How to: Make a personalized shot glass... Step 1: Buy a shot glass and several tubes of paint (or paint pens). We found a set of six shot glasses (along with a handy decanter) at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College’s gift shop ($11.99) and two tubes of fluorescent paint from Urban Outfitters ($8). Step 2: Decorate the shot glass with artistic flourishes or pithy sayings. Step 3: Let the painted glass dry for 24 hours. Step 4: Bake the shot glass in the oven for 40 minutes. This ensures that the paint won’t chip. Step 5: Raise a toast to the recipient with your new creation.
...Or a scented candle Step 1: Use an old tea tin, tea cup or other pretty votive to make your candle. We used... a shot glass. Obtain some candle wax (which you can buy scented and colored) and mold cleaner (about $11 together from Pearl Art and Craft Supplies Inc., 417 South St.). Step 2: Boil water in a large saucepan. Step 3: Place a smaller pot in the boiling water to create a double boiler. Put a hunk of wax in this small pot and wait for it to melt. Step 4: Place your votive on newspaper and carefully pour the wax into it. Step 5: Light up and set the mood.
Personalized calendar Buy a blank calendar and personalize it with hangout times, friends’ birthdays and happy hours at the recipient’s favorite bars. If your friend is a big sports or music buff, add upcoming games or concerts that he or she will like. Customize the top flaps with photos and phone numbers of nearby take-out places. If you’re not so good with crafts, you can create a personalized calendar online with websites such as Snapfish, Shutterfly or Vistaprint. These sites offer a variety of calendar types — ones fit for your desk, wall, wallet or refrigerator.
Customized T-shirt Start with your T-shirt of choice — be it a classic white Hanes or a worn Bob Dylan concert tee — and customize it with a puff paint kit ($15) from Urban Outfitters. Alternatively, you can customize a t-shirt online; a slew of great sites are run by Penn students. Freshprintsshop.com is a clothing and accessories customization site run by juniors Jason Israel, David Portnoy and Andrew Mark (along with a friend from Washington University). Their minimum is usually 10 items, but they will customize one shirt for you if you’re willing to pay retail price.
Flower vase For a cheap yet classy gift, try making a flower vase. The only materials you need are a clean mayonnaise jar (or a plastic or glass jar of similar size) and decorative glass marbles (available at any craft store). Remove the label from the jar, wash it and attach the marbles with a hot glue gun, starting from the bottom.
