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April 30, 2014

27 Unique Ideas for Elementary Student Awards

Filed under: Student Recognition Ideas — Tags: , , , — PDWriter @ 9:47 am
elementary student awards

You love your students, and they each bring something special to the classroom. This year, thank them for being uniquely them by creating end-of-the-year awards. Every student loves to be appreciated, and these awards will do this that! Here are some unique ideas for elementary student awards:

photo quality soccer certificates

Elementary Student Award Ideas

  • Math Whiz
  • Historian
  • Kickball Champ
  • Future Picasso
  • Rocket Scientist Award
  • Best Line Leader
  • Best Handwriting
  • Fashionista Award
  • Harry Potter Award (for anyone who truly loves Harry Potter)
  • Mr./Miss Congeniality
  • Class Clown
  • Grammar Master
  • Reading Rockstar
  • Tetherball/ Wallball champ
  • Didn’t Miss a Thing (attendance)
  • Mascot Award
  • Little Einstein Award
  • Future Pop Star
  • Rising Star
  • Best Dancer
  • Most Likely to Become President
  • Next Stop: The NFL
  • Soccer Star
  • Olympics Bound
  • Smile Award
  • Best Sense of Humor
shooting star specialty certificate

Receiving these fun awards are sure to boost confidence and morale in the classroom and are a great way to end the school year. Purchase quality certificates from PaperDirect and show all your students what rockstars they really are.

April 25, 2014

How to Start an Employee of the Month Program

Filed under: Recognition & Motivation Ideas — PDWriter @ 9:48 am

Employee of the Month Photo Plaque by PaperDirectHarnessing the energy and effort of your employees is one of the best ways to increase your profits without adding to your costs. You should always be looking to develop an office culture where employees feel recognized and rewarded for their efforts. This will often boost overall productivity and improve morale in the office. Learn how to start employee of the month awards that will motivate and celebrate hard workers in your office.

Set criteria for evaluating employees

Although you could arbitrarily choose your employee of the month, everyone will be much