed out and cut out some very cute bags that one folds to put together. Perfect size to put a few pieces of candy in if he wants to give a gift to someone there.

rondaj - Thanks for your kind words. Yea, definitely have to follow doctors orders. I sure dont want to end up in the hospital.
Of course I am also suppose to stay away from stress, and not having much luck there with that.
Stress is always with me, some days more than others.
Of course this time of year without my husband home is also extra stress, but hopefully, this will be the last Christmas I have to spend alone.
msveggie- You are oh so talented. You certainly know your way around on the computer and how to work everything to your advantage. I am sure it brings smiles to your loved one. It has to help his morale big time to be able to share Christmas with you, complete with decorations and gifts.
Good luck with the staples, Kentucky wont allow. They see it as a weapon - go figure.
Keep on posting those great ideas, even tho I AM DEFINITELY NOT computer literate, I do love reading about all of your projects as I am sure everyone else does as well.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

Originally posted by Trulykath
www.pillowmail.com

great for fill-in-the-blank steamy stories!

kath



That pillowmail site is soooooo cool! My man's gonna go crazy after readin that! Thanks for the link.:)

msveggie


Thanks for the idea about the Christmas Tree and the link. I made mine last night for my baby and it came out beautiful. I used glue because in Texas they don't allow staples. :D

Hey I posted the other day about a site I found where I could print off Christmas trees, wreaths, and ornaments. Then I found the cutest site to print out Christmas cookies! So here is the link, I hope you can find some cute things to send. OH, and thanks for that link of the actual tree! I loved it!!!

http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36082

onyx306

Thanks for the links, I have printed out several bows to add to my christmas tree.

Keep those ideas coming ladies. I am sure all of our loved ones will really enjoy all of our efforts.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

Oh my goodness ladies!!!!!..I laughed so hard reading these posts, I scared the dog! HEEE HEEE. You all are soooo FUNNY!
Anyway, I am making a christmas tree that that will stand up and my kids want to make little paper ornaments to put on it so I was wondering if I used double- sided tape on the back of the ornaments would he be able to put them on the tree??
Do they allow that kind of thing????? Ho HO HO...bounce.

I dont know about the rules at your husbands prison, however, here in Kentucky it is allowed as long as it is in short (very short) strips.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

Well, I called the jail and they said "no" on the tape but I figured out something better......glue sticks. I glued the back of the ornaments and it dried clear. Then I licked them and the glue worked...they stuck! When I send paper models I'm going to glue stick the parts that will need to be stuck together. Jason can lick them when he gets them.
Why on earth a 1/4" strip of tape is some kind of threat is beyond me. Anyway, happy days...bounce

Just goes to show you, when you have the will, you will find the way.
As far as the tape, go figure. Not sure what could be done with a 1/4 inch piece of tape. Glad you found the way though bounce, I am sure he will appreciate it.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

What kind of a glue stick? I thought they were kind of paste like and would be easy to detect.

msveggie, dont know what kind of glue stick bounce is referring to, however, I have seen those Glue Sticks put out by the stickey note people and they arent detectable.

Do you remember the name? Can you get them at Walmart or where?

The glue stick that I used was made by Avery. It's permanent, acid free and says "Glue Stic". It's colored yellow, orange and pink(unless the company has since changed packaging). The glue is pastey looking but dries clear. I have tried the "Ross Gel stick" (blue glue) but that doesn't work at all!! I suppose I should mail it first and then let you all know how it went. Maybe they have glue-sniffing mail dogs or something---anything to make it tougher on us! I won't know until Thursday or so. Bounce.

Me again,
The glue sticks were purchased at Walmart or Michaels(craft store). I'm not sure which....it was a while ago. bounce

I made some reallly nice little gift bags for my son to give to others there for Christmas. Think I mentioned this before. Well yesterday I was talking to him about it since I got to take some of the bags I made for his birthday in with me for his food visit. I showed him where he needed to put the glue. He said we don't have glue. I told him I knew that but he could use toothpaste. I've learned alot here at PTO. He said he knew about this but it makes everything all minty. So if the glue stick is allowed that would be better.

msveggie - The Glue Stick I referred to can be bought at Wal Mart. It is under $2.00. So it looks like Wal Mart is the place to shop for it.
Happy Glueing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photos, not Polaroid.

Colorful Post Cards.

Jokes.

Poems.

Cartoon Humor

Letters on colorful stationary

Colorful pictures from the Internet (remove URL).

