Father's Day Personalized 6-pack DIY

Here's a DIY gift any beer enthusiasts can appreciate. If beer isn't for you, this can also be done with any cardboard crated 6-pack of soda/beverage you'd like. If you have a printer you can do all of this at home. If you don't, a trip to the FedEx Print Store is inexpensive and could possibly save you some cash if you don't already have sticker paper or photo paper. Lets Begin!

This one was for my husband Gilbert's first Father's Day. Aviva, my eldest, was already two years old when we started dated. Gil missed all the newborn triumphs and trials and had completed his first REAL year of the ins and outs of raising a baby. With that said, I wanted to make this Father's Day special but didn't want to order something customized from someone else. 

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I first picked up some unrefrigerated beers. This is very important because you'll be handling the beer a lot and you won't want to work with cold, wet beer bottles. Gil isn't too picky about beers but I decided to pick up the *fancier* kind I know he enjoys. 

MAKING THE LABELS:

I measured the labels so I had an idea of how big I needed to make each of my own labels. These I made with a MacBook, like I was making a pamphlet saved as a  .PDF file. (This is important so the file stays consistent regardless of the computer its opened on) This part will take a little basic computer skill but I figured it out on my own. You could also make this on Window's with the Microsoft Office Publisher program. With "tool" options I basically made blue rectangles the size of the label measurements I had taken. This acted as the background for each label but you can use any color/border style you like. Playing with different clip arts, fonts etc., I whipped up a design I liked. Each standard size printer paper fit about 3 labels horizontally. I ended up printing 2 sheets on sticker paper at the FedEx store. I suggest calling in advance to see if your local FedEx Store has sticker paper. The sticker paper they should use (you should request) is the same size as your standard page (8x11whatever) and isn't pre-cut like address label stickers. This way you'll have to cut out each label from the entire page. Now you'll have to remove the the original labels from the bottles. You can do this buy soaking the bottles in water with Dawn dish soap and Oxi-Clean, Make sure you rinse the bottles off well but DO NOT USE HOT WATER. The labels should slide right off if you leave them soaking long enough. Start with 30 minutes then check to see if more time is needed. Any residue left over can come off with Goo Gone or nail polish remover. I managed to get the rest off with some lukewarm water and a coarse dish scrubber.  Dry off your bottles thoroughly before applying your labels.

3 of the 6 dedication jokes I added to the back of the bottle labels, you know in case Dad needs a reason to drink.

MAKING THE BOW TIES:

For these you'll need string, bowtie macaroni, acrylic paint of your choice and a hot glue gun. First paint both sides of your macaroni noodles and let dry. While those dry you can work with your string. I like the rugged look of this brown burlap- whatever you want to call it- string. Wrap it several times around the neck of the bottle, tie it off and cut off any excess string. That way you should be left with a knot and minimal string ends sticking out. Once your bowties are dry, adjust your strings so the knots all face the front of your bottle. Using a generous amount of hot glue you can cover the knot and place your bow over the knot. This way the overall look is smooth and seamless. The end result is absolutely adorable IMO.

I put Aviva in Gil's button up shirt and Abby with Gil's bowtie from when we got married.

MAKING THE BEER CRATE:

Saving the cardboard holder your beers came in, you'll need spray paint in your choice of color, 2 photos printed on 4x6 photo paper, a glue stick, card stock paper of your choice, any extras you may want to add (for mine I used more string, tags, a gift bow). Since we already had white spray paint I decided to go ahead and use it to completely cover the cardboard holder. Spray light coats as you may need multiple coats to completely cover any original printing. This part is optional, but I wanted the sides of my crate to have a little color. I measured out the sides of the crate by tracing it onto patterned cardstock paper. Using an ample amount of stick glue should be enough to stick the cardstock to the crate. Other options would be Modge Podge or a thin layer of Gorilla Glue brushed on. The glue stick also worked with applying the photos to the opposite sides of the crate. Finally I added some extra touches like the gift bow. Using more of the same string used on the bowties I wrapped the handle of the crate. I also used the string to tie on "To: & From:" tags I cut from black paper and drew out with silver Sharpie to give a somewhat chalkboard effect. You can add stickers, draw on a design or anything else to jazz it up further.

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There you have it, a customized 6-pack. Keep in mind the labels aren't waterproof so they will greatly  deteriorate once you chill them and the bottles "sweat" or if you decide to throw them in an ice crest. Chilling the beer should always be done after you've presented them. You could also decide not to drink them. For this purpose I made sure to buy more beers to drink. ;) The best part about this craft is that you can make it your own from the color scheme, the label designs, the photos, to the type of string and cardstock you use. I also made a Grandpa version for my father-in-law, cause let's celebrate all the dads in our lives.

-Cheers!