What is it?: "Frosted" glass with designs and words to create a hip alternative to run-of-the-mill drinking glasses.

Usefulness factor: You can serve a friend in a personalized glass, make sets to give as gifts or use them as pencil holders and flower vases. No matter what you do with them, this project is an inexpensive way to add flair and a personalized touch to something plain.

Items needed:

• An assortment of clear glasses, any size, or you can find glasses for 50 cents each at any dollar store.

• Glass etching paint. We found the cheapest to be Delta brand Air-Dry PermEnamel in White Frost. It comes in a kit with a base and foam sponge for $5, the paint by itself is only $3.

• Variety of stickers in different shapes, such as circles, hearts, stars or flowers. Alphabet stickers also work well to add words to your glasses. Scrapbooking stickers seem to be the easiest to peel off afterward.

• Masking tape

• A small paintbrush

Get started:

1.Wash the glasses with soap and water before painting.

2. If you bought the kit, paint the clear base on first. If not, it's not required, but the bottle claims the frost will paint on smoother with the base.

3. Tape the glasses with masking tape in stripes, swirls or anything else you desire, or place stickers on the glasses.

4. Pour the paint in a small plate or bowl and paint it on with even strokes. Make sure you only paint in one direction or the strokes will be visible when dry, and don't paint it on too thick since it tends to drip.

5. Wait one hour and apply a second coat. We only used two coats, but keep going until they're as frosty as you want them.

6. Let them dry overnight, we found waiting two or three days works better, but overnight should be sufficient.

7. Peel the masking tape off carefully, but soak the glasses with stickers in lukewarm water before peeling those off. If you don't soak them first, the stickers are difficult to peel.

8. Before washing and using the glasses, let them sit for another few days. The bottle says to wait 10 days for the frost to become completely permanent. It also claims the frost is dishwasher-safe, but we didn't test them.

Total cost: Anywhere from $5 to $8 dollars for a set of four depending on whether you already own glasses, a paintbrush and tape or stickers.

Challenge level: On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the Martha Stewart Challenge, this is a 2. The hardest part of this craft is peeling the stickers off once the paint dries. No skill is required and no worries about using sharp objects or confusing tools. All you need to use is a paintbrush.

Our thoughts: When entertaining company, pull out your frosty creations instead of those ugly rejects your mother wanted to get rid of. They're guaranteed to impress friends, especially if you mention that you made them yourself. Try writing names of drinks on the side for use at parties, personalize one for each of your roommates and play around with stickers and masking tape to create funky designs of your own. Also experiment with vases, shot glasses and mirrors - the paint works with any clear glass.