I’m not usually in favor of hand-making gifts for my friends – there’s nothing wrong with it but I just feel like the types of items my friends like are not usually things I can make myself – but I broke my rule for this one, and it actually wasn’t by choice.

My good friend and I (we call each other twin due to our similarities) went to enjoy some summer pool parties in Las Vegas in summer of 2017. While at one of these pool parties, my twin noticed a girl wearing a gorgeous teal robe that had a world map in some orange pattern fabric in the back. It was very pretty and as soon as she said it I made a mental note to look one up for her after the trip, which would be her birthday gift the following January.

The trip ended and I began my search for this robe. I looked for weeks – on Google, on Etsy, on any site that had a working search engine – and I found nothing. There wasn’t a single map robe to select from. I was at a loss for words trying to imagine what kind of custom-made job this was when the light bulb went off: I could make it myself!

Again, I’ve never felt like my crafts would make a nice enough birthday present, but this one seemed like the perfect fit and I knew my twin would love it, as she loves travel and all world-themed paraphernalia.

I found a robe on amazon and I stuck with the teal because she loves that color too, and I decided to go with gold glitter heat transfer vinyl (HTV) for the map.

I had a little bit of a hard time deciding how big to make the map, because it’s not going to look its best stretched out across the whole back, so after some googling, I figured that 16.5 inches would be a good width for the map. I cut it (using my Cricut as always) and prepared it for ironing and went over it like 45 times with the iron to make sure it stuck well. In the end, I was very happy with the final result!

Then, I was at the liquor store one day and came across these world map glasses (kind of like these, but in gold instead of etched) that perfectly complemented not just the color scheme, but the vibe of relaxing in a nice robe while having a drink, and my gift was complete.

My twin absolutely LOVED the robe and she definitely appreciated it, although she did not really remember the girl in Vegas – which I had a feeling would be the case. It still turned out to be a great gift & surprise!

Do you make gifts for your friends often? What’s your recommendation for ensuring “store-bought” quality results? Leave a comment below with your tips or links!