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. 

Rachel Stuhlmann

Rachel Stuhlmann has been dubbed the world's #1 tennis influencer.  Rachel draws a lot of Paige Spiranac comparisons, which, in my opinion, is a great compliment.  Like Paige in golf, Rachel has played tennis at a high level.  She is getting more eye on the game through her social media while at the same time doing justice to the game of tennis with her knowledge and experience of the game. 

This card is done in the style of the 1992-93 Upper Deck basketball McDonald's set.  I like using this design, as well as other early 90's UD designs, for their clean simplicity and focus on image quality to carry the card.

On The YouTubes

Recently I was contacted by a gentleman named Myles who had an interest in my cards.  It's always flattering to get messages that are complimentary about the cards I've made.  It's comforting to know that there's a good number of junk era wax kids out there like myself pretending to be adults.

During our email exchange Myles floated the idea of me opening up some card packs for his YouTube channel.  I've been approached in the past about guest interviews and things like that.  Typically, I shy away from that type of thing.  I'm pretty introverted, so I enjoy the anonymity of my cards.  My cards allow me to contribute to the nostalgic/artistic community without really promoting myself.  It's about the love of trading card and pop culture nostalgia.  I don't feel an urge to put myself out there as 'the guy behind the cards'.  But, with all that being said, I did figure I could have fun opening a pack of cards without it feeling like a "look at me" type of thing.  

Myles actually sent me a few packs and I started to open them for a longer video but the problem with that is that I ran out of space on my phone.  You see, I horde stupid memes so I always have the right joke as a reply to a conversation and custom card screen capture inspiration.  So, I had to make a shorter video as opposed to actually cleaning up my camera roll -- please don't talk to me about cloud storage so I may stay blissfully ignorant.   

I was saving the Napoleon pack for last as it was the most intriguing to me.  I didn't even know these were a thing.  For a long time I've had an idea for a Napoleon Dynamite set.  That idea isn't totally scrapped because it would be a lot different presentation than these cards.  I love that movie.  I cannot tell you how many times I've seen it, but I'm confident I can annoy you by going line-by-line with the dialogue.  Plus, the Uncle Rico cards I made were really well received, so that's a very encouraging factor to still keep that idea around. 

As far as the video I think Myles did a great job.  I didn't think pack opening could be entertaining, but I have to admit I was eager to see which cards were next while remembering 11 year old me busting 1991 Topps.  I wouldn't mind doing something like that myself, but I have ZERO knowledge on video editing and, honestly, it overwhelms me to think about setting out to learn it because the last thing I need is a new obsession.

As an added bonus my 8 year old son now thinks I'm some sort pseudo celebrity because I'm on YouTube.  Kids these days place a lot of importance on that.  YouTube to him would've been like me at his age having an '86 Topps Bo Jackson rookie, so I get it.