The Cover Up: DIY Light Switch Covers

  You will never guess what I learned today. Apparently,  the company I rent my apartment from hates creativity and dreams. Although,  in all fairness,  I should point out the only reason I'm making this claim is because they poo-pooed all over my vision for the most ultimate,  amazing bathroom... The Tardis Control Room.

  I had it all planned out to the smallest detail. It would have been more visually impressive than Avatar.

  Alot of people ask me, "where do you find the supplies for that?". I just say back,  "where do you find the supplies for anything that is weird and unusual?... I went online. "

  Not that it matters now.

  However,  when I really have my mind set on something,  I don't always tend to completely listen when I'm told no. Usually I modify the idea a little bit.

  Sure they told me I couldn't redecorate my bathroom, but they didn't say anything about not making cool covers for my light switches.

  And so a DIY project is born. Now, to decorate your light switch cover you really only need a couple of things: a sturdy light switch cover (you can get them super cheap from Menards), some paint,  Modge Podge glue, photos and an a pair of sharp scissors.

  STEP ONE:
     Spray paint or use a brush to paint the top of the light switch cover. I did about three layers.

  STEP TWO:
     Figure out how you want to lay out your picture. Keep in mind you will be cutting out the center to some degree.  I just held my picture on the light switch cover then held it up to light so I could see where the hole would be. Once I knew how I  wanted it to look I cut out the photo to fit.

  STEP THREE:
     Glue the picture down.  What I did is brush some Modge Podge on to the area of the light switch where I would be putting the picture.  Then I put the picture down and positioned it where I wanted to be. Next I took another piece of paper and put it over the photo.  I used an old credit card to rub over the piece of paper. This helps get rid of any air bubbles and firmly attaches the picture to the light switch cover.

  STEP FOUR:

     After letting your project dry for a few minutes, you can now go ahead and apply one to two coats of Modge Podge on top of the picture. This will help add another layer of protection to your photo. Let it dry a few hours in between applying coats and after your last coat, let it dry over night.

  STEP FIVE:

     Now cut out the center of your light switch. You can use a small sharp pair of scissors or an Xacto knife. 

  STEP SIX:

Now its time to take off that plain old boring light switch and put on your brand new cool one.

  Once you do that you are all done, and all that's left to do is to kick back and listen to all the praise people are going to shower you with.

In Need Of A Math And Science Love Poem

  A friend of mine from Illinois sent me this poem thinking I would be able to use it. Now while I may not have a need for it, I know some of you out there might. I'm trying to figure out who wrote it so as soon as I do I will update this.

  The best way to describe this poem is you wound think it was written by Sheldon Cooper to Amy Farafaller.

A Math and Science Love Poem

  Like two foci of an elliptical
  Your eyes entice me
  Cause my cardiac muscles to palpitate
  And like litmus paper
  My cheeks turn red in the presence of acid.

  As I estimate the distance between us
  I've arrived at the conclusion that
  You're sitting approximately
  5 feet and 13 centimeters away from me
  7 and one half millimeters closer than yesterday.

  As you sit there I calculate your potential energy
  I find myself wishing that kind could change
  y=mx+b into y=unext2me

  You are my complimentary angle and I long to whisper
   That Newton's Law was created just for you and me
  I feel the gravitational force at work in my skeletal system
  As my feelings for you grow exponentially.

  Like radiation, you penetrate my skin
  You watched my veins branch like fractals
  While I returned the pencil you dropped.

  You listened to my logarithm my heart produced
  At a near inaudible frequency.

  Like absolute zero,  all molecules within me halted
  In that moment,  Your force sent me spinning
  Making 50 thousand revolutions per minute
  Though you never thanked me.

  I do understand it's according to configuration
  Seeing as the possibility of you noticing me is exactly 0.41 in 10.731.

  But I still keep hoping that negative plus negative will eventually result positive
  For mutual forces of action and reaction
  Between two bodies are equal,opposite and co-liner.

