TTM: My niece is PUMPED about this success!

Well, this past week was a landmark week for my minimal TTM ventures.

My niece and I have built a few custom cards to send off to some of the actors/actresses in the Twilight movies.

This past week she was excited to see a successful return in the mailbox.





Not much to say other than - AWESOME!

I'm thrilled that doing these custom TTM's with her has shown that a little bit of planning and some work (and 'fun' work at that) can garner some cool and unique results.

I think it's cool that she is the only one on this planet that has a signed card like that.

Looking forward to seeing more envelopes in the mailbox.

Here are the details...

NIKKI REED– Actress (Twilight)
Date Sent: July 30, 2010
Items Sent: 2 custom cards
Address Sent To: Nikki Reed
C/o BWR Public Relations
5700 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 550
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Date Received: September 14, 2010
SUCCESS/FAILURE: Success
Notes: both custom cards received back; personalized; one with ‘Love’, the other with a heart.

OPINION: GOALS

With the NHL season quickly creeping up on us, it's often a time for collectors to assess and evaluate their habits, spending and ultimately their goals as it pertains to the hobby.

While I plan on taking a look at where I am at with my collections and where I would like to be come the end of the season, I don't think I will be yielding as much of a serious tone when it comes to my expectations this season.

From a financial standpoint, it will be status quo for me. Saving each month and spending when the time is right. Not overdoing it (too often) and recognizing the times that might only come around once in a blue moon.

From a project standpoint, I think my Linden collection is pretty much stagnant right now. If I happen to come across a card I need, I will probably be aggressive towards obtaining it. I hear rumblings that he might be included in a set this upcoming season - which would be cool.

My One Sheet, One Set project is one that I would like to have better organized rather than substantially adding to it. That said, if a great deal crosses my path....I'll jump at it.

1 vs. 100. Now that's one project I'd like to see progress quite a bit. Remembering that I'm not breaking the bank for it. I think I can get another 25-30 cards by the end of the season.

My other smaller projects are nothing more than just fun projects that are more "Hey....look what I found. I'll add it to my collection." Nothing that I will seriously pursue.

I'd like to continue getting rid of the stuff that no longer is a part of "my collection". Stuff that just sits in my closet and takes up space. The last couple years have been good for getting rid of stuff, but I'd like to take another step towards streamlining.

From my blog standpoint, I'd like to continue what I have started. I am quite proud of my first year of blogging (OK - 11 months). I hope to continue blogging with some consistency and with topics that interest me. Hopefully they will interest you too. Not sure in what ways I will expand the blog (if I even will), but I'm very much looking forward to the season.

And finally, the biggest goal of them all - have fun. It's can often be the one that is overlooked the most. Whenever I take my niece and/or nephew out somewhere and we go over the rules, they automatically know the answer when I ask "What's rule #1?" HAVE FUN!

I like that.

Have you got goals for your collections, projects or the hobby in general? What are they?

RAISE THE CUP - Remember Me

Alright. Let's get back to some of the projects that have caught my attention, been enjoyable to build and have gotten me more organized.

My 'Raise The Cup' project, for those not in the loop, consist of cards that depict players raising the Stanley Cup over their heads. Simple.

The first card that caught my eye was a Lanny McDonald 2008/09 Legends Masterpieces Brown Border card. I loved the look, design and 'moment capturing' aspect of the card.

I have since traded it away. I know, I know....but it was for a good reason, and I had this one which will take its place.


Not quite as nice as the brown border, but still fits the bill for my collection.

Here are some other beauties from that popular set.






There are so many things I like about the Bowman card....but in the end, I think the t-shirt he is wearing trumps them all. Just nasty.

It could have been worse though, they could have shown him wearing his skates that he tied on for the lap around the rink.



Were they Micron or Daoust skates? Yikes!

Thanks for the look and I hope to build more on this enjoyable project this upcoming season.

current collection - 14 cards

Custom Creations: The Greatest Custom Card Collection...... PERIOD!

