Keepin' at CardArtin'

When Ruby is at doggy daycare-- because otherwise she'll rarely let me focus on a project for long-- I still spend much of my spare time working on CardArt ideas. I'm now in my 4th year of being a dedicated wanna-be "artist / creative-type" and while I would have liked to be in a better position by this point (grown a little fanbase, see consistent sales, etc.), I keep at it. It's humbling when I whip up something I think is really cool, but then I can't find anyone who wants it. I make a sale from time to time that keeps me from getting too down about the situation overall and I'm still optimistic my stuff might "catch on" at some point, but even if this never becomes a financially-rewarding use of my time, it's a hobby-within-a-hobby that I don't plan to quit anytime soon.

Recently it hit me that it's probably some sort of midlife crisis thing driving me. Like.. I never had children, or had a profession/role that really positively impacted anyone, or even done much charity/volunteering. Realizing I don't have much of a "legacy" to remember me by has started to weigh on me as I get older. And so I guess I figure if I can tweak a baseball card in an interesting way and it finds a "forever home" filed away in some guy's massive player collection, then in some small way I'll have made a mark that will live on after my time on earth wraps up. Or something like that?

And as long as I'm opening up...

June 2026 saw some turnover in my extended family. My uncle Ed passed away the first week of June after months of declining health. He had been semi-estranged most of my 20s and 30s, but thankfully reconciled with the family in the past few years. The last time I saw him was at my cousin's kid's wedding last summer. That happy young couple just now welcomed their first child, son Lewis, on June 30th. 

Real "circle of life" vibes for me, losing the family's de facto patriarch and gaining a new baby boy within the same month. And believe it or not, I've been the "baby boy of the family" my whole life. Baby Lewis is my first male blood-relative who's younger than me, after a few girls leading the way for the next generation. I know it's a long shot these days, but fingers crossed little Lewis grows up to be a baseball fan, as it'd be nice to have somebody penciled in to leave my card collection to once I'm no longer around to enjoy it. (It really seemed like my wife's brother was bound to pop out some kids [unlike my wife who's always been quick to shoot down any talk of her ever becoming a mom] -- and I was excited to be the fun uncle-- but now he and his wife are deep into their 30s, and travel the world whenever they have time off, no indication of settling down as parents, so it's not looking good as far as an heir on my wife's side who might want my shit.)

But enough introspection, let's check out some junk wax I've gussied up!

Here's a page worth of Griffey, specifically his 1991 Topps All-Star card reimagined into some parallels-that-never-were.

 
Ryne Sandberg getting the '91 AS treatment too.

And here's fellow Cubs great, Andre Dawson. 1993 Topps Black Gold inserts are fun sentimental favorites for me to mess with.

Here's a page of Robin Yount 1988 Topps remixes. 

Late update to the post: 1987 Topps Ozzie Smith. Love doing the "full wood" treatment with '87 Topps (and they often look better with rounded corners).

 

1988 Donruss like you've never seen it! Imagine back in the day if these things were randomly inserted one per case or something. That'd be a fun chase.

Tony Gwynn minis! Did you immediately clock the source of this Tony? It's from the 1988 Topps "Padres Team Leaders" card, with apologies to Benito Santiago who gets cropt out for the mini refinement.

Maybe you remember a few years ago when there was a stack of 1990 Leaf Tony Gwynn cards making the rounds from Rod to Fuji to me? I've finally started doing something with them!.. 

Only doing a smaller segment like that as opposed to covering the full card means these are quicker and cheaper to create, which should help me work through the stack.. Still like 50 "blanks" left! I think my plan is to make a listing for Gwynn cardart like these where I ask $3.94 for each (maybe $6.19 for the fuller ones), with the majority of the profits going to a San Diego area charity.

 

Your mental health probably just bumped up a notch after seeing that many smiling Rickeys. I might try to keep these together as a 9-card display. Sometimes a group of Rickeys just looks cool together. Like..

This 4-card display of a blinged-out 1992 Score is likely bound for eBay eventually, but I liked it so much that I'm enjoying it up on my own wall for the time being. I need to get better at making videos so you can see it actively shining in the light. It's a treat for the eyes!

There you have it, highlights of my creative efforts from the past several weeks. If something caught your eye-- or you think to yourself, "I bet Gavin could make some cool versions of my favorite junk-era cards for my PC..." and want to trade me something cool to make that happen.. just let me know. The Younts are already up in my eBay store, and I'll likely get around to adding the rest soon enough. (But again, I prefer trading for stuff on my wantlist, and I really only sell cardart on eBay because that seems like the distribution method of least resistance.) And as always, thanks for taking the time to check out my blog.

