The Downside of the Olympics

They say it takes 21 days to undo a habit. So far, I've done nothing to even try. Am I the only one who is STILL bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when the clock strikes ONE am? I know there's more owls out there. The Olympics have officially left our homes so it's not to watch Michael Phelps win again...or to dream about being the next 30-something star gymnast in 2012. This time it's because I'm on top of MY game and have started on Christmas, thank you very much. You all know I'm Project Princess and if there's something in need of being 'Shaylafied' (I didn't coin it...my friend, Rachel did) then darnit, it's gonna be Shaylafied. People ask me all the time, "how do you do it?" I suppose this is how. No sleep. By choice. Call me crazy.  This is my way of balance. Maybe twisted for the general population...but I find joy in this kind of stuff.

So I have a series of posts that I'll eventually get done...and then you can see why when it comes to THREE pm I'm not bright-eyed, but rather, in need of a major power nap.  We'll see how that goes over next week when school starts and the kids roll in oh, about the time my body is done. Yeah, maybe I need to rethink my late owl stuff.

First up...this copycat Ballard Designs 'Bon Appetit' board. It was LOVE at first sight when I saw it in the catalog last year. I'm the type that can't bring myself to fork it out when I know I am very capable of making my own. I truly enjoy the satisfaction of 'homemaking' and lately it's involved my router & saws, not my measuring cups and ovens. Besides, I could custom-size it for my spot. So even if I occasionally power staple my fingers together, or accidentally shove a new sharp knife through my palm only to see it come out the other end...or the latest...who knows what I did, but it looked like a hemorrhoid sticking out of my thumb, and now I've lost the usability of my right thumb since the Dr. cut out that lovely growth today. Let's just say hand modeling is no where in my future, thanks to my hobbies.

Off track...so the project. I made one last year for myself and decided to make one for our dear---what to call her...x-step mom? Carebear? Dear dear friend, Carole, for her b-day cause I knew she REALLY wanted to steal mine off my kitchen wall. Only on hers, I blinged it out with rhinestones. The only difference I see is the size of the fleur-de-lis. The color is actually more identical to the original than what the photos show---indoor photography without proper lighting is a bummer. And in real life...that bling looks really cool.

I think the project is pretty self-explanatory. Buy a piece of wood. Cut it. Router it. Sand it. Paint it (in this case the color of my living room). Paint the edges black. Stencil it (color of my hallways). Apply the trusty vinyl (I custom ordered from http://www.iasign.com) to copycat it. The owner of this vinyl shop found the ballard designs font for me & printed the lettering for $9.50. The wood was no more than $5 and I already had the paint.  Last year I think I paid $5 for the stencil.  Apply crystals to each fleur-de-lis for some instant fabulous bling. Spray it with satin finish spray. Ballard charges $90 for this. The end. I think this is the culprit for my latest 'ouchie' and minor 'surgery' today. Splinter in between my cuticle and nailbed that resulted in... that oh so painful hemorrhoidal thing on my thumb. It was worth it. More to come.

I think I need a vinyl printer, don't you?