Today was the final day of our 'summer' work schedule. Busy is an understatement for me during the months of June, July, August and September, but things now shift gears. It's still busy, but should be more steady than crazy.

As such, I hope to get back into a bit of a routine when it comes to me blog. I enjoy the writing and sharing of my projects and it helps me become more organized with my collection.

Tonight, I introduce you to one of my favorite custom card makers and the ultimate custom cut auto collection - bar none.

The Broderick Collection

In a nutshell, it is the single greatest collection of autographs from the world of hockey. The diversity and rarity of these signatures is staggering.

The simplicity in the custom designs and the precision in the cutting of the cards and autographs makes these cards some of the nicest I have seen. To know that they all sit within one collected group is truly impressive.

The amount of time, effort and the balls to mess with such priceless autographs is a testament to the designers work and inspiration for me as a custom card creator.

I look forward to seeing more cards included in this project and as a result, unearthing more of the most historical autographs this sport has seen.

1 vs. 100 - Halfway There

Well, it's a milestone mailday for my 1 vs. 100 project.

I started this collection less than a year ago and I find myself today sitting at exactly the halfway point.

Two cards from ebay pop me to the 50 card mark.

2006/07 Ultimate Collection
Ultimate Achievements
#UA-TV Tomas Vokoun /36

One of the great things about this project is that I have seen some cool looking cards that I've never crossed paths with in the past. This card is one such example.

I really like the design....for some odd reason. It looks disjointed and 'boxy', but it has an appeal that I like. Maybe it's the textured color in the background (which does not show well in the scan), maybe it's the hard signed autograph (kind of sloppy, kind of cool) or maybe it's because it's numbered out of 36.

The last one is all that matters in the end.

2008/09 SP Game Used
Significant Numbers
#SN-NZ Nikolai Zherdev /13

It's always nice to knock off a card with less than 15 as a print run. I've said it before and I'll say it again....these Significant Numbers inserts will prove to play a huge role in this project.

It's nice that Nik has stumbled career-wise as this card was brought in for a price I was more than happy to pay.

As mentioned, that puts me at 50 cards. I'm going to get a little more serious with the search this fall. My goal is to have less than 20 cards remaining by the end of the hockey season. Let's see how accurate I will be.

50 out of 100 (50%)

OUTSIDE THE BOX - Cool Custom Concept

Ever since I started my blog, I have been on the lookout for others who share the same interests of cards, customs and blogs. My list of blogs to check out may seem thin in comparison to other sites, but the blogs I list are ones that I really enjoy.

I came across this blog tonight and thought I'd share it with you as I think the concept of his custom project is very cool.

The Amazing Shea Stadium Autograph Project

To know the parameters of your project (791 players), to have a feasable and 'do-able' goal and to have a unique theme makes this project one that I will be paying close attention to.

To know that he already has 577 cards completed in his project is a testament to his dedication to the quest.

Best of luck and I will be checking in to see how you are progressing.

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - 97/98 Pinnacle Totally Certified Mirror Platinum

Whew....that's a mouthful!

Haven't done one of these in a while. Thought I'd share a card that (at the time I got it) was the most rare Linden card in my collection.

1997/98 Pinnacle Totally Certified
#104 Mirror Platinum /30

This was an interesting parallel in the late 90's.

The story as I know it is that Pinnacle was supposed to insert these 'mirror' versions into packs. They were not. As a result, if a person pulled a Platinum Gold parallel (# /69 for skaters and /59 for goalies), they could send them in to Pinnacle and redeem a Mirror Platinum version (# /30 for skaters and /25 for goalies). Once those cards ran out, obviously you could no longer redeem the card.

For a time, these cards went for a strong, STRONG amount of coin. It seems as though the prices have peaked and dropped a bit.

I bought this Linden for about $75 (which was a lot for me at the time), but am very glad to have done so. I have not seen them surface for quite some time.

It was Linden's lowest numbered parallel (/30) at the time and still is among the most scarce cards in my collection.