Homemade vanilla extract

I am attempting to get a head start on Christmas presents.  The theme this year is Homemade Christmas.  It seems fitting in this economy to simply everything, including Christmas.  So on that note, I am starting the first of my homemade projects.

About a week ago, I ordered a pound of Tahitian vanilla beans with lots of ideas on how to use them.  One of my ideas was to make homemade vanilla extract.  The process seems ridiculously simple. So let's keep our fingers crossed that I don't find a way to screw it up.

Here is what I am using:

• 8 oz. Mason jars
• Tahitian vanilla beans that I ordered off eBay - 3 beans per jar
  
• Rum (though many people use vodka instead) - 1 cup per jar
  
• Dark, cool spot to store the jars for at least 1 month

Using a sharp knife, I cut each vanilla bean in half and then split down the center.  I put 3 total vanilla beans into 1 of the mason jars.  Then I fill it up with rum so that the vanilla beans are completely covered.  Then I screw on the tops, give them a good shaking, and put the jar in a cool, dark place and wait.  I am then supposed to shake the jar each week.  The whole process is supposed to take about a month and then we should have some delicious vanilla extract better than any store-bought version.

Who wouldn't love to get one of these jars as a present!  I will give an update in a month or so and let you know how it all turned out.