BASEBALL CARDS
As an avid baseball card collector, I have always been interested in the design and manufacturing of cards. Nowadays, especially, there are so many thicknesses, shapes, and textures in baseball cards. I have been making my own baseball cards since I was around ten years old, and needless to say, I’ve improved drastically in my ability to create realistic cards that mimic those created by Topps and Panini America. In fact, I was hired by my high school baseball program to create custom cards as senior gifts the year after I graduated. You can see those cards down the page. I will give a walk- through of one of my card projects to give an idea of the process, but it is more or less the same for the rest of them. The other projects’ final photos are shown beneath The Booklet project.
THE BOOKLET
January 2025
Duration: 1 day
Project Description:
The most intriguing aspect of modern baseball cards is the inclusion of memorabilia pieces that are cut up and embedded into the cards. I decided to make my own memorabilia (and folding booklet) card based on an existing card design by Panini America.
*click to enlarge images throughout The Booklet section
All card designs are based on or copied from existing cards from Topps, Panini America, or Upper Deck
Materials used: 9
Layers per side: 10
Power tools used: 1
INSPIRATION
MY DESIGN
My goal with this booklet was to make it appear as authentic as possible, so I copied the majority of the design from the card to the left, mixing in details here and there from other cards (above).
Notable differences between my design and the Panini booklet above are the “All Star” text, the “one of one” text, the card number on the back, gray replacing gold details, and obviously all personal details. These changes were either to improve aesthetics or to make an authentic-looking card more doable.
Left: The print out of the booklet cover, scored and folded with a knife. Also, the layout for the memorabilia side of the booklet as I prepare to glue down the first piece.
Below: The next steps to finishing the memorabilia side. First, gluing all six pieces in place and creating a layout for the filler layers. Second, creating the gold frames that lay beneath the top layer.
CREATING THE CARD
FINALS
The right side of the booklet was very easy to assemble; I matched the thickness of the memorabilia side for uniformity, and then glued the print out on top. I then sanded both sides of the card (after gluing all layers together) on the belt sander, creating a sharp and authentic-looking border.
OTHER CARD PROJECTS
The Demarini Bat Set
Arguably my most advanced set of cards. Featuring inlaid pieces of a custom aluminum bat I used for years. I am most proud of the first card pictured individually, because I was able to copy fine details of reflective foil with the help of a laser cutter.
Milford Senior Gifts
It was amazing to get recognized for my card-making abilities, especially by my old high school baseball coach and team. I was hired by the team to make these cards for the graduating seniors, each card containing a representative “jersey” memorabilia piece and an autograph spot.
The AJ Brown Set (Project 11)
This was a fun personal project revolving around one of my favorite NFL football players. When I learned that AJ Brown was a former college baseball player, I took the opportunity to create custom “what if” baseball cards. One card featured him in both sports, and one features an NFL teammate.
