Featured Shop: Customized Girl

Ooooh, I sense a new bundle of gifts for my nieces. . . and my soon-to-be-married friends. . . and maybe myself as well. Customized Girl offers plenty of plain and not-to-plain tees for you to choose from, and then an uploading center where you can submit your own choices to decorate.

First, you select what you'd like from the choices labeled "For Her." There are plenty of girly selections, such as the Whisper Buds Graphic Tank (shown) and the longer racerback tank for someone who likes or needs a little extra length in the torso. This aforementioned can be layered underneath shorter tops as well, or under something like their Sheer Longer Tee in light pink, shown below.

Not shopping for a girly girl? I ran into the same problem since my youngest niece despises pink, hates frills, and detests even a hint of lace. I managed to scoop up something that will really work: the 3/4 Sleeve Baseball Tee! It's fitted, but it comes in plenty of cool color combos like white/green, white/blue, and white/black. Classic, simple, and definitely an easy present for a finicky teen.

Your next step is to decorate, decorate, decorate! I noticed that at first, I have a tendency to go wild and I have to struggle to keep myself from not adding everything on one tee. As you type in the slogan or text on the shirt, you'll see it appear as it would after printing, and that can help you make changes as you go along. I highly recommend playing with text color and arch-- instead of adding lots of new stuff on a tee, improve the font, the size, the color, and the arch for a perfect look.

Tip: Some tees won't allow you to add clipart, so be sure to browse the styles carefully before making your selections. Don't get stuck on any one look because you might need to change it after all!

Tip: If you upload an image to add to your t-shirt, try something in black and white if you're not quite sure how it will turn out. You're better off erring on the side of caution-- consider a white tee as well if you want guaranteed results without too much risk.

Tip: Want to go whole hog? Have your pre-teen relatives draw a design, scan it, and then upload it to CustomizedGirl. Make a t-shirt that's really to their own design, but with a professional finish this time. Bye bye, fabric paints.