Hannah Scharf

This isn't a new card per se, but it's one I don't believe I've shown anywhere before.  I needed an excuse to update this site after a nearly 7 month hiatus. 

As for the card, I made this one in a, to date, failed attempt at an autograph.  Hannah Scharf is a Canadian collegiate gymnastics standout for the ASU Sun Devils   I've previously said it before, but the 1991-92 Skybox design is choice for autographs.  I collect autographs from the official basketball set.  The white negative space offers the perfect canvas for an autograph to really pop, and who doesn't love those futuristic -for the time at least- computer graphics?  I love making card using this design, but it does have to be among the most time consuming templates I work with.  This card also gave me a reason to use one of my absolute all-time favorite mascot sports logos; Sparky the Sun Devil.

As for me, lots of changes.  The biggest being a whole new career.  I took a chance on myself switching careers after 22 years in the same field, and thus far the move has paid off in many ways.  My old career offered me loads and loads of downtime while at work which allowed me lots of time to tinker with this custom card hobby of mine.  My new career doesn't offer that same flexibility.  

I've had a lot of fun adventures this summer with the family, so I really wasn't thinking too much about making cards.  But, summer is drawing to a close and the kids are going to school in the coming weeks.  It's got me thinking about trying to mix in a little more card time, because at the end of the day I really do love making my cards.  I'm currently setting up a little work space in my house to give me somewhere dedication to creating cards and I've got a few ideas for new cards I 'd like to make, plus ideas from others that I've gotten via email and DMs.  I don't yet know how much I'll be able to do, I just know it will be nothing in comparison to the volume that I was able to crank out for a number of years.  Like always, it's treated as a hobby, and I'm doing it as a fun creative outlet for myself.  

So there ya have it, I'm alive and doing fine and new cards are *hopefully* on their way. 

Paige Spiranac Card Dump

Although I haven't been posting them, I've been making Paige Spiranac cards and setting them aside over the last few years.  I'll save images and sort of use them as custom card practice.  I've decided to now post all of the Paige cards I've made so far.  The first two are inspired by the 1989 and 1991 Upper Deck baseball designs respectively.  

Inspired by: 1990 & 1992 UD baseball

Inspired by 1993-94 UD basketball / 1989-90 NBA Hoops

Inspired by 1991 UD football / 1988 Topps football

Inspired by: 1992-93 McDonald's UD basketball / 1991 UD football

Inspired by: 1985 Topps First Blood Part II / 1986 Topps baseball

I think this one, inspired by the 1991-92 Skybox basketball set, is my favorite of the lot.  It's such a clean look.  This is one I'd love to one day have signed.

Here's two bonus cards that I made early on and was able get signed.  The first is inspired by the 1987 Topps baseball design and the one on the right is just an autograph card design I came up with.  Paige was pretty good at signing through the mail but as her popularity has grown I'm assuming it's harder for her to keep up with it, which is understandable.

 

Gina Carano

Although I didn't have any cards made up of Gina Carano, I wanted to add her to me autographed custom card collection if given half a chance.  That chance came via a private signing with SWAU a couple of months back. This is the first time I've used their service and I have only good things to say.  They're very professional and their site allows you to keep up-to-date on the status of the signer you're waiting for.

The majority of cards I get signed are through the mail.  It's a bit of a gamble.  You never know what you'll get back, and I guess that's part of the fun.  But, occasionally I'll send into private signings.  With a private signing it's the opposite.  You now you're going to get a return every time, well, almost every time.  With a private signing you assume the role of paying customer so you pretty much get to have what you want, how you want it.  Whereas the other way you never really know if it'll be signed where you want it, if it'll be damaged or lost in the mail, if the signature will be smudged, etc.  Lots of variables.  I also like to not have my autographs personalized.  They're generally just for my private collection, I just don't like my name written on the card and you can specify that with a private signing whereas some celebs will automatically personalize to cut down on people selling their autographs.

So, when I saw the Gina signing being advertised I got to work on making a card.  I chose to go with a 1991-92 Skybox design which is a template I LOVE for autographing, but haven't had much success getting cards autographed when I've used it.  I actually collect official '91-'92 Skybox autographed basketball cards.  They cards have a helluva cool and clean aesthetic that lends so well to autographs because of all the white space.

The picture I chose came from Gina's 2009 ESPN Magazine "Body Issue" that was actually used for the magazine's cover. It's a pretty iconic picture for both Gina and the magazine.  

For the back of the card I used a weigh-in picture of Gina from her last professional MMA fight in 2009 vs. Cris Cyborg.  That fight is probably the single most important fight for pushing the envelope for women mixed martial artists.  I think that also made it obvious to everyone that Gina was a big-time box office draw and afforded her the opportunity to pivot into a big screen career pretty easily.

In looking for the right image for the Skybox-style card I came across other images that pained me to just leave on the cutting room floor, so I said "what the hell" and just made a second custom Gina Carano card for the signing.  

The design of the second is an original design of mine.  In my files I label this design as "horizontal split", pretty to the point.  I've done a number of cards with this template but, before this card, have had zero success on a return.  I usually use this design when I just cannot decide between two images so I just use them both.

I really dig that SWAU uses a holo-sticker with a QR code to easily verify autographs from their signings.  I like it for both the obvious reasons and also that it adds an 'official' look to my cards.  Hopefully they partner with 

Air Bud

When Air Bud came out in 1997 I had no interest in seeing it.  I was in my late teens and it's a kid's Disney movie.  I was much too cool to see that type of movie.  I've never seen Air Bud (much less any of its umpteen sequels) until right before I started making this card.  I knew I was going all in on this idea so I wanted to be sure I was familiar with the movie so I didn't miss a detail that would help the card out.  I don't own Air Bud so I actually paid to rent it on YouTube.  That's dedication, homes.

The movie is cute, I guess.  As basketball obsessed as I was as a kid had this come out when I was say 9, or somewhere about, Air Bud probably would have been a personal classic to me.  I will say that Disney did a great job of finding an antagonist kid with a 10 on the punchable face scale.

What gave me the inspiration to make this card is the picture used on the backside.  That is actually the "Air Bud" being carried off of the court by Dennis Rodman during a 1992 NBA Playoff game between the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.  "The Worm" scooped him up after Air Bud stormed the court during play.  I believe the dog was there to do the halftime show that was sponsored by Bud Light.  Yes, Air Bud could actually put the ball in the hoop by bouncing it off his snout. 

There was nothing from 1997 that grabbed me as far as the card's design.  I choose a design inspired by the 1991-92 Skybox because of the court storming incident and because I love the design and have been wanting something to come along that would inspire me to use it and this was it.  I've been working on a signed '91-'92 Skybox set for quite sometime.  The with all the white negative space as part of the design it really helps autographs to pop.

1991-92 Skybox

This card is kind of ridiculous, I admit.  I spent a TON of time on it, too much really.  Even though I'm not a huge Air Bud fan, this card, from a technical standpoint, has got to be one of my favorites that I've done in a while.