Crossword Puzzles (on single sheets of paper).

Newspaper or magazine clippings (not too many at one time).

Books (direct from the publisher or retailer).

Magazines (direct from the publisher).

Callage (one sheet of paper)

A drawing, a colored picture.


I hope this helps :)

Okay, I was looking at some of your profiles and at least 5 of you have a Dec 31, 1969 birthdate. What's with that???
bounce

i THINK MINE SAYS THIS TOO--READ SOMEWHERE THEY DONT KNOW WHY THAT HAPPENS MAYBE ITS A PTO GLITCH...........

I BELIEVE IT COULD BE A "GENERIC" DATE OF BIRTH!! LOL!!
HELL, I GOT MARRIED TO MY SONS DAD IN NOVEMBER OF "69; HAD HIS OLDER SISTER IN AUGUST OF '70 7 MY SON IN APRIL OF "74!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOBODY MOVES THAT FAST!!!!!!!!!!!

HOHOHO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whaaaaa!!!! The Christmas tree got held up in the mailroom!
Jason said it was because of the glue and glitter. I didn't think about that part. Anyway, they let him look at all the ornaments but he didn't get to keep em. I think it just depends on the jails. The last one let me send him more things. My daugher made him a pumpkin with tons of glue and construction paper and that got through. This most recent place wont even let me send him clippings of motorcycles out of a magazine. BOO HOO!!!! or should I say BAH HUMBUG!!!!!! bounce

Might try sending things without the glue and glitter. My tree I sent does not appear to have any glue on it and he will have to assemble it himself. It works fine and looks decorated since the tree branches I used for my photo copy of each section had pinecones and even lights on them.

I've sent two trees to my son. He has one in his room and he took the other one to work. Also sent one to my boyfriend. He says everyone loves it and is trying to talk him out of it. They have gone over very well. Wish I had made more of them.

Merry Christmas to All!!!!!!!!

I used the idea that msveggie had about copying the tree off the internet and I printed out 18 copies glued them together to created the double sided look (my color copier at work would not color double sided )
:( Then I out lined and cut all the pieces. I then stapled it together and took two of the tree branches and glued them together to create the look of being glued so not to show the staples. I then found ribbons and oranments, candles on line and cut them out one by one and glued them to the tree. I have not heard yet whether he was allowed to keep it of not but hopefully here in Texas they will. I also sent him a christmas stocking I made and decorated on both sides with a picture of me and one of his little 2 year old daughter. I used ribbon to hold the stocking together after punching several holes with a hole puncher along the edge of the stocking. By using the ribbon you can start on one end and continue around ending up with a nice bow on the side of the stocking that is used to hang. Well Christmas this year won't be happy ones for all of us but hopefully soon we will all have our loved ones home again. God Bless each and everyone of you this Christmas holiday.:)

Here is a tree that doesnt need any paste at all.


http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/christmas/papertree/

Now why didn't I think of that? Same template as the one I used however cutting those slits and sliding them together would surely be much better.

Next year I'm going to use the decorated branches that I used and print it on both sides of card stock. Then I'll do this idea with the slits. It sounds really great and I think it would actually support a few 3-D paper ornaments. Too late this year. But I'll be ready for the next year. Think I'll make it now and store it so I'll be ready.

Thanks for the link.

Omg I Went To Pillow Talk But I Am Afraid To Send It---who May Read It Besdies Jeff!!!!!

Great ideas

Jeff's ex wife, the people in the mail room read it, so be sure to make it good for them. Guess they deserve some excitement too, right? I seriously doubt you will ever meet them. But if you do then they more than likely won't remember your letter was written by you. They see thousands of stuff every day. Besides what's the worst a person can think, hmmmm..... you're human?

Ok guys, here I am again begging for help. James' birthday is in 24 days and I don't know what to send him. He always says how creative I am and how much he can't wait to see what I am going to send next and to be honest I think I have run out of creative ideas. I got nothing. Not one good idea for his birthday. I am sitting here thinking what else can I possibly do with paper and pictures that I haven't already. So I am hoping you guys can help me and give me lots of good ideas. So please post or PM me anything you can think of that I can do that will make him smile for his birthday. Thanks again and again!

If you post his interests it might help give someone an idea. I know he likes motorcycles and some sports team that I can't remember. Give us something to go on and we'll all put our thinking caps on.

No stressing Missy. Were here to help, alright.