COM-See ya

I've resisted shopping on the COMC site since my latest shipment, but I wouldn't feel confident stating definitively that it was my final COMC order because once in a blue moon they end up with a card significantly cheaper than you can find elsewhere, even with the jacked up shipping considered, and I have in fact bought a couple cards via the COMC eBay account since. But I try to avoid them. (If they're reading and want to offer me a "free shipping" voucher or something to win me back... lol)

That last (for now?) order of mine included some cards to help complete the We Didn't Start The Fire binder, as well as some needs for refractor sets I'm working on which I'll likely show off in separate posts, but for today, here are some other various cool cards I got in that big shipment.

These are probably the result of searching Tony Gwynn refractors and grabbing low-cost options that caught my eye. The 3000 hits card reminds me I wanted to make a display with the ticket from the game I got from Rod with a few cards documenting the moment, such as that one.

Seems like I'm pandering to Fuji by kicking off the post with Gwynn and Rickey, but hey, I like those guys too! That 2022 Topps Chrome Update Series - Diamond Greats Chrome in the middle there sure is attractive, in particular.

Heritage parallels that caught my eye at a good price. The Vogelmoster appearance serendipitously gives me the opportunity to tease an upcoming post of mine in the works wherein we catch up with an old friend from the cardsphere.

A pair of "Retrofractors" up top. Topps has used the term various time for different cardstock combinations. The retrofractors in 2001 Topps Traded (one of the aforementioned refractor projects I'm working on) have Chrome fronts and heritage stock backs. The retrofractors in 2002 Topps Super Teams, however, feature bumpy foilboard fronts with the heritage type backs.. not quite as cool-- I'm not chasing the set-- but I still grabbed a Kevin Mitchell and Don Hoak. (Figured I might put together a mini Hoak PC since I've got a partial autograph on a Clemente cut-auto, arguably my best card.)

The Hank Aaron kinda works as a card-that-never-was that I can sneak into my Refracting the Past collecting project of refractor reprints (and reimaginings that make chronological sense) sorted by year of original Topps design (so this "pre-rookie" gets sorted under 1953).

Akili Smith was the 3rd overall pick in '99 and made some starts for the Bengals but never had much of an impact in the NFL. But he was a local legend when I was growing up, probably the top high school quarterback in San Diego back when I was a high school athlete, so he was like a known dude. I'd love to say I competed at the same invitational track meet as him once or twice, but I wouldn't trust my foggy memory now. Turns out he played some minor league ball in the Pirates organization too (but doesn't seem to have gotten cards documenting it). And he had a nice senior year with the Oregon Ducks in 1998, so I bet Kerry has a decent Akili Smith PC. But yeah, he was a familiar name to snag while browsing cheap old-style xfractors like that.. love the pixelated movement on 'em.

I grabbed some refractors of active guys too. Solid names all around.

A little ink. Stickergraphs of MLB's current top Gavins.

As for older cards, the Roger Craig '64 need was the last card of the order, taking my store credit to just-above the required shipping cost. Still hoping to get around to completing 1964 Topps eventually, now just inching over 4/5's of the way there.

I've already got the complete set of 1988 San Diego State Aztecs 50th Anniversary All-Time Great Aztecs, but the cards damn near never surface (still have my old saved search saved out of curiosity [and because I know the Gwynn and Grace are highly sought after by supercollectors.. because they politely bug me to sell them mine!]), so I ended up grabbing "back up" copies of a couple PC guys when somebody was breaking up a partial set via COMC.

Closing out the post with a few pics of the biggest card of the order (in both size and money):

 1996 Topps Stadium Club - Extreme Players Winners - Gold #EW5 - Ken Caminiti 

I forget where I saw another collector talking about how incredibly cool these things are, but their words must have moved me, and so I took a chance on kicking up my Ken Caminiti PC with this chonker at an "over a blaster" price point. As a refractor enthusiast looking to get his socks knocked off, this does not disappoint. Topps was using their whole asses back then, delivering an impressive (and slightly oversized) special redemption prize exchanged for lucky winning pulls.

The "glass-coated" refractor is a thing of beauty and you're going to want to take it out of any packaging to enjoy the feel of it in your bare hands as often as reasonable without getting it all smudged up.

You don't need to try to make sense of the back's text, but it's cool how the card is like glass on the front and then metallic when you flip it over.

And there you have some highlights from that shipment. I might eventually have a follow-up with stuff I didn't get around to covering here, and I think I've still got a stack of cards from my previous COMC order that I haven't posted about because I was going to do it via handwritten post, but then I ended up doing the handwritten post idea on peeling protective films on other cards. But enough time has probably passed where I could get away with doing another one soon. Anyways, yeah, thanks for reading!

