Postcrossing Blog

Some of the most observant postcrossers might have noticed we’re getting really close to the remarkable milestone of 50 million postcards received. With less than 250 thousand postcards to go, it’s time to start guessing when postcard number 50,000,000 will be registered.

Our guessing game is really simple:

Every member has a chance to submit a bet for the day and time on which they think the postcard number 50 million will be registered. The bets need to be submitted on the contest page.

Whether you’re proficient in maths or divination, your bet need to be accurate to the minute… so run the numbers on a spreadsheet or ask your lucky stars, but don’t forget to place your bet soon! Pro tip: December is a usually a slower month in Postcrossing, so you might want to check our postcard statistics page to make a more accurate prediction.

What’s in it for you, you may ask? Well… see all those postcards sets behind the Little Mail Carriers? One of them could be yours if your calculations are correct and you pick the right time slot! There’s lots of them and something for everyone’s taste, from botany to bicycles, photography to Star Wars and beyond!

The postcrosser whose bet is the closest to the exact minute when postcard number 50 million is registered will win a box set of 100 postcards, and the 14 next best hunches (before or after the registering time) will receive a pack of 20–30 postcards each. It’s a postcard extravaganza up for grabs! 🎉

Some rules: each time slot can only be chosen by one single person, so the first person to pick that slot gets to keep it. You can change it at a later stage if you’d like, but only from the available time slots left. We will close the bets when there are 1000 postcards left to postcard 50,000,000. Check the contest page for more details.

So, give it your best shot… but be quick about it as the good slots usually run out quickly. Keep sending postcards, and good luck everyone!

Time to submit your entries to the Graceful Envelope contest, one of the nicest mailart contests out there! Every year, they pick a theme for the submissions, and 2018's topic is simply the weather. 🌦

From their website:

There’s always something to say about the weather. From severe storms to sowing crops, to using the sun and wind for renewable energy, the weather affects everyone. Summon a brainstorm to capture what’s outside your window—or outside the box—and design a winning envelope!

And if you think you don’t have a nice enough handwriting to participate – don’t fret! One judge on the contest’s 2011 edition revealed that they’re not simply looking for the best calligraphy or painter… in the end, what really matters is the winning combination of all elements in the envelope (ie, design, calligraphy and stamps) and how they work together to reflect the year’s theme.

The contest is open to entries from all around the world (as long as they are sent in by March 26th 2018) and there are separate categories for children too, so do encourage your little ones to give it a go!

You can read the contest rules and how to participate on the Washington Calligraphers Guild website, and check out some of the previous entries for inspiration on their Flickr page.

Another year, another chance to participate on the Graceful Envelope Contest!

This year, the theme is “Pushing the envelope”, which is very exciting as it leaves room for all kinds of artistic interpretations. The organizers explain how this motto embraces two concepts at the heart of the contest:

The first meaning dares you to take your creativity beyond your comfort zone. “Push the envelope” and find new ways to use graphic design, hand lettering and postage stamps to enhance your entry. It may be a small canvas, but you are capable of big ideas.

The Graceful Envelope Contest also celebrates the significance of writing, sending and receiving letters. In this era of email, tweets and emojis, seeing a hand-addressed envelope in your mailbox can make any day special. So your entry should “push the envelope” in the sense of promoting the exchange of letters. Depict the joy of letter writing. Or salute an American tradition as old as the U.S. Constitution, which empowered Congress “to establish post offices and post roads."

One of the previous contest’s judges revealed that they’re not simply looking for the best calligraphy or painter… in the end, what really matters is the winning combination of all elements in the envelope (ie, design, calligraphy and stamps) and how they work together to reflect the year’s theme. The contest is open to entries from all around the world (as long as they arrive before March 27th 2017) and there are separate categories for children too, so do encourage your little ones to participate!

You can read the contest rules and how to participate on the Washington Calligraphers Guild website, and check out all of last year’s winners on their Flickr page for some inspiration.

We did it everyone!! 🎉 40 million postcards delivered and registered! 🎉 What a great way to start the week!

Curious to find out which postcard was the lucky one? Here it goes: Postcard number 40,000,000 (TW-2118751) was sent by navi in Taiwan on December 1st, and registered today at 6:39 AM (UTC) by Alexis11 in France! Hurray!

Not surprisingly, all spots on our guessing game were taken long ago, and the lucky winner was BeckyThatcher, whose guess was spot on! Well done, your new set of 40 Cardcetera postcards are on their way.

The other four lucky postcrossers who came the closest to the right time were Anne-Liam, frosch0980, Neraksrekked and klim4uk — great job! You’ll each receive a pack of 20 Cardcetera postcards as well!

Both the sender and the receiver will also receive a surprise pack of 20 postcards from Cardcetera, to celebrate their good luck.

Last but not least, our big heartfelt thank you to our team of volunteers, to Astrid at Cardcetera for generously sponsoring this giveaway with her beautiful cards… and, most of all, to you — all of you who connect the world through postcards!

And now, the countdown to the next million begins — one postcard, and one smile at a time! Happy Postcrossing! :)

You didn’t think we’d forget, did you? 😊 We’re getting closer to the remarkable milestone of 40 million postcards… so it’s time to launch our popular guessing game!

If you’ve joined the project recently, this might be the first time you enter one of these, so here is the gist:

Every member has a chance to submit a bet for the day and time on which they think the postcard number 40 million will be registered. The bets need to be submitted on the contest page.

Naturally, there are prizes for those who guess the correct time, or get really close!

The postcrosser whose bet is the closest to the exact minute when postcard number 40 million is registered wins a neat set of 40 Cardcetera postcards. The 4 next best guesses (before or after the registering time) will also receive a pack of 20 postcards from Cardcetera.

Some rules: each time slot can only be chosen by one person, so the first person to pick that slot gets to keep it. You can change it at a later stage, if you want, but only from the available time slots left. We will close the bets when there are 1000 postcards left to postcard 40,000,000. Check the contest page for more details.

Do some calculations on the back of an envelope or flip a coin… but be quick about it as the good slots run out fast! Good luck everyone!