custom prayer candles for friends

is this heresy? probably. but the premise is quite simple: photoshop a friend, family member, celebrity, or politician on to catholic iconography. i've had great success with this over the years, turning friends into prophets, their crushes into saints, and celebrities into messiahs.

i can't remember how this idea came to me, some combination of my catholic upbringing and peculiar sense of humor, but it has been a tried and true gift since high school.

it's personal, one-of-a-kind, wonderful, wacky, and (!) inexpensive. all you need is printer access, a blank prayer candle (purchased at any dollar store or corner store), modpodge, and some amateur photoshop skills. edit the photo, print it off (4 x 6) and modpodge it to the candle.

pictured here is a blake griffin christ candle, made for my friend julia.