Just wanted to share the results of one of my recently completed projects. While I'm fascinated with t206 cards, I'm a set builder by heart, and the t206 set is too cost prohibitive to chase in it's entirety. But as a long time Kansas City baseball fan, I realized that with only seven cards (and only one of them is a hall of famer) the Kansas City Blues team set would be very achievable. And since I'm also a fan of getting more enjoyment out of card collecting than just spending money and buying cards, I thought creating my own custom frame would be a fun part of the project.
So I decided on these project goals:
1. Collect all seven original t206 Kansas City Blues cards.
2. Try and get a variety of backs (i.e. not all Piedmont).
3. Do this project CHEAPLY...cards should not have any major detractors, but it's OK for low grade cards.
4. Create a custom frame/artwork to display them.
I'll walk through my step by step process in this post, but I'll get right to the final result first....I'm pretty happy with it:
Attachment 472195
and I wanted to be sure that you could still see the backs:
Attachment 472196
So as for the step by step process, well, the first step was getting the cards! I'm a pretty slow and patient collector, so it took me about 18 months to find presentable low grade versions of all the cards in my price range. I wanted to spend less than $200 total....but I went over budget a little. I wound up spending $254.99 including all fees, shipping, etc. Five of them were eBay purchases, one was from an REA auction, and one came from the BST right here on Net 54.
While I could have had seven different backs, I decided I didn't want to pay the premium for the American Beauty, EPDG, Old Mill, etc. cards. So I wound up with four different backs on the seven cards (Piedmont, Sweet Cap, Soverign, and Polar Bear). I think Polar Bear backs are my favorite.
Here's the group of cards prior to framing:
Attachment 472197
Next, the graded cards had to be set free!
Attachment 472198
When it was time to make the frame, I had to decide what order to display them in and what color of matting to use. I decided I wanted a black background inset on a custom designed white border.
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In order to get them to stay in place in the display, I cut holes in the black matting, and then I trimmed down some card savers and slid each card in a trimmed down saver. Then I taped the card savers behind the black mat...this let me get the cards nice and stable without having to actually put any adhesive on the cards. I then put a white paper mat on the back with holes cut to display the backs, but hide the card savers.
Attachment 472200
Then probably the most fun part was to design the artwork for the white mat. I tried different designs and drafts....most of them based on different t206 or Kansas City or tobacco themes, and I decided to base the final design on the Piedmont box.
According to Baseball Reference, 1909 was the only year all seven players were on the Blues at the same time. So although these cards were likely issued in 1910 or 1911, I decided to title it based on the 1909 team.
Attachment 472201
I bought a floating picture frame from a craft store, but had them cut a UV protective glass pane for the front that will hopefully minimize any fading.
I know I already posted it up top, but here's the final pic again
Attachment 472195
It was a fun project, and I'm trying to decide what my next project should be. After the additional $60 for the framing materials, my total spend was around $310....a little more than I initially wanted to spend, but I've certainly gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the entire process...so money well spent.
I know some other members here have created custom frames and artwork for their card displays. Let's see some pictures!