For many of us, Mother′s Day means buying our mothers a traditional paper card, some flowers and hopefully spending some special time with our mothers.

This is not possible if your mother is fighting a war thousands of miles from home, just as the approximate 10,000 mothers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are doing. As Lt. Colonel Dan Mosqueda prepares for his next deployment, he knows first hand the toll this takes on mothers serving abroad and on their loved ones here at home.

“I will be deploying to United States Central Command Headquarters and I know how tough it is to be separated from friends and family for long stretches of time. People usually think about the tough times our Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines face around holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but as more and more brave women participate in our nation’s defense, and in particular those who are mothers, this time of year is really tough on them.”

– Lt. Colonel Dan Mosqueda, United States Air Force Reserve.

Recently Qipit partnered with eMOM, an organization started by Trish Forant, a patriot, military wife, good person and fellow twitterer, to help bridge the communications gap between home, Iraq and Afghanistan.

As Mother′s day approaches here is how you can use Qipit to create a handwritten greeting with nothing more than a whiteboard or paper, some markers and your camera phone.

4 steps to send a personal handwritten Mother′s Day message

1. Register for a free Qipit account, if you don’t already have one.

2. Create your card or special message on paper or a whiteboard. You can also use an already made Mother′s Day card and add your special message.

3. Take a picture of your Mother′s Day creation with your digital camera or a megapixel plus camera phone (equipped with auto-focus or macro mode if you are using paper instead of a whiteboard).

Here’s something I put together for my mom. You can use the first title image for your message. Just right click and save the image, then send it to Qipit with your personal message. Yes, I know I am no Leonardo (so save the comments).

Here is my personal message, this is a separate picture of another part of the white board. If you must know I am a lefty, that is my excuse for my “doctor like” penmanship.

4. Turn the pictures into a qipit Mother’s Day card by sending the pictures to color@qipit.com via email, as an attachment; using your camera phone, as a picture message (aka MMS); or upload the images via the web interface, just like your favorite photo sharing site.

Here’s is what you get back as a PDF, you can also just share it with a link by publishing it.

Here is the thumbnail, just click on it to see the published version.

or you can download the PDF: Mother′s Day Handwritten Message (pdf)

Tip: Enter your Mom′s email address in the body of the picture message, and the title in the subject line, if you want to send it directly from your camera phone, otherwise you can send it as an email or link from the web interface. If you need additional help on making a Qipit, checkout this post, and don’t foget to share your Mother’s Day qipits with us by posting them in the comments.

All of us at Qipit wish each and every member of our military a safe return home. You and your families are in our thoughts and prayers daily. Happy Mother′s Day!

~ Conrad

P.S. Click this link for the press release: Qipit eMOM Mother’s Day Press Release if your interested.