Have Coasters, Will Travel

A good friend of mine put in a request for a batch of coasters and he even supplied me with a couple of the cards.  I'm on the road again this weekend visiting him in the state where everything is bigger.

Time for delivery!

His wife is a HUGE George Brett fan, thus the mini 1987 of most popular Royal of them all:

 

Cubs?  Heck yeah!  Andre Dawson!

Ron Santo!

Ernie Banks!

I think the Mr. Cub coaster turned out the best.
 
All were made with epoxy resin, blue self-sticking felt, and a pinch of glitter for the backgrounds. Definitely one of my better batches, even if I had to take an exacto knife to make the Santo card fit within my coaster mold.  A don't know if a mini or Ron Santo wearing a Cubs uniform exists.  Why does Topps ignore certain Hall-of-Famer players like they tend to do?

A PWE from the Serial Insanity Collector

A good while back I sent Robert, author of the fun $30 a Week Habit blog, some cards for his Serial Insanity set.  I don't remember which cards I sent exactly or how many, but it must have been something nice, because I received the following in the mail this week:

 2014 Topps Inserts!  The Maddux is new to me and I'm pretty happy to have it, although I'm not his biggest fan.  I really do like the look of the "Upper Class" inserts.  Topps did a nice job there.

The Ernie Banks is a duplicate, even though Topps Series 1 came out less than a month ago.  Hehe, I don't waste any time when new product is out!  No problem though, because I've been patiently waiting to snag a second copy so that I can encase one in epoxy resin as a homemade coaster.  I had an order of four coasters placed last fall which I'm still trying to fill, and now I only need one more mini and I'll be ready to get started.

Thanks for the cards, Robert!  Good luck on your Serial Insanity set this year!

PWE Fuels Another Batch of Coasters

Judson, the author of the wonderful bog My Cardboard Habit, dropped a Plain White Envelope in the mail for me the other day.

I opened it Sunday morning to find shiny Cubs from this year's newly released Bowman Product staring back at me. Nice!

Isn't that gold Starlin Castro a beauty?  For record, and because I know everyone's scoring at home, all Castro and Rizzo cards are binder worthy in my household.  Thanks, Judson!

I guess the aforementioned cards were supposed to be on the bottom of the pile, because in my haste I overlooked the sticky note on the other side:

First things first.  Judson, you're welcome for Garza.  I'm going to miss him taking the bump every fifth day, but you can keep his Twitter rants and crazy facial hair.

Secondly, here's the card he was referring to:

Well, it just so happens that another blogger traded me this beauty of a die-cut earlier this spring.  But, then I got to thinking...

What am I going to do with the duplicate?

Then Ryan, from "O" No!!! Another Oriole's Blog, posted a reminder that his Topps Mini team break is going to start soon.

Shoot!  The last time minis came out I was able to make some sa-weet coasters!

 I still have an Andrew McCutchen, a Darwin Barney, and the Miggy laying around. (Let me know if you're interested.)  Clear epoxy encases the card... forever.  Gasp!  I've also taken to sprinkling in some glitter in the background and adding a team-colored felt backing.

Here's the Cut to the Chase Sandberg on the back of the Miggy Cabrera coaster.

Check. it. out.     The Sandberg should fit nicely within the confines of the coaster mold!  I was a little worried at first because I have had to lop off the corners of a traditional sized card.  No problems here though.  Nice.

Now, folks, I have four molds, and it's just as easy to do four coasters in one batch as it is to do one.  Any one else need a coaster for their man room?  Perhaps their card sorting table?  Maybe one for the coffee table next to your comfy chair?  Perhaps one for your desk at work?
 
Leave a comment if you're interested.  I'll need a card from you, but that's as easy as a PWE.  I'll send you my mailing address if needed.  I'll take the first three to comment, but I could easily be convinced to do another batch if there's the demand.

FYI: When looking for a card keep in mind that glossy finished cards like recent editions of Topps flagship work best.  I've tried card stock from the '80s and the epoxy often leaves visible water marks.  Also, be aware that smaller sized cards work better, at least aesthetically.

Perhaps you'll want to wait for Ryan's break to finish and use one of the duplicates he sends out.  I think he's opening three boxes, so that's a definite possibility!

 Thanks for the inspiration, Judson and Ryan!

Baseball Card Coasters

A while back I won a Listia auction that featured a handful of 2012 Topps mini base cards.  I had some epoxy left over from my coffee table project and decided that I could improve upon my first and second batches of baseball card coasters.   The team-colored felt backing from the previous batch is a nice addition, but now I've added glitter!

That's right, folks!  Is your man room or den lacking in the glitter department?  Well, I may have your answer in the form of a manly beverage resting apparatus!

A standard sized card is slightly too big and in previous editions I had to cut the corners of the card off.  It looked a tad on the tacky side if you ask me.  These Topps minis work really well for my coasters, which have a diameter of 4.25 inches.

Including the backing, the coasters are about 3/8 of an inch thick.  I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but there's a raised edge around the circumference of the coaster.  You know, just in case your beverage is sweating and what not.

Side view of the coaster

The newest feature: The glitter adds a little bit of shiny to the coaster.  We all know how I feel about shiny!  No worries, the glitter lies behind the cards.

What do you guys think?  All of the pictured coasters are up for grabs.  Well, except Mr. Kemp, because he's already on his way to Minnesota in a trade package. 

I'll also take requests if anyone is interested, but please understand it takes about a week or so for the epoxy to cure to point where I feel comfortable breaking the coaster free from its mold.  Also, I'd ask that you provide the card.  (FYI: glossy minis work the best.) 

An extra Mini of Starlin. What to do?

I picked up an additional 2012 Topps mini of Starlin Castro and I've been trying to figure out what to do with it.

Then I thought about my coasters.  I've only made a couple this year and they turned out pretty good.  I've upgraded them with team colored felt backing, which I thought was a nice touch.

In the past, I always had to cut off the corners of the cards to make them fit my epoxy mold.  (See above.)

Poof!  An epiphany!  How about using the minis!

It's definitely smaller than the traditional card.  Above you can see the "Eye Black" card from a Panini Triple Play pack behind Starlin.

What do you think?  

Should I encase the extra Castro in epoxy?  What about the other minis from my last post?

Coasters and a Sign

First, Happy Birthday, America! 

One of my good friends, Vince, recently had a birthday and I dropped off a small little present the other day for him.

 COASTERS!

The flying second baseman, Darwin Barney, is on the left.  Starlin Castro, the amazing talented 22-year-old shortstop, is on the right.

 I've done the coaster project before, but these are much better.  For one, the cards are now centered within the coaster.  It took a little babysitting while the epoxy resin solidified, but it was worth it.
Also, I went to a fabric store and picked up Cubbie blue peel-and-stick felt for the backs.  The backs didn't cure properly and were very sticky.  At one point I had the backs of the two coasters stuck together.  Yikes!    The felt, I feel, is a nice solution to the problem.

Vince and his family just returned from their summer vacation to Florida.  They picked up this sign for me and it's awesome!  It now hangs above the entrance to my man cave in the basement.  Gus makes a cameo in the second photo.  (Go figure.)  Thanks, guys!