Wednesday, March 23, 2011

  Some people collect shells when they go to the beach...I collect sand. I noticed years ago that sand wasn't just sand; in Tulum Mexico the sand is like sugar, granular and white. While in Kitty Hawk North Carolina, it is chunky, less like sand and more like shell fragments. On the other end of the outer banks in Jockey's Ridge, the sand looks like it came out of a huge sand box, uniform in shape and yellow, (Jockey's Ridge has sand dunes 16 stories high!). In San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, the sand is black due to the large amount of volcanic material mixed in with the sand. Recently I received a postcard from a pen friend who had been to the Sahara Desert, she incorporated some of the redish orange sand into the art on the post card. It was very interestingly done and it gave me an idea...
  Why don't I put some of my sand collection to good use and send some of it to my pen friends. So I am going to do just that. I am at the moment in Wilmington, North Carlina, my husband has a business meeting and I decided to tag along so that I could collect some sand from Wrightsville Beach. I think I will start by sharing the sand from this trip. It will be fun to work out a way to send the sand on a post card, since it would be too easy to send it in an envelope. If you aren't on my mailing list and would like to receive one of my sandy post cards, please e-mail me your snail mail addy and when I get them done I will send you one!
 
 

7 comments:

  1. Awesome idea! I kick myself for nothing thinking of it sooner. I brought back shells, but no sand from both mexico and tanzania. I really should have thought about sand!! I can't wait to see what you come up with. =)

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  2. Elle, I would love a sandy postcard. :) I received a postcard from my sister in South Africa (I'm in Canada) one year with a small plastic bubble attached to the card; enclosed in the airpocket was--you guessed it--soft white sand from the beach on the photo. I still have it; maybe I can take a pic to send you. Lovely gift!

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  3. What a great idea! I collect sand too, but I don't think I've been to quite as many exotic places as you have!

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  4. Pen Thief,
    I wish that I had thought of it earlier in the game myself. I didn't start collecting sand until after my kids came along so I missed getting sand from some really interesting places...Baja California, Mailbu, Ensonada Mexico, the South China Sea at Long Beach P.I., and Grande Island Philippines.I actually got the idea from my youngest son when he was four yrs. old. I observed him as he tried to wrestle a bucketful of sand into the trunk of the car when we were packing to go home from a beach trip. I asked him what he was doing and he stated making a "sand collection". Since an open bucket of sand in the trunk of the car wasn't going to cut it, we compromised on a ziploc bag full of sand and the lights came on in my head... so from then on I have carried away sand from beaches far and wide. I finally know how I'm going to display it, and will be making my sand showcase shortly, so I'll post a pic when I get it done!

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  5. Elaine,
    I will put your name on my list! What a great idea your sister had and a truly memorable gift!! I would love to see what it looks like.

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  6. Donna, Wow! A fellow sand collector! I will send you some sand to add to your collection. I am a tumbleweed at heart,I really do love to travel.

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  7. -REPLY

    I know! Isn't that shower curtain gorgeous?
    I always find that a nice hot bath of long shower is the ultimate way to relax.
    ;-)

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