Rickey Henderson Christmas

Two posts in one day?! It's a Christmas Miracle! 😃 🎄🎅

Sure, these posts won't get a lot of views/comments since most folks are busy with family stuff today, but screw it, I'm more concerned with my goal of besting last year's post total. This post at least ties 2023 for my lowest annual total ever (35) and I'll still have a few days to catch and pass 2024's count of thirty-six. And yeah, Christmas Day just happens to be the best day to post about 12/25 cards and the subject of this post: Rickey Henderson!

I've been a bit nuts for refractor reprints lately, and one I really wanted to score was a shined-up Rickey rookie. This is the 2019 version (write-up back), and I'm still on the hunt for the 2014 version (original back). (Surprisingly, this card didn't get reprinted in Topps' big "50 Years" revue in 2001.) I've got an original in my 1980 Topps complete set, but not in the PC. (And I've told the story of how I had a poor-condition Rickey rookie briefly in middle school that got swindled by Dustin Engel for a pocketful of change that I still kinda hold a grudge about. [Dustin, you out there? Never too late to apologize, bro. lol.])

The refraction continues with this Hall Bound diecut insert from 1998 Chrome. I've got the Gwynn of these already, and when I stumbled upon this Rickey at auction, I threw in a competitive bid and ended up winning it. Just love the look of these cards, though the "ascending into heaven" vibe of the design adds a touch of melancholy to Tony and Rickey (on the Angels, at that), both taken from us sooner than we'd have liked. 

I've got a couple Topps Tek cards of Rickey, and those are fun to play with, like putting them on a glow-in-the-dark surface and then checking out the "scar" they leave behind.

Not to blow your mind, but there are zero cards in the above photo, just the mark from where cards used to be.

Sneaking in some cardart, I made 3 or 4 "full-bleed border art" cards in 2025, a couple years after first messing around with the concept back in 2023, with this '91 Fleer Rickey (slash Tony Fernandez) being one of the better ones I've done.

I also ended up with a Ginter refractor mini earlier this year. Nice little card.

And speaking of Rickey minis, I've been making a bunch of these "logoman" silhouette cards. This one changes color, glows in the dark, and even changes color in the dark!

If this video uploaded successfully, it'll show it in action. 

A page worth of the other Rickey minis I've made recently. These are a lot of fun to whip up and try new combos, finding out what looks cool together.

And some highlights of the full-size cardart mods I've been whipping up with Sharpies and holographic layers. They're a mixed bag; some look kinda cool when you catch them in the light. And of course a lot of attempts are failures that look like shit or I fuck up somehow, but that's par for the course with creative endeavors. Ultra-junk like '88 and '89 Topps are good for toying around with since they're virtually worthless but still kinda cool because it's Rickey.

That'll do it for this post. Happy Rickey Henderson's Birthday, everybody!

more silhouette custom/cardart

My latest cardart projects still involve finding silhouette ideas to put together. Lately I've done a few more glow-in-the-dark 4-card displays.

Here's one for Derek Jeter:

And I thought it'd be fun to do a series of Carlton Fisk hopping around:

More Rickey Henderson, too:

And Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's record:

Finally, here's another Rickey.. getting a little weird with my first attempt at spin art splattering:

And there's what I've been working on lately. If anything caught your eye, I'm always down to talk trade or check out my eBay listings.

Oh, thanks for the well-wishes in the comments of my previous post, by the way! I'm doing much better now, with my smell/taste thankfully returned.

new cardart: Silhouette Cards

I haven't really shared any new art projects of mine so far this year, but I've been tinkering on a project for the past few months. All the Christmas tree ornaments that I made back in November '24 kinda burned me out on that style of cardmaking (cutting up real cards and adding shiny backgrounds, etc.) and so starting in mid December, I began working on a new concept: silhouette cards!

Rickey Henderson was my muse the first subject chosen. When he suddenly passed away shortly after I began working on the concept, it became a more somber tribute to him. I made a lot of "prototypes" as I figured out the best way to go about things through trial and error, so it was nice to at the same time be celebrating the memory of a legend. And while I've got other Rickey silhouettes in the works (running, etc), for this initial batch, I stuck with his rookie card stance, in a Warhol-inspired repetition of variations.

In addition to singles, I've wanted to put together displays, further leaning into the Warhol aesthetic with the color quadrants. I customized a BCW 4-card magnetic holder with "The GOAT" banner in the middle.

I've also got Bo Jackson in this "GOAT" series, putting a vertical twist on his iconic '90 Score FB/BB card.

This "Black Metallic" themed display is available in both standard (sharp corners) and rounded corners:

Also a "Black Gold" variation display..

I really want to improve at making videos, because this stuff generally looks better in-hand with the light jumping around.

And you readers know I'm nuts for glow-in-the-dark stuff, so the glowing versions are probably my favorite. I sampled several types of glowing material searching for the best and brightest.