First of all try some birthday stationary. Here are some for you below.



http://www.aprettypaperplace.com/birparlaspap.html

And I can't remember if you sent him a paper model of the motorcycle.

Motorcycle

http://papertoys.com/harley.htm

Also I'd probably try to find a nice graphic of a birthday cake and make it the size of letter paper. Print it out in color of course. Then send him 24 candles to put on it.

Msveggie,
I knew I could count on you. Ok he likes vikings, nascar, lakers, motorcycles. Thanks for the links. Don't you remember the 208 piece motorcycle I cut out for him. My hand ached.

Here is my idea for his birthday, like the 12 days of christmas, 28 items for his birthday. So 28 birthday candles, 27 paper balloons, 26 french kisses, 25 minutes of massage, etc. etc. I need to fill 15, 17, 21, 22, 23, and 24. Any ideas? I am going to make things to go with each one and print it out and send it to him. I figure I can send multiple packages (of course I can mail more than 5 pages per envelop thank goodness.) So any great ideas from you would help.

Yes I remember that motorcycle. But this one is simplier. Much easier to deal with. I was thinking on this one we could do some graphics manipulation in Photoshop (which I notice you still haven't installed) and put a picture of you and him riding off into the sunset with it. Sunset optional. But I will need a specific pose of the two of you when you go to visit. Think you can get me another picture? And don't worry this paper model doesn't have but one or two pieces so it's simplier to assemble.

Hey don't be so cheap with those massages. How about 25 massages redeemed by coupons at his will rather than a mere one time 25 minute massage. Think big!!! You know you will love itas much as he will.

Would love to know what you've got for all the other numbers already. Care to share?

msveggie, you know I will share my entire list with you. I will PM it to you. I got them all done yesterday before the fight. so now I don't feel like working on it anymore. Good thing I have until next Friday to mail it and make it on time. I MIGHT change it to 25 massage coupons when I get over being mad at him. If I sent it today I might have to change it to 25 seconds :) You know I am just kidding.

Just wanted to say THANKS for the puzzlemaker and pillowmail links.... they are fantastic!!!

I did the pillowmail one yesterday -- I'll be honest, I thought it was going to be dull and very cheesey.... *whew*.. was I wrong!

The puzzlemaker is an amazing idea.. I just made one titled.. "things I'm gonna do to you when you get home...." I'm sure he'll love it!!

Hee-hee!

(if anyone wants postcards from Vancouver, BC -- just let me know!)


Hey thanks guys those were both good ideas. I am going to start my story today. I did do a "Tale of Two Opposites" for him once which was basically the story of us. We were fighting, anyway he loved it.

DreaC here is the link http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/
It is actually I think geared towards teachers but I did a crossword puzzle - all about us that he had to complete. He loved it because no one would know the answers but us. I did another one all about Linda and surprisingly he did super. THen I did a couple of word searchers that were with intimate words. We've had lots of fun with the puzzles. Good luck and let me know if you have any problems.

I also wanted to thank you all for your great ideas - my sunshine's birthday is next weekend and I'm gonna snag some of them! thank you thank you!! :)

Alright I've got a few graphics that I found on the internet for St Patricks Day. I put them all on a page so that they can be printed out. Then you can either print them on sticker paper or use normal paper and cut them out and glue them to your envelopes or stationary. Hope you all enjoy them.

Here are some stationary pages for those with up coming birthdays to write letters to your loved ones. Hope you all like them.

I'm gonna write his letter tomorrow night on one of those b-day stationary attachments. thank you so much mrsveggie, your're an angel!

You are certainly welcomed SweatPea. The thumbnails shouldn't have been there. That's not what the attachments look like. But they are a couple of graphics that I haven't gotten changed over into a document yet to write a letter on.

Hope you like the finished ones.

Here is what the attachments above look like.

It has been brought to my attention that the link I provided earlier in this thread for the chessboard I created does not work. So I did a search and can not find it anywhere. This being the case as a request of another member I am posting it again.

Here is a picture of what the board looks like and a link to download. Hopefully there won't be any more problems.

Everyone has great ideas, One thing that I like is rubber stamp art its fun and takes the mind off alot of the stress. Also if you have Microsoft Pic It you can scan or download a pic and then put it to black and white and then go to the brightness and darkness and make it as light as you like and then print a 8x10 and fog the edges with soft white and you have stationary with a pic of the two of you or just yourself ive also used sunsets palm trees and just alot of things to keep it new for them also you can take a pic of the ocean at sunset as it comes in and make it a cool stationary page. I always try and bring the warmth of the things outside. to warm the cold place he lives in again thanks to all for the great ideas.

