DIY Baseball Card Placemat

Use vintage baseball cards to make this quick and easy DIY Baseball Card Placemat!

As you are probably aware, the Cubs are going to the World Series this year. Actually the first game of the series is tonight. And we live in Chicago. And the Cubs are notoriously cursed and haven’t won a World Series in a bazillion years (totally accurate count). So in our neck of the woods, this is a BIG! HUGE! DEAL! I thought it was crazy in town when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup? I have a feeling that will pale in comparison. So anyway, Aa is, of course, understandably excited. So excited that I came home from doing some work on Sunday morning to this: That is just a fraction of his childhood baseball card collection. You guys, there are so. many. baseball. cards in our house. He spent hours over the weekend looking at them and sorting them and I spent hours saying, “omg, can you PLEASE clean those up so we can eat at the table?!” I’m so chill, ha! Anyway, he also pulled out a bunch of duplicates and cards that he no longer wanted (don’t ask me what the criteria was for those…) which is when I had the most fun idea ever. Did I ever think I would be branching into baseball card crafts? No I did not. But about 15 minutes later he and O were delighted to have their very own Vintage Baseball Card Placemats! How fun is that?! Here’s how I did it:

DIY Baseball Card Placemat (makes 1 placemat)

18 Vintage baseball cards and permission to use them from their owner (if that’s not you)

18″ wide roll of clear contact paper

Scissors

Scotch tape

1. Get permission to use the baseball cards. Seriously. Do this first. Unless they’re your cards and then proceed to step 2.
2. I laid out my baseball cards to see how many I wanted to use, I ended up with a grid that was 6 baseball cards wide and 3 tall with about 1/4 inch between each one. Make sure they’re all the same brand so that they’re all the same size. Cut a piece of contact paper a couple inches bigger than your grid of cards. 3. Lay the contact paper down with its backing facing UP. I lined my piece of contact paper up with both the straight edge of my dining room table and the straight edge of the table leaf (perpendicular to the table edge) so it would be easier to place my baseball cards in straight lines. I taped the far long edge of the contact paper to the table temporarily as I got started, to keep it all lined up (you can see the scotch tape in the background of the photo below).

4. Peel back one edge of the contact paper backing a few inches. (If you have a cutting mat with a grid on it, that would also work!) 5. Then, begin laying out your baseball cards. I laid my cards face down because I wanted to make sure that side looked the best. Contact paper might allow a little repositioning, but try not to move them if you don’t have to, vintage baseball cards are delicate! 6. Continue on laying your cards out in a grid with at least 1/4 inch between them and around the edges. Peel back the backing paper as you go. When all your cards are down and lined up, gently smooth them down. 7. Cut another piece of contact paper slightly larger than the first one. Peel back one edge of the backing paper only about 2 inches. Then start to lay it down, sticky side DOWN on top of the cards. Do not worry about lining up the edges exactly. It can overlap and you will trim the excess later. The most important thing is to go slowly and avoid wrinkles and air bubbles. This is best done by starting along one edge and slooooowly peeling back the backing paper and smoothing the contact paper down as you go. 8. When the second layer of contact paper is down, smooth it all over, make sure there are no air bubbles, and be sure to rub well between the cards and around the edges to seal. 9. Then, flip your placemat over to the front and use sharp scissors (or a ruler and craft knife) to trim evenly around the edge of the entire placemat.And that’s it! Your awesome vintage baseball card placemat is finished! I recommend not putting anything hot or very wet on this placemat, but it would look fabulous on a World Series viewing party table with a bowl of peanuts or cracker jack on top! Go Cubs!

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Cassie May

Welcome to Little Red Window! I’m Cassie and I’m a former architect with degrees in architecture, preservation, art and art history who’s never met a craft or knitting project I didn’t like!

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