The trio of this first batch of silhouette "GOAT" cards is rounded out by a renowned basketball guy.

Riffing on the iconic Michael Jordan card in 1986-87 Fleer basketball.

So there you have it, an overview of the latest creative endeavor in the Baseball Card Breakdown catalog. All these cards and more have been made available for sale on eBay now. (I might soon try putting stuff on Etsy too, and of course I'm always down to trade.) I'll be interested to see what styles sell and what don't. Then I'll likely work up a second batch once I get a feel for what people like (ie, more variations of the styles that sell well), along with other ideas I've got kick. Even if this stuff does sell well, it'll be a while till I recoup the investment on my manufacturing costs. But if people dig them and I can achieve my dream of being able to make a thing and then easily sell the thing, that'd be awesome. I don't do it for the money, I do it because I like creating neat stuff (and generating walks to the post office with my dog), but sure, it'd be nice to eventually turn a profit and be able to consider myself a "working artist" with this crafty side-hobby of mine.

If you're interested, here's the link to my eBay listings. 

Thanks!

Cards from Rickey collectors

I received a couple maildays this week that both came from big Rickey Henderson collectors, funny enough, and that's good enough motivation to whip up a post.

I got this shiny relic card from supercollector @rickey939, A.K.A. the Man-cave of Steal Twitter account that shows off sweet Rickeys on the daily. He was one of the few to reach out to me regarding the 1991 Fleer lightened border mods that made the rounds back around Rickey's birthday. I agreed to give him a heads up once I had another Rickey mod available, and when I did, it was a quick turnaround.

He also threw in a few later-career cards which are appreciated to help pump up the PC, as late 90s to early 00s is often underrepresented in my PCs.

Thanks, Kent! Pleasure dealing with you.

-   -  - -o

My first Rickey '91F mod from back in December was for friend-to-all-cardbloggers, Fuji. He was nice enough to return the favor and include me in a recent round of mailings to some of his trader buds.

Just what I hope to see whenever opening up a blind batch of cards: vintage needs! Some Cubs-heavy help with my 1976 Topps setbuild plus a sole '75.

Garry Templeton (one of my oldest PCs) and Dave Stieb (one of my newest PCs) are presented in cutting-edge 3-D, while the Brian Giles relic has a bit of mystery staining to spice up the white swatch.

Thanks, Fuji! Great stuff.

-   - - --o

Kind of a short post so far, so maybe some random photos and checking in.

I think this is my first attempt at a jigsaw puzzle since childhood. It's tiny, probably tinier than ideal (phone charger cord for scale). It was fun for a while, working on the tower and the boats.. even the rippling water. But now that I'm down to only sky and trees, it's gotten harder and not much fun so I'll likely give up here. So there's a photograph for posterity before I crumble it back into the box and get rid of it.

We had a dead tree in the backyard that I took out but it turned out it had a little sapling next to it, and I've been kinda trying to look after it these past few months in the hopes it grows into a respectable tree. Glad to see it apparently survived the winter ok-- through the most snow Portland has gotten since I've lived here-- and has some buds popping up.

My attempts at getting a good photo failed, but a couple weeks ago while walking the dog, there were a pair of bald eagles soaring overhead for a few minutes. That was cool. Crazy that I live in a big city like Portland yet I get wild rabbits in my backyard (which are a bit of a nuisance because Ruby seems to think bunny poops are nature's dog treats) and probably not coincidentally, occasional birds of prey in the neighborhood.

In one of my more popular tweets in a while, I pointed out the big shirtless guy lurking in the lower left of the Dwight Evans cards Topps put out in 1988. Just wanted to mention it here so you non-Twitter folks can have it haunt your nightmares as well. lol

A big DIY project I've been spending time on lately is fixing up my attic. The height isn't tall enough to make it into a full-on 2nd story, but still plenty of wasted space that I could take advantage of. The plan is for it to become a little "reading nook" area with some bookshelves and a beanbag chair, as well as a "Cardroom Annex" where I can move stuff to free up space in my cardroom. It's not climate controlled up there, meaning it'll get very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, so cards from the UV gloss era (prone to bricking) as well as vintage or anything valuable shouldn't be stored there. But my boxed complete sets from the 80s and early 90s should do fine up there (right?). And in the slim chance something bad happens to the cards, oh well, for the most part they're not worth much and I'll still be glad to have the extra space freed up in the cardroom. I bought some big plastic tubs from IKEA to put the cards in to help against moisture and other attic threats (don't want no spider eggs in there, or critters gnawing on the cardboard!). If anyone has experience with storing cards in their attic (or tips for converting an unfinished attic into usable space), feel free to let me know.

Have a great weekend, everybody.