Pretty Girls from Gavin

A few weeks ago Gavin offered up some surplus customs for trade. I was happy to take a few off his hands.. but what I really wanted were original Baseball Card Breakdown creations.

I had received a "Pretty Girls" mini in a previous trade package and was hoping he could whip up a few of my favorites. The Allen & Ginter set is a nice one, but I never really sought them out due to their size (I can never find Ultra-pro pages that fit non-traditional cards.)

Gavin indicated that this template was kind of a tough one anyhow, and so I tried to make his work a little easier. I made a list of six famous ladies I like, e-mailed him a few pictures to choose from, and gave him one design element request for these Pretty Girls cards:

fairly basic, borderless design...but with "Pretty Girls" written in ribbon/cursive at the top left and the first name written in the same style

Naturally, I went with Jennifer Lawrence as card #1. Around this time last year I spent actual money on Hunger Games cards just to have her in my collection. (retailers like Dave and Adam's are practically giving those cards away.)

This is not a new picture of Jennifer (I miss her long locks) but it is my favorite of all-time. I'm thrilled that Gavin chose it for the front photo.

The card backs feature a second photo...

Gavin wrote the text on all of these. I had thought about writing some myself but his reputation and knowledge speaks for itself. Also, these are in Card Savers because I didn't want to smudge the ink; Gav warned me about it and I didn't take the cards out of the sleeves, but a tiny bit of text did start to smudge (on other cards, not this one.)

Kristen Bell is a mutual favorite of ours. I have a couple Kristen cards in my collection but Gavin has a much, much better one.

Here's a look at the back. As is the case with Jennifer, I've seen all of the films/shows mentioned.

 

If you've heard of Katherine McNamara before, there's at least a 65% chance it's because of this blog. I adore this young actress (and she's quite a good signer, too.)

The photo Gavin chose for the back is probably my favorite. I really hope that Shadowhunters helps her land some more significant film/TV roles in the future.

Batting cleanup in this set is Supergirl star Melissa Benoist.

She's another multi-talented actress who can sing better than most chart-topping pop stars. Glee never interested me, but I wouldn't say no to seeing her perform as Carole King in the Broadway hit Beautiful.

Melissa is featured in the Cryptozoic Supergirl trading card set (no autographs though). I picked up one card on COMC and might grab some more before the end of the month.

When I made my request for six custom cards (eight, counting some MusiCards you'll see in a future post) I told Gavin that he didn't have to make all six, if he was too busy or I was asking for too much of him (I've got a complex, what can I say?) The first four would have been fine with me, but he had no problem fulfilling my entire order. And so, we have card number five...

Here's another under-the-radar actress that might make you say "Who?"

Britt Robertson first caught my attention in Under The Dome..and then I forgot about her (I haven't seen her in anything mentioned in this text) until I heard about a film called Ask Me Anything, where she plays...a blogger. I really want to see that someday - if I can ever find it. I'd also like to get my hands on one of these Under The Dome autographed cards. They're not cheap though.

Until then, I'll try to catch Britt in the Shonda Rhimes legal drama For The People.

Rounding out the "original six" we have my dream girl Anna Kendrick..

...and by "dream girl" I mean that she has literally appeared in my dreams. This photo was featured in that dream journal post, wherein I alluded to a potential card connection.

I hadn't noticed until this card, but Gavin used different colors for each name. The black really pops here, and it matches this photo perfectly. I read a preview page of Scrappy Little Nobody and I'm making a mental note to read the whole thing. (now that I've just typed it out, it's not a mental note..)


As I said, I offered to trim this list down to four. Gavin's response was to suggest I add three more to the list, so I'd have enough to fill a 9-pocket page. Sounds good to me!

In the seven spot I chose yet another talented signer, Victoria Justice. She's been featured on this blog - and on a trading card - before. 

I don't care what anyone says, Victoria is the most talented and strikingly beautiful Nickelodeon alum ever..and this is coming from a guy who straight-up obsessed over Amanda Bynes back in the day.

So... when Gavin gave me the option to choose three more Pretty Girls subjects, I had to think a little bit. This time last year Taryn Southern would have been right at the top of the list - which is why I commissioned Corky to produce a 4-card set of Southern singles.

Did I need another custom card of her? I suppose not. But I'm very happy to add this one to my collection. I didn't have a lot of photos to choose from, but this outdated close-up looks fantastic. Taryn has one of the most perfect faces I've ever seen. That smile..my god.

The back features another classic pic. Oh hey, I just though of an idea..what if Taryn and Victoria played partners in a police or courtroom drama? It would be called Southern Justice..lol. No mention of her latest album I Am A.I. but Corky's cards covered that.

The ninth and final card in the set is someone who has just recently landed on my radar. College sports fans probably know Laura Rutledge better than I do; I've only seen her a few times on SportsCenter and Get Up. (Didn't realize they were the same person at first. But when I did...)

Gavin appears to be more familiar with her work, possibly due to her San Diego connections?

She's a beauty queen and a sports personality. Who's the lucky bastard that got to wife her up?

That would be former Rockies and Red Sox infielder Josh Rutledge. Now I have husband and wife in my collection.

Gavin, thank you very much for these fantastic customs! I'm thrilled to add them to my growing custom card stash.

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