I had an amazing response in my first two weeks of TTM autograph collecting! At least, amazing to me, as my only autograph collecting experience was in person at around $50 an autograph or more. And that's not even including what I paid to go to the event in some cases.

I received 12 autographs back so far, some in just a few days. Four of the celebrities, I received more than one photo back signed because I sent multiple photos and they were kind enough to sign. 

Unfortunately, I did get one autopen autograph back from Mel Brooks. It wasn't too surprising given what I had read on fanmail.biz, but still disappointing and it taught me a lesson to trust more in what my fellow graphers are saying about celebrity signing habits.

Check out my slideshow below to see who I snagged in my first batch of TTMs. 

Any good mail come your way? Please share!

I was excited to check the mail today and find 4 big yellow SASEs waiting for me. Three of the envelopes were awesome, one not so much. Watch the video below and subscribe if you want to see more TTM videos.

https://youtu.be/z0B-KEuIefk



I will be back again tomorrow to share more of my exisiting autograph collection. Next up is Star Wars :)

My very first TTM success!! Not who I thought it would be, but I am so excited! Check out my YouTube reveal and subscribe while you're there for upcoming TTM reveals.

https://youtu.be/1ZesA9AhWL4

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my grandma during the summer. We would do yard work in the morning when it was cool, and then after lunch, we would watch her shows.  We watched The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, Another World, and Santa Barbara. By the time I was 8, I was hooked on soap operas. It was our thing.

Years later, I still watched our shows every chance I got and taped them to watch after college every day. Later, when Another World ended I picked up the paranormal soap Passions.  When I heard that Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure was going to hold the first ever NBC Soap Fest, I was sold.

As a big fan of Passions, I really wanted to meet Josh Ryan Evans, who played Timmy the living doll. He wasn't at the event, so I made my very first eBay autograph purchase. I was always hoping to meet him, but sadly, he passed away in 2003. In a weird twist, his character on Passions died the same day on the show that Josh did in real life. He was a very talented guy and it's sad to think what else he would have done with his talent if he were still here today.

Years have gone by and I don't watch the shows anymore.  My grandma passed away last year and I miss her so very much. Whenever I see these autographs in my collection, it makes me smile because I wouldn't have them unless she shared her stories with me when it was so not age appropriate.

Hi everybody!  This week I made my first big batch of through the mail autograph requests, or TTMs as the other collectors say. 

 It was exciting sending them all out, but now the waiting is driving me crazy. I've never been great at patience or delayed gratification. I'm very much like Veruca Salt in that respect.

In my autograph collecting experience, TTMs have never been my thing.  Around 90 % of my collection has been acquired in person (IP). I love meeting the people that I get my autographs from, I love hearing their stories. In a few cases, they did not have very long lines so I got to spend extra time chatting with them. 

So, who exactly did I send requests to...

David Burtka- Broadway actor, chef, and husband of Neil Patrick Harris
Tyne Daly- actress from Cagney & Lacey, Broadway actress
Carey Mulligan- Daisy Buchanan from Baz Luhrman's The Great Gatsby
Bill Nighy- actor from Love Actually, Underworld, Harry Potter, and  Shaun of the Dead
William Daniels- Mr. Feeney from Boy Meets World, St. Elsewhere
Bonnie Bartlett- Little House on the Prairie, Boy Meets World, St. Elsewhere
Jim Parsons- Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory
Helen Mirren- The Queen, Red, and Hitchcock
Kristin Chenowith- Glinda from Wicked, Pushing Daisies, Glee, and GCB
Penn & Teller- Illusionists and entertainers. If you have not seen their series Bullshit!  you need to                                 check it out.
Kunal Nayyar- Raj from The Big Bang Theory
Sam Waterston-  The Killing Fields, Law & Order, The Newsroom and Grace and Frankie
Jesse Tyler Ferguson- Modern Family
Chris Sarandon- The Princess Bride, Fright Night, and The Nightmare Before Christmas
Patti Lupone- Broadway actress known for Gypsy, Evita, Sweeney Todd and numerous                                  other plays. On television she is known for American Horror Story: Coven and Life                                  Goes On
Dan Lauria- The Wonder Years
Betty White- The Golden Girls, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Mama's Family. TV legend
Mel Brooks- Director, writer, producer, songwriter, comedian and actor. 

I also requested autographs via email from these actors:

Bernard Cribbins- Wilf from Doctor Who
Judi Dench- Philomena, James Bond movies
The Cast of Stomp

I am hoping I get responses in soon. I know I requested some big names, but most of these actors are on Broadway right now or doing plays off Broadway. From what I understand from other collectors, sending requests to the venue where they are performing can increase the chances of getting legitimate autographs.

So, who do I think is most likely to sign? My money is on William Daniels, Bonnie Bartlett, and Betty White. Why? From everything I have read they truly value their fans and always make it a point to sign. I would be so happy to get their autographs because I love them all.

Who do I think is most unlikely to sign?  Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy are finishing up their run soon in Skylight and both are nominated for Tony Awards this weekend. It's possible they will be too busy to sign since I didn't send in the request earlier. Also, Patti Lupone and Kristin Chenowith. They are Broadway queens. I don't know their signing history, but the chance to get their autographs was too awesome to resist.

Have a great weekend and I'll be back next week to share what autographs I already have in my collection. Be sure to visit my Facebook page and Twitter page!

When I was 4 years old, I wrote my first fan letter to Jessi Colter. I don't remember the details, but I'm pretty sure it was illegible, that I thought she was pretty and that I liked her songs. This was my first noted example of fandom.

In the fall of 1989, just after my 9th birthday, my grandparents bought me my first autograph at the county fair.  We had just been to the concert of country singer Bill Anderson, one of the first concerts in a week of country music singers. Getting to meet the guy who was singing at the concert was way cooler to a 9 year old than a t-shirt. And from that moment on I was hooked.

Over the course of that week, I also got to meet Lorrie Morgan and Mel McDaniel and got their autographs too. I thought this was the coolest thing ever. I got to meet famous people and I had proof that I did. By the time I hit middle school, I had a nice starter autograph collection.

Fast forward many years,  and I move to Orlando in 2000 when I got engaged. We heard about a local Sci-Fi/Movie/Comic convention and thought it would be a fun way to kill a Sunday afternoon.  As soon as we entered the convention center, I was in nerd heaven. I got a few autographs that day and it reminded me how much I loved collecting when I was younger.

I haven't made it a permanent hobby, up until now. As of this afternoon, I have around 40 autographs in my collection. I hope to grow this number through the mail and getting more in-person autographs.

I hope you come by often,  motivate me to get those envelopes out, and maybe make some graphing friends.