A Year in Customs

Far and away my greatest collecting accomplishment this year doesn't actually have anything to do with trading cards.  At least not in the typical sense.  This year I finally put some real effort behind creating and printing my own custom cards.  

I've been designing my own dream cards since I was a kid.  And even printed off my own customs as far back as a decade ago.  But it wasn't until early this year that I really put the time, energy, and funds into developing my creative skills and printing process to turn my customs into something that has the look and feel of something you'd pull out of a pack.  And it's become probably my favorite part of collecting.

No more griping about the companies not making the cards I want.  Well, let's not say no more.

 I even got some special requests from some folks who wanted one of my customs for their own collection.  There's no higher honor than that.

 And of course the cards also have filled some gaps in my own collections.  After two decades of waiting for winning Pirate teams, the insert craze has come and gone.  But no worries...I got this.

 Other customs are just plain, simple fun.

 There are so many classic 80s and 90's designs, and I love the idea of creating my own Archives set.

 It's been a ton of fun to crate my own cards.  And they look even better printed off.  My pile of my own customs has grown quite a bit.

 Like my Topps Traded Traded sets filling in the gaps that Topps missed.  Cause who could overlook Ramon Martinez's stint with the Bucs?

And of course it's been a ton of fun to channel my artistic flair into my love of cards.  So thank you to everyone who has read my various custom related posts this year.  I'm hoping to keep learning and creating in 2016, so hopefully I'll come up with some fun additions to my collection.