I have throughly enjoyed this thread! I love the creative ideas that each of you have shared. Let's see, today I created a pillow talk story for KB, I printed off a paper toy or two, I created a hidden message puzzle for him and a word search puzzle for him and i've saved some of the holiday ideas for future reference.

I love the idea of a pic of him and I on a paper toy motorcycle but I don't have any photos of the two of us together. :cry:

Thank you - each one of you for helping to make my love's day a little brighter with your creativeness! PTO is the best!

I have throughly enjoyed this thread! I love the creative ideas that each of you have shared. Let's see, today I created a pillow talk story for KB, I printed off a paper toy or two, I created a hidden message puzzle for him and a word search puzzle for him and i've saved some of the holiday ideas for future reference.

I love the idea of a pic of him and I on a paper toy motorcycle but I don't have any photos of the two of us together. :cry:

Thank you - each one of you for helping to make my love's day a little brighter with your creativeness! PTO is the best!

Hi Crone

If you have a scanner you can scan a pic of him and then of you and add one to the other bring one pic forward and make it smaller and lighter then the main on in the background I have Microsoft pic it and it has helped me learn alot also you can put the pics in black and white and brighten or darken the pics it is alot of work but time is all we have when it comes to the time we spend to make our hearts happy. and if you dont have a scanner cut the pics out and take them to stapels and play with the copy machine or ask the print dept if their not to busy I did this before I even had a computer and the girls helped me and had fun just to be involved good luck and remember to hold the ones you love close no matter what. Smile For Me

Hi, peoples!

I ran across this site, printed the questions and sent it to my guy and he loves it!!! The questions really make you think!!!

Enjoy!!!!:)





http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/question.html

Michaels. the craft store has some really cool stationary that you can buy by the sheet...last night i picked some up that was on cloth papre, blue like the sky with raised silver stars...its not cheap thougi paid .59 for that and 1.99 for another...

1)My friend asked me to print him up a calendar of next year, so he can keep track of what day it is and all that jazz. Is it okay if I draw one up and color it all cute and stuff for him?

2)Can I send him pages out of crossword puzzle books and mad lib books and things like that?

Not sure what state your loved one is in and if these things are allowed or not. They are allowed in Kentucky, however, to be sure if these things are allowed where your loved one is, it would be best to post this in the state where he is located. Perhaps someone there is in the prison he is in and can advise you.
Good luck to you.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

1)My friend asked me to print him up a calendar of next year, so he can keep track of what day it is and all that jazz. Is it okay if I draw one up and color it all cute and stuff for him?

2)Can I send him pages out of crossword puzzle books and mad lib books and things like that?
I tried to do that for KB last year for the holidays. I was using Microsoft Publisher to make the calendar. I had asked his mother to send me pictures of the family that i could scan into the computer and insert on their respective birth dates on the calendar, etc. Unfortunately his mother did not respond to my request for the pictures so I didn't give him that calendar. Instead I gave him a calendar of pictures of me - nothing suggestive or wild because as he said he didn't want those in the mail room handling those kind of pictures of me and, I wouldn't do that anyway. Pictures always seem to have a way of showing up when you least expect them or when it is most inconvenient.

I THINK that as long as it isn't spiral bound there shouldn't be any harm but again, it depends where he is housed. I didn't bind my calendar or staple it - i just sent it in as sheets of paper. He used to hang it up but at the Hughes Unit in TX they are now writing the men up for cases if they have things posted on the wall.

In one of the earlier posts someone suggested a word puzzle and provided a link. I created some of those and will be sending those to him too.

OOOOooh - the pillow talk letters - there is one on there for the Thanksgiving holiday. I've already printed mine off and I'm just holding it to send to him with the hopes that he will receive it a day or two before Thanksgiving.

I got some great ideas from you ladies! Thank you so much. I do cross stitch and I was able to make a bookmark for my boyfriend and it got through and he just loves it.

You guys are so Creative!!! :D

i sent my boyfriend a puzzle and a story that I altered a little from pillowtalk!! These are great ideas!!

As far as the glow in the dark letters...Do you have to write exactly what's in the letter in real ink or do you just say it's glow in the dark? Does it have to be on the same paper (like on the back or something) or can you include it with the glow in the dark letter?

