Well, I think I'm at the same stage as yourself...
I'm working on a theme for the 2011 version of 2.5, and I've just decided to go as far as I can, and extensively cover the entire UI of wm6.5.
I'm going to do the full manila, (save the weather animations), the .tsk elements (titlebar, scrollbars) the notification icons in the taskbar, via the .dlls, and when I'm done all that, It's going to be tertiary things like the dialer, and notification dialog. It's a darn rigorous process though.
I expect it to take me the next month or so... but who knows.
I'll post a mock-up as soon as I get back to my laptop.
I do find this kind of thing very rewarding. You can see the tangible results of your efforts every time you use your phone, and it feels cool to know 'Hey, I did that!"
Keep with it, and good Luck!!!
