In my local sorority we were required to make "something" - didn't have to be a paddle. My pledge class went in together on a paddle for our pledge mom. Each of us also got gifts for our bigs, and our bigs got gifts for us. I gave my big a paddle, and she gave me a little wooden cut-out of 2 people holding hands, with our names and letters.
(No actual paddling involved, of course - both my local and AEPhi forbid hazing.)
AEPhi discourages gifts of paddles, but does encourage bigs and littles to exchange gifts. I did a cross stitch of our letters and a spray of lily of the valley... I made two and gave one to my big from the local at our initiation. I got letters for my little. (I'd planned to give her a cross stitch of her own, but never got around to making it, oops!)
We don't have a house, but people usually displayed things in their dorm rooms... my big hung her paddle and the cross stitch, and the wooden cut-out she gave me lives to this day on the corner of my desk.