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas!!! My Boyfriend's birthday is next week and now I'm excited about some things I can do for him! :)

In order to keep up the lines of communication, I send my baby all kinds of stuff, which has already been mention in other replies. I think the only thing I didn't see mentioned was poems. Which I write my own so they really seem personal. For example I wrote one where all the 1st letters of each verse spelled out "Mykka loves Marcus". Since I love writting, I've sent him over a dozen poems. I must say I've read some things in other replies that I haven't thought of, so I am definitely going to give them a try.
So thanks for the info.

mm4ever
"Marcus and Mykka forever"

so many great ideas here! thanks :)

As he does not have TV, I had the idea to lend a DVD, take pictures out of it on the computer, create a picture story to the movie and send parts of it in every letter, so that in the end he has the movie.
I haven't tried it yet, because atm I'm too busy for that stuff, but I thought that's a nice idea.

Or might this be against copyright? Does anybody know that?

So far I visited ((TrulyKath)) PillowMail...I really enjoyed it!! Now I'm going to the rest of the suggested areas. Thanks for this info :thumbsup:

ok after spending 2 hours reading this thread i am in awe. thank everyone soooooo much for the wonderful ideas. my baby is going to have a great time. thanks so much.

wow, alot of great ideals, I have done the puzzle and pillow talk gonna send them out soon, I also am going to name a star after him for are up comming wedding gift, and send him all the info off of that.

Here's a website with kinky ecards...they range from tame to outrageous. Sometimes I'll use the pictures to illustrate a story :)

http://www.kinkycards.com

oooooooooooooooooooooooh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Yes, the Kinky Cards keep things interesting. Just remember - at least in TX - they can no longer receive anything considered "pornographic" so you may need to doctor some of these pictures up. I know KB told me that he had to tear up some of the magazines he had so as not to get a case. Just wanted to put that out as a reminder.

Does anyone know, and maybe I should post this in the Missouri forum, but does anybody know if I can glue things to my letters to mail to my friend? I want to cut words out of a magazine and paste them onto my letters. If I can't glue them, can I tape them?

wow, alot of great ideals, I have done the puzzle and pillow talk gonna send them out soon, I also am going to name a star after him for are up comming wedding gift, and send him all the info off of that.
I never thought of that!!! I did that for my daughter when she was born! :D That's a good Christmas gift for my Honey though! :thumbsup:

Hey,

I loved all the ideas on here too. You can also send him roses. Print out 12 of them and put a message on each one with your fav scent....
He will love it :thumbsup: .

if anyone would be willing to swap post cards pm me, he would be so happy.

i like to send eric a survey type letter for him to fill out. for example, i'll ask him things like "what do you think happens to us when we die? and "name your top five favorite movies." its the kind of things that most couples could ask each other on a daily basis, but i bet very few actually do. he fills it out and returns it and he often asks me to fill the same one out with my answers and send it to him. its a lot of fun.

This sounds like a great idea with the survey.
Different, fun and interesting.
Thanks for sharing.
Remember Hope is a good thing, it springs life eternal.

Pillowmail.com is the best!!! There are about 6 different scripts and my man gets soooo turned on by reading them he begs for me to send more. For those of you who haven't tried pillowmail I highly recommend it! :o Marie

Pillowmail.com is the best!!! There are about 6 different scripts and my man gets soooo turned on by reading them he begs for me to send more. For those of you who haven't tried pillowmail I highly recommend it! :o Marie

(((Marie))) I ditto that. :clap: My husband loved the letters...I copied & paste to my word program and added more stuff/personal touches, relative to us. And did all 6-letters. He loved each and every one :thumbsup:

I can't remember who hipped us to that site...But THANK YOU SO MUCH :hifive:

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Ideas for Stationary, Creative Ideas to Send them! (http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90626)

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surveys from magazines are something different you could try.I make a copy,send him one and then give him the one I filled out.

Name a star after him ! IF you are looking for something special you want to send him on his b-day or valentines day. you can have a star, yes an actual star, named after him. You get a real certificate in a mail, but you can also print out a copy they email to you. I had it done a couple of years ago for my hubby on Valentines Day and he said it was one of the coolest things ever. I guess they are few places where you can order that from. I got mine from starnamer.com You can even ask for a star to be visible from certain places, but that can be quite costly. I think i got mine for $50 or so, i dont remember exactly now. I even got a little solar map with it showing where my hubby's star is. Not like it made any sence to me, but its just nice to have :) hope it helps Oh yea, and that star is yours forever no one can ever claim it !