  You are the Pascal in my triangle,
  The carbon dioxide in photosynthesis.

  Someday, you will co- sign your name like  mine. ..

  But for today you can count the fact
  That you will always be like matter,
   Occupying a space in my heart.

The Halloween Coasters Have Arrived

My favorite time of year is finally here. And in celebration I have been busy making up a few new coaster sets that definitely reflect the spirit of the season. A little fun. A little scary. And maybe even a little weird.

All these sets are available at etsy.com/shop/campcoaster

The Walking Dead Collection

The Universal Monsters Collection

The Psych Halloween Special

SharkNado - Enuff Said

Halloween Patterns

My Do-It-Yourself Coaster Project

  It's said that if you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. However, teach that man how to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime.

  Well, after these past five days, I am no closer to feeding myself, but I am damn sure will never have to worry about water rings on any tables I own for the rest of my life.

  All because I wasn't happy with the selection of coasters the world had to offer.

  Now, for those of you just joining us, I think a little back story might be in order. Otherwise, I'm afraid I might be coming across as a guy who is oddly obsessed with coasters.

  So, two weeks ago I made the very adult decision to rescue a slightly used coffee table from the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store.

  It was a purchase that definitely made sense. It was way cheap and I thought it would be nice to have something to put my comic books or my feet up on while I watch tv. My girlfriend pointed out it would also be nice to have something to eat on instead of trying to balance plates in our laps or squatting on the floor like cave people.

  A few days after purchasing the coffee table, I made my self a super yummy meal consisting of mac and cheese, two soft pretzels and a super cold can of Diet Pepsi. It only took me a few seconds to reluctantly admit, eating on a table was a little bit better than sitting on the floor. It was also at that moment I noticed my Diet Pepsi was starting to bead up with water.

  Immediately, I freaked. "Coaster. I need to put something under this." Apparently, the curse I was worried about being attached to the coffee table had finally showed it's ugly head. I was suddenly channeling my mom.

  I ransacked my apartment like a D.E.A agent going through Snoop Dogg's house. This went on for about ten minutes. Finally, I had to face the facts. I didn't own any coasters. Not a big deal though, right? You can get them at any store, and I just knew I could get some real good nerd influenced ones from somewhere.

  The next three days I googled, hunted and asked. It was all for naught. I could really only find one cool set of coasters out there, and they had been home made by some dude in Kentucky. I might have ordered them too, but the shipping was like $5 and that made them a little more than I was willing to spend. I would just go to the store and get some plain old boring ones. Eventually, I would most likely get used to them. Heck, My mom might even think they were neat.

  It also occurred to me there was another option. Why didn't I just make my own. I figured it couldn't be to hard, so I spent the next couple days Googling that topic to death. There were a lot of ways to go about making your coasters. Some super easy and cheap. Others were a bit more complicated and on the pricey side. I eventually settled on a plan that fell somewhere in the middle.

  Now that I knew how I was going to make them, I had to settle on a what. What theme did I want my coasters to have. I bandied about a few different ideas: Mario Brothers. The Walking Dead. Superheroes. But I went with the show that gets watched the most at my house, I figured it made sense. Plus, the nerd in me thought it was an awesome idea.

  My original plan was to just make 3 different trial ones, but I found so many pictures I liked, I ended up making 6. My ego would like me to say my coasters turned out perfect  on the first try. I would also like to say I'm an astronaut, but that would also be a lie. In fact, there were 8 previous versions that didn't quite work out. On a few I didn't allow for enough curing time. Others I forgot to make waterproof. And on one, well... its hard to describe what went wrong but trust me, things went way wrong.

  It only took a week of total trial and error, but today I am proud to present the fruits of victory. I would love to know what you think. I have a bunch of other sets I am thinking of doing and maybe even selling some. Whenever I come up with a new set, I'll post it here first.

My Doctor Who coasters and some Jedi Squirrels