Coastin' through life

Increasingly, I feel like I’ve fallen into a rut of boredom.

Now, that’s hard to fully do with a 5 and 3 year old, I just mean me, personally. I love watching the Yankees each night after work, even when they stink as they do now, but I’ve started to realize it’s too easy to just come home, help get the kids to bed, and then just retire to a night of laziness on the couch and repeat the next day.

In order to try and motivate myself and just spice up my work/life balance a bit, I’ve taken on a few card/hobby-related projects. There is an upcoming massive reorganization of my collection, but in the meantime, this is helping me get off my butt…or at least relocate my butt.

First and foremost, for the first time in several years, I started a baseball painting. I’m definitely rusty, but it does feel good to be doing this again. Here’s a little sneak peek at the progress. I’m not saying who it is just yet – hint, it’s not Aaron Judge.

Second, I started a smaller project which has always interested me. Eventually, I want to take an old coffee table and redo the surface with baseball cards finished with epoxy resin. I’ve seen a lot of photos of these, and think it’s a great way to display some cards with a unique piece of furniture. I’ve assured my wife I’ll hide it in the attic or something.

However, I don’t trust myself to start this with no practice, so I’m trying to get used to the process and materials by making some coasters. These were easy, although I definitely don’t have the gumption to try the epoxy resin mixture yet. I simply made these by using a few pieces of standard bathroom tile ($.16/each at Home Depot), a few layers of Mod Podge glue, and a clear acrylic spray sealant.

I don’t love how these came out. As expected, the newer cards (notably the Mantle from 2012 Topps) were a little too thick and the edges started to come up. I also can’t seem to get the brush ridge marks off of these, and feel like there must be a way to get surface a little smoother (note: some research has shown that adding some water to the mixure will smooth it out). I also think I need to spend more time pressing the card down so it adheres in the corners, versus just putting the card down and sealing over it quickly. Unsurprisingly, the ’87 Topps stuck best, and I feel like more traditional, thin cards without much gloss will probably work best.

So as to not have a bunch of “samples” laying around, I’m sending these home with my little brother, who is in town for a few days. I have four gray spray-painted tiles waiting in the garage, and will try a few more cards this weekend – likely of Tino. Eventually I’ll get to making the table, but for now, it’s all about trial and error and trying to make these look good.