New Squidoo Lens: Custom Baseball Cards

I have created a new lens to showcase my custom baseball card. The lens also features some custom baseball cards by fellow Zazzle designers.

As well, you will be able to participate in some fun topical readers' polls and find out how and where to purchase name brand baseball cards via eBay, Amazon, etc.

Also, find and download your favourite MP3 songs about baseball. Many classic songs are available and bring back great memories.

If this topic is of interest to you or to someone you know, please bookmark the site, e-mail it to a friend , Twitter it, etc. If you can, leave a comment and rate the lens please. Thanks.

Creating Custom Baseball Cards Now Easier Than Ever!

Ever since I created my first custom baseball card available for sale, I have been searching for ways to improve on the product both visually and practicality-wise. While my original effort was a great experience, through customer feedback I was able to learn what areas to improve and how to make the whole customization process more efficient, user-friendly and yes, even fun!

I guess you could say I was trying to build a bionic baseball card much the same way Oscar Goldman built Colonel Steve Austin into The Six Million Dollar Man. Let me assure you however that the baseball card is much more affordable than $6 000 000.

The end result is the card you see below (front) and also above (back). I rebuilt it better...faster...stronger. I have the technology. Can you hear the bionic sound effects? No? OK, it's just me.


To get a magnified view of the card, simply click on image.

Deluxe Custom Baseball Card by azac69
make business card designs at zazzle

Let me list some of the new features and improvements.

• Customizable Background Colors (front and back)
• Individual Stats Editing
• Improved Stats and Text Alignment
• Improved Photo Upload (automatically re-sizes any photo to card's dimensions)
  
• Better Graphics (classic, wood-grained bats and batter's helmets)
• Engraved and Riveted Metal Nameplate* (front)
• Tri-Toned Background on Back
• Comparative Current and Last Season Stats
• Larger Text Area for Personal Trivia
• Various Matte Choices

The card is virtually 100% customizable by the user. About the only thing a customer can't edit (as in change color) is the 3D silver frame you see on the front of the card. The workaround to this problem is I have created a variety of stylish mattes that will be available on separate cards.

*Simulated (not actual metal)

FAQ

1. How do I change the background colors on the front and back?

Located to the right of the product image on the product page is a button labeled Customize it, situated directly below the orange Add to cart button. Click on that button and the page will reload with options to customize.

Look near the top right and you will see a menu bar with the following drop-down choices:

Select Edit Align Colors <--click this choice

Click on Colors and then on Background. A color menu will pop up. Select the desired color by clicking on it. You can also have a wider selection by entering in a hex # in the white box and clicking enter. You can find more colors and their corresponding hex numbers here. You must repeat these steps to change the color on the back also. Just click on back view to do this.

-note: Even though the background color on the back is tri-toned, you need only pick one color and all three colors will change simultaneously to various shades.

Just follow the red words above and you will have no problem.

2. I want pitcher's statistics instead. Can I change the stats categories?

Yes, you can also do this by clicking on Customize it. Then locate the appropriate text field you want to edit, click on Change text and type in what you would like instead and then click on OK. Repeat this procedure for any other text you want to change.

I am planning on making a version specifically with pitcher's stats in the near future to make it quicker for the customer.

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So there you have it. Better than the original. Like an improved cyborg much like Terminator 2 was better than the original movie. A cybernetic baseball card. Wicked!

In addition to all the practical new features, it really is fun creating even if you are just doing it to pass time because you're bored. Try out a combination of different background colors and see what crazy color schemes you can conjure up!

Let me know if you have any suggestions or questions about this product. I would really appreciate it if you test it out and see if it works like I intended it to and give me some feedback. Your suggestions are vital for future improvements. If you run into problems, just leave a comment on this post.

Also, if you would like me to create a trading card for a sport other than baseball or soccer, please do not hesitate to contact me and I would be more than happy to oblige you. Currently I am working on versions for football and hockey. Let me know what other sports you would like represented.

Thanks.

