Custom Creations - Here It Is!

A huge hurdle was overcome this past week.

As many of you know, I have been working on a Toronto Maple Leafs 1967 Stanley Cup Finals ticket stub card for a while now. Design after design, revision after revision. Many times, I was frustrated that I couldn't 'get it', but it was a great lesson in perseverance.

With the arrival of the card to its rightful owner, I can now show it off here for all of you to see.


This card now holds the honor of being the most important card I've built to date.

Why? Because it has given me a confidence level that I haven't hit previously.

Yes, it took hours to design. Yes, it took hours to build. Yes, I was sweating it the whole way...but it was all worth it.

And his reaction? It was exactly what I hoped it would be...sheer and utter amazement (including some words I can't repeat on this blog).

That made it all worth it to me.



As important as it was to find the right balance of 'stuff' on the front, I knew that the card back would hold the bulk of the information.

I wanted to make sure the importance of this ticket stub wasn't lost. After all, it was from game 3 (a game that Toronto won in double overtime), it was from the last Stanley Cup year that Toronto was victorious and it was from a year that had just a spectacular lineup.


Here's a better look at the shadowbox effect I gave this card. Normally, the top layer would sit flat on the cut autograph, but here you can see that the ticket stub almost floats in the background. The separation gives off a really cool effect when you hold the card back at arms length.

The shadows I added to the design mixed with the actual depth of the card give off a 3D-like effect. Something that I still am really impressed I nailed.

Was it tough to do? You bet. But just because something is tough to do doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.


It's a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and I feel as though I can move forward with my customs with a new sense of energy and confidence.



Case in point. This Ab McDonald card was one that I banged off in no time (or so it felt).

The toughest part of this design was finding a suitable photo of Ab to use. Some of these guys just don't have much in the way of high quality photos.


It's a simpler design for sure, but sometimes you don't need to go gangbusters.

My custom design year has gotten off to a great start, and I know I've got some good stuff coming down the pipe too.

Stay tuned.