Hockey DIY: Hockey Card Collage

If you’re anything like me you probably have a shamefully large collection of hockey cards in a shoebox somewhere collecting dust.

And if you’re even more like me you probably wanted to figure out a way to display those cards in something more impressive than just a binder. So why not make a beautiful one-of-a-kind hockey card collage?

They make great inexpensive last minute homemade Christmas or birthday presents or can add a little hockey flare to any room and the best part is every one is unique. All you need for this project is hockey cards (obviously), tape, and a frame. It’s as simple as that it!

When I say hockey cards I don’t mean your father’s vintage Bobby Orr rookie card – I’m talking about cheap mass-produced Upper Deck or O-Pee-Chee or any cards you can get your hands – McDonald’s cards will even work. Also for all of our proud hockey Parents out there a great way to display your son or daughter’s minor hockey cards and track their progress over the years.

Now depending on what size you want your collage to be, your number of cards obviously needs to very. I wanted mine tall but not too wide, so I chose 25 of my favorite cards cards. They very from players I respect career wise to players from my favourite teams – really could be anyone.

If you’re looking for cheap cards to use or if your collection is it really that large or if you want a specific player in your collage that you don’t have I recommend instead of buying a box set which might work out that you check out your local toys and collectibles store if they sell hockey merchandise and memorabilia.

The one near my house sells a hundred cards for a dollar so I picked up five of them before it did this project and for five dollars I ended up with every player I wanted in my collage. Just be sure that the cards you pick are all the same orientation – either landscape or portrait. I tried to mix both but it didn’t end well.

Once you have your cards and your tape it’s time to start putting it together. At this point it’s up to you really how you organize it, I could sit here and tell you to make it rows of five by rows of five but in all honesty it doesn’t matter how many cards you have a row – as along as they are all the same length. The size of your collage is really up to you but keep in mind if you wish to frame it you have to keep it within close proximity of dimensions that frames are available in. My collage ended up being 13.5in x 17.5in so I ordered a 14in x 18in frame.

I recommend laying out the cards in the design you think you want before you tape them together – that way you can make changes as needed. Once you’re ready to tape them flip them over and tape the backside – that way you won’t ruin the face of the card and you can’t see the tape once it’s framed.

When I started putting it together I taped the sides to the left and right of the stats on the back to create the individual rows first, then when I moved on to stacking them, I tapped of course the top and bottom sides. I also recommend putting a little tiny square tape where four corners meet to give it a little extra hold especially on the top and bottom rows that don’t have a lot of support.

Now it’s up to you whether to use big or little pieces of tape – for me it is only a temporary hold so I used little pieces to keep it together until my frame arrives.

So there you have it! Your one of a kind hockey card collage!