Not exactly "scrappy"

So another way I put my craftiness to use is by making plaques for people when they receive orders somewhere else (or retire, or just get out of the Marine Corps). I like to make sure that when someone leaves, the gift we give them is something that they will appreciate and be proud to display, and will hopefully remind them of fond memories. Well, my sorta-boss (who is a bit, shall we say, "abrasive") is leaving to go be the head honcho for our military occupational specialty in Quantico, VA. He has a reputation of being, well, somewhat of an ass, but he knows a lot. And if you know a lot (and read the orders), you can successfully go head-to-head with him. But if you are guessing or making stuff up, standby to be destroyed. Well, needless to say, he is not the "touchy-feely" type, and something that sounded sentimental or like a "suck-up" wasn't going to cut it. So someone had the idea to "nail a boot to a board and tell him 'we're giving you the boot'". So I ran with it. I mounted a Marine Corps combat boot (hot weather) to a cherry plaque board, along with an anondized brass white cover (hat for you non-military types) emblem and the inscription plaque which reads "In appreciation for all you have given us, we are giving you the boot. If you need anything in the future, just READ THE ORDER! Semper fidelis". To mount the boot, I drilled two holes through the sole, and attached it through the bottom of the board using carriage bolts and wingnuts (the wingnuts are inside the boot). I cut a foam block to fit in the heel of the boot, then hot-glued a black plastic cup on top of the foam. I then tied the boot, and he will be able to use this on his desk as a pen holder. I put self-adhesive rubber pads on the back side of the board (to help keep it from slipping, and to allow it to sit level because of the round heads of the carriage bolts). I think he will get a "kick" out of it.