New Store Now Open @ Skreened

Caza Creations is pleased to announce the opening of a new POD store at Skreened. Based in Columbus , Ohio, the company has been in operation since 2006. Skreened boasts an impressive array of quality and ethics. From their organic t-shirts, their promotion of no sweatshop labor, their charity program, to earth-friendly practises, Skreened uses only American Apparel which is all made in the U.S.A. The company even ships out its orders in biodegradable packages. Read an interview with Skreened co-founder Daniel Fox as he talks about what he is striving for and what makes his POD service different from the others. Gift cards are also available.

Since the store is only a couple of days old, naturally I haven't had time to stock it full yet. To start off, I have added 3 designs to the shop and will add more in the near future as time permits.

One thing you'll notice with the products in Skreened is they have a much larger print area than most other PODs. This allows the design to cover the front and back from top to bottom if you wish. You can see it the examples I have provided from my store.

This Student inmate shirt is sure to be a favorite among schoolkids. Most kids think being in school is like doing hard time. Why not dress for the part in these old-fashioned, black and white prisoner's stripes. Don't worry students, you get paroled after four years of good behaviour. It's called graduation!

This grocery tote bag or all purpose bag has a nice whimsical design with bright colours and cheerful composition. With the heart-shaped foliage, it's the summer of love and in the summertime, who doesn't love watermelon?

Skreened describes this tote bag on their site as the following:
Our cute, all-purpose natural cotton tote bag made from 100% bull denim. Smooth, both texturally and stylistically with a double handle.
NOTE: Dimensions: 15" X 13" X 3-1/2" (38cm X 33xm X 9cm)

If you're on the prisoner's softball team, what better name for your club than the Slammers. For those unaware, slammer is another way of saying home run ans also jail or prison. So you see, you'll have all the bases covered with this baseball uniform. You don't even have to be on the prisoner's team to own one. Get some for your neighborhood beer league team. You will be the big, bad Slammers on the field.
If you would like custom uniform numbers, please message me.

Another Baseball Card Poster

 Here is a design by BeezKneez that was previously featured as a collectible trading card and now has been converted into a poster for your son or daughter's bedroom wall. You also have the option of adding a frame and matting if you like. To see what choices are offered, just click on the image and experiment with the menu choices to the right of the product image on the product page.

Kids Baseball Team Poster by BeezKneez
See more posters At Zazzle
Browse Family Posters

Personalized Football and Soccer Cards

Previously, I have posted about the customizable baseball cards I and a few other designers have made available for sale. These cards allow you to upload an image of your child (or yourself) and type in your name and various statistics and info into the appropriate text fields. The whole process only takes a couple of minutes and then you are ready to order. It's a pretty cool way to make your child's day. Imagine the fun they can have trading cards with other friends who have done the same thing!

Eventually, my plan is to branch out into some of the other sports and create custom cards for those. I have not gotten around to that yet but someone who did is the designer beezkneez's . Have a look at the football and soccer cards that BK has designed. Like the baseball cards, they are customizable so that you can add all your own personal info along with your own photo.

Kids Football Team Mini Trading Card by BeezKneez
The #1 online business cards Website is www.zazzle.com
View other Family Profile Cards

Kids Soccer Team Mini Trading Card by BeezKneez
design a business card online at Zazzle
See more Family Profile Cards

I think we have all the sports using cleats, covered. Next stop, hockey and basketball!

Incidentally, if you would like a poster of the sport card design of your choice, simply get in contact with any of the designers and ask. It never hurts to ask. Have a look at the poster I created when a customer asked me if I would make one. Did I make it, you ask? You're looking at it aren't you? ;)

Personalized Baseball Cards Made Easy

If you have ever wanted to make a baseball card with your kid's photo on it complete with stats on the back, then here are three different styles from three different creators to choose from. The concept is simple. Upload the photo that you want featured on the front and then type in the stats that you want to appear on the back. These are the perfect items to hand out to relatives if your kid is on a little league baseball team. Instead of giving Grandma and Grandpa the traditional school class photo, give them one of these and that way they'll always know how many hits Junior had last season.

The first card's creator is BeezKneez, followed by a design by SweetRascal and then finally my own baseball card design. To see the backs of each card, click on image.

Kids Baseball Team Mini Trading Card by BeezKneez
Create business cards On Zazzle
Browse more Family Profile Cards

Your Baseball Trading Card by SweetRascal
free business card templates At Zazzle.com
View more Sports Teams Profile Cards

Make Your Own Baseball Card by azac69
Make a business card At Zazzle.com
View other Trading Collecting Profile Cards

 The card above also is available in a team photo format and comes in other colours upon request. Don't hesitate to ask.

New and Improved! Make Your Own Baseball Card

Sometime last year, I designed a DIY baseball card available for purchase in my Zazzle gallery. The card was customizable, allowing the user to insert their own photo and text for name, bio, trivia, statistics, etc. This was done when the customer clicked on "Customize", and then editing each individual module in the design. Originally I had wanted to create the card as a template design, with an easy-to-use photo and text field editor tool but there were technichal difficulties (bugs) which prevented me from doing so. As a result the baseball card was still usable but not as efficient and user-friendly as I had intended. Well I am happy to say, that is no longer the case.


New and Improved!
Introducing the Series 1.1, DIY baseball card.

Make Your Own Baseball Card
by

azac69

free business card templates At Zazzle.com

What prompted me to re-visit the DIY baseball card idea was an e-mail from a potential customer who was having difficulty with the text alignment. This is the very reason why I left instructions in the product description for anyone to contact me if they had trouble customizing their card. I was more than happy to help out.

In this case, the customer asked if I had any tips on how to go about lining up the text properly. I quickly offered a work-around solution that seemed to satisfy the needs of the customer. However, the customer also wanted to know if there was a way to customize the colour of the card front and back. Unfortunately no, not by the customer but I said I would be more than happy to create another card with any colour scheme of choice. The customer informed me that the baseball card was to be a present for his father's 70th birthday and that he wanted the card's colours to be the same as the 1959 Washington Senators baseball team's uniforms. He provided me a link for the uniform's appearance and I started working on it.

It was at this stage that I decided to again try creating the card as a template. To my delight, the bugs seemed to have been eradicated (Zazzle must have used Raid) and the template fields were put in place and saved in the final design. Now the customer simply needs to edit the text fields that they see next to the baseball card to the right. If you wish, further customization is also available by clicking on "customize".

This priceless feedback from the customer was a great experience and inspired me to update the product's description to include a brief tutorial of tips and tricks on how to successfully design your own baseball card. I have also indicated that if you would like a different colour scheme for the front and back, to please contact me and I would be more than happy to offer any colour you want. I would also design a card for other sports as well including football, basketball, hockey and soccer. All you have to do is ask.

Make Your Own Team Baseball Card

It has been quite a while since I last posted and I figured it was high time that I did. First off, let me say that this blog is getting a makeover and will be a work in progress and anyone who returns from time to time will likely notice new changes. The first big change I have done is I have switched to a different template. I grew bored and unsatisfied with the old one and I think this one will work better for my needs with the stretched format, allowing for better display of my designs, flash panels and videos. Over time, I plan to play around with the fonts and colours until I find something I really like and then I will settle on a permanent scheme. But I am in no rush so I hope you like experiments as much as I do. Now, on to other news.

A while ago I designed a DIY (do-it-yourself) baseball card that originates from a business card product. It allows someone to place a photo of an individual player on the front, plus input the player's name, stats, bio, etc. It has become fairly popular, so I decided to create another one for a baseball team photo card.

Baseball Team Card
by

azac69

Get this custom profilecard
at Zazzle

This card allows you to upload a photo of your own baseball team, be it little league, beer league, company softball, etc. In addition, you can customize the back of the card by typing in the team name and the team's record and finish for any given year. Then there is an area for you to type in the names of the entire team roster, all on an infield-dirt background, complimenting the card's front colour of outfield green. Further customization is possible by clicking on the "customize" button. If there are any further request, feel free to get in contact with me through this blog or my gallery at Zazzle. In the future I hope to branch out into other sports such as soccer, hockey, basketball etc. If you have an idea that you would like to see me use on a card, just leave me a comment.

Make Your Own Baseball Card

Zazzle has just begun offering business cards on their website. Currently, they are available in three different sizes, "standard, chubby and skinny profile". While designing some cards for my own personal use a few days ago and trying to decide what size to use, I noticed something about the "chubby" card. It has the same dimensions as a standard collectible trading card or for the older crowd reading this, what used to be called a bubblegum card. Yes, even I remember the days when trading cards were issued in wax packs of 8 with a single stick of bubble gum. The first thing I would do when I broke open the wax seal of a pack of baseball or hockey cards (back then it was O-Pee-Chee) was to take the pink, brittle stick, covered in a fine, white, floury powder and place it in in my mouth for a delicious gum-chewing experience. Upon first bite however, the previously mentioned brittle stick would shatter into a dozen sharp shards of gum-destroying gum, not to mention the roof of the mouth, the tended inner-cheeks' lining and the ever-sensitive tongue. After the initial pain and screaming, the gum would soften up and the enjoyable experience could proceed.

I loved looking through a freshly opened pack of trading cards and to see the player's card that I had been long waiting for. It was a joy a kid never forgets. After gazing at the front of the card and its unique design, it was time to turn the card over and study all the glorious stats that the card had to offer. Sometimes stats that went on forever if the player had been around for a while. It was all a kid could hope for. Well, that and being featured on his or her own trading card one day. That would be the icing on the cake. Now that day has come.

Now you can make your own baseball trading card just like the real thing. Using the chubby size business card, I have created a design for both front and back that allows any viewer or customer to fully customize their own card featuring a photo of him or herself.

Baseball Card
by

azac69

Get this custom profilecard
at Zazzle

Clicking on "Customize this design" will allow any user to edit the default text information and insert their own in its place. For example, on the front where it has "Player's Name" on the banner, you simply clear that text and type in your own name. The same goes for the player's uniform number and position in the green diamonds.

Click on the back view to edit the back of the card. Here you have many more choices offered. Once again, you enter your name. Then you have again player position situated inside the white "baseball". After that is the card's number. Following that are your physical statistics and team name and after that are all your yearly personal stats and the team(s) you played for. Finally, there is just enough room to insert a career highlight of some sort or just any kind of personal trivia.

Many of the image objects on the front of the card are editable too. For instance, it you want to move around the baseball bats, shrink them down a size or delete them completely, you simply click on the object to highlight it and make your changes.

When you are satisfied with your edits, simply click on "add to cart" and order it and soon those memories will rush back to you when you open your very own baseball card. Sorry, but you will have to supply your own gum.

In the near future, I will be adding different sports designs, notably hockey, football and basketball.

Bonds Making An Asterisk Of Himself

Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants is quickly approaching the the career homerun record held for many years by former big leaguer Hank Aaron. The anticipation of this event has been building over the last couple seasons when it became evident that if Bonds stayed healthy and continued to play, he would have a legitimate shot at breaking the record. The key word here is legitimate.

Many people believe that Bonds has not done it legitimately up to this point. Some will have you believe that he achieved his homerun total with the aid of steroids or human growth hormone(HGH). Although many more of us have our suspicions, this has not yet been proven beyond a doubt. Still it raises the question of whether there should be an asterisk next to Bonds' name in the record book, should he break the record and it is revealed that he did it bulked up on steroids.

One thing is certain. Bonds has made a Giant asterisk of himself in recent years. Remember when he dressed up like Paula Abdul? But I was thinking that if MLB did need to put something special in the record book to denote the difference between the old and the new record, then instead of an asterisk, it should be an asteroid. An asteroid, you see, is what you get when you cross an asterisk with steroids. Makes sense to me. But how do you guys feel about it?

Is Barry Bonds a cheater?
	Absolutely!
	No Way! There is no proof.
	Not sure.
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If Bonds breaks the record, MLB should...
	put an asterisk in the record book.
	put an asteroid in the record book.
	burn the record book.
	turn it into a medical book.
	should team up with the WWE
	none of the above.
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