Inspiration: Vintage Typewriter

This is my mom's typewriter.  Although I must admit, I sort of think of it as mine now, since I've had it in my possession for several months.  I started using it as a display prop at shows when I have a big booth space to fill.  People of all ages are drawn to it.  One little boy called it "an old-fashioned computer."  Which, I suppose, is fairly accurate.

My mom got this typewriter in the autumn of 1960, at the beginning of her senior year of high school.  It went with her to secretarial school, and she used it to write letters home to her parents when she moved to Colorado and Texas when my dad was in the service.  I remember her typing letters on it into the 1980s.  I remember her telling me not to touch it.  And I remember sneaking the case open when I was old enough to be home alone.  This typewriter has been around. 

I have a typewriter of my own that is probably old enough now to also be vintage; it, too, is a Smith-Corona, but mine is electric.  I got my sophomore year in high school and used it my first couple years of college.  I used to make a little extra beer money by typing papers for friends at a rate of one dollar per page.  I preferred typing on my trusty typewriter in my dorm room rather than waiting in line in the computer lab in the basement of Burge Hall at the University of Iowa.  I even used it well into the nineties when my second-hand computer died on me the night before a final paper was due when I was going to Drake.  I still use it today for little stuff, like scrapbook journaling (just used it yesterday, as a matter of fact, to type up some quick journaling for this week's Project Life layout).  Ribbon for it is becoming a little hard to find, which kind of worries me.  Because I love my typewriter. 

Yes, I'm old school.  And I'm okay with that. 

So, to honor this trusty old-school technology, I made some cards featuring a photo of the 1960 Smith-Corona.  They're plain and simple, but I like them:

One is a thank you card, one is a birthday card, and one is a "hello there" card.  Nothing fancy, but I think they work.  Just like my trusty old typewriter.  I love that I never have to worry about it crashing. 

In case you want one, these cards are available in my shop, and I'll be bringing them to craft shows as well.