Every month hundreds of our postcards carrying smiles, love and homely titbits reach men and women serving in military bases all over the world.

Just thinking about these cards gives us a warm and fuzzy feeling – yes, we’re that sentimental. Fond memories from home keep these brave soldiers in good spirit.

Postcards from WW1 and WW2 show the hopes and fears of ordinary men and women in those extraordinary circumstances. They loved. They hoped. They sent news of the most ordinary happenings - neighbours getting married, nieces having babies, daffodils that are now in full bloom. On postcards. 

Thinking of sending your army lad or lady a postcard? You’ll be in great company …. A few easy steps and you can do the same:

1.    Choose a photo of a moment or memory that will make your military man or lady smile.

2.    Add your message at the back. That personal message, that mundane detail that you know that they’ll love (our favourite was all about the smell of toast).

3.    Add their FPO or APO address at the back. When choosing the Country from the list on the app, just select the country the base is a part of. (For example: If you are sending a postcard to a US military base, you could select USA as the country when you are writing the FPO AE address.)

4.    That's it - we will post it for you. Postage is included in the price.

Simple? Then go ahead and send another one. Soldiers can never have too many of loving postcards from home.

Oh, and did we mention that all cards are free via our Facebook app until September 9^th? 

We all have stories of forgotten birthdays, upset spouses / partners, a mix-up in the date of key anniversary dates, and many more. They line our personal wall of shame. 

Not much sympathy or joy being shared, in any sense. The naughty corner for you.

We have a nifty little feature in the app that allows you to set reminders for birthdays. And also just to say ‘hello’. Or ‘I miss you’. And you never, ever, will be put back in that corner. Well, not unless you want to.

How to set a reminder

• ·         Just log in on web, Android device, iPad or iPhone.
• ·         Go to Address book and select the contact you want to set reminder for.
• ·         Set a birthday reminder, or timely reminders just to stay in touch.

Once you have set a reminder, we will send you a gentle email just in time for you to be a fabulous and dutiful friend. Goody two shoes - that's you, for not forgetting anyone's birthday this year. 

If you collect recipe-books or cut-outs from colourful magazine pages, you know that love for food runs way shallower than taste - it's all about how it looks. If it looks good, then you want to try it. Always.

Recipe postcards are an excellent way to share food-porn. Food-loving friends always love to get something that looks delicious in their mailbox (yes, we’re still talking about food). Along with special kitchen tips or expert comments and wisdom, of course. You’re doing them a service.

Kids just moved away to university? This might be the next best thing to a home cooked meal that you can send them. Inspiration to give up late night pizza and stale doughnuts, and get creative in the kitchen. Well, you can always hope.

And they do make pretty bookmarks.

Heading out to a sunny paradise this summer? We can imagine all the fun you will be having in your summer holiday. Golden beaches; pina colada; lazy hours in the sun.

But does your postcard back home make your friends ‘wish they were here’ too?

With Touchnote you can send great postcards when you are on holiday straight from your iPhone, iPad or from your Android phone.  Here are some tips for posting a beautiful postcard with Touchnote.

Humour Does It

For years postcards have showcased the work of independent photographers and artists. A personalized postcard can show off your cool phoneography. And a wacky sense of humour.

Sun and Smiles

So if it rains on your vacation, think of it as an excuse for your poetic license.

Nightlife photos, the awesome indoor hotel pool. We prefer to detract attention away from the sunless sky by smiling – and showing off those pearly whites.

Love Effects

Photo apps inspire the inner hipster.  Pop art, comic art, sketch effect, watercolour, collage and more. A few clicks – and your holiday postcards are drawing major lolz from your friends.

Guaranteed, your best friends will definitely want to stick you on their fridge. How generous of you. 

How to send a holiday postcard with Touchnote

1. Download the Touchnote Postcards app for iPhone, iPad or Android.  You can also send postcards directly from our website.

2. Choose your a great photo using the tips above

3. Add a nice message and address

4. Voila.  We will take care of the rest and send it to anywhere in the world.  Worldwide postage is included in the price.   

There’s something special about summer. It smells different, there’s something in the air. The colours are always brighter. As are the smiles on the sun-tanned faces on the postcards. 

And of course, holidays are perfect for sending postcards back home. But there is something special about summer postcards. 

Which got us wondering: what is it about summer that makes people so smiley?

Perhaps it’s the memories of youth. Sleeping in and sneaking out. Picnics in the garden. Spending all day in shorts. Swimming in rivers. Playing with the garden hose – that’s what summer is all about for the young.

It is also the perfect time to head outdoor for a family escape. Out to the green spots in the city. Strawberries, cream, tanning oil and ice-creams. No wonder summer smells of happy food!

Whatever it is that you love the most about summer, it seems to be the perfect time to make a few memories and share them. Lazy summer holiday postcards anyone? 

The 2012 Olympics are just around the corner. Excitement, testosterone, and energy drinks are in the air - and of course it's a great time to take and share photos.

So we've worked how to make it even easier for you to share your pictures during the Olympic season with our free postcard promotion. Best things in life are free? For sure.

In partnership with Samsung (and for a limited time only), you can now send postcards for free. Anybody using our Android app, our Facebook app and our website can now send unlimited free cards. It's for a limited time only, needless to say.

Say goodbye to expensive souvenir shops! 

If you're in London over summer, you can now share your personal Olympic moments with your friends and family. And we're working with Getty Images to give you a hand-picked supply of the best and most atmospheric images from the games for you to be able to send. Did you miss the perfect shot of the event you went to? No problems anymore 

And nope, there is no catch. Those postcards really are for free.

If you've any questions about this promotion, here's a list of helpful FAQs to answer your questions. Or else just drop us a line in email(help@touchnote.com) and we'd love to.

Love, giggles, hugs and now postcards. The best things in life are free, just as Luther and Janet said. Well, Sam Cooke too. And Frank Sinatra.

Our friends in America have been sending Mother's Day postcards from Samsung Galaxy Note devices and projecting those postcards onto buildings such as the New York Public Library. "I love you mom! Look that building over there proves it."

In case you're not sure, the Samsung Galaxy Note is the one with a pen that's (to paraphrase) not a phone and not a tablet either. If you have one, you can use the pen to doodle or draw on the front of your Touchnote postcard and then you can hand-write the message on the back. Just download the Touchnote app from Google Play and if you have a Galaxy Note you'll automatically get all the SPen features. 

G'day! There's good news for all of you who've been sending postcards to friends and family 'down under': Touchnote now prints all Australia-bound cards in Australia. It's the same high-quality printed postcard, but it now arrives in one to three days instead of the weeks it could take to travel by train and plane across oceans and continents. And to make things even easier, we're busy updating all our apps and website to include Australian postcode lookup in our address mechanisms.

The sun is shining, we've had bucket-loads of ice-cream and this year's sunglasses have been christened.

Just in time for summer, we've made it to the number two slot in Photography on iTunes in Luxembourg, Switzerland and Malta. 

I'm sure that there's a limerick here somewhere.

But this one's only got four lines. Hmm.

When Christmas Day left-overs are finished and the wrapping paper is put away, it’s time for the little ones (and maybe you too) to start thinking about sending some ‘’Thank you’’ cards for all the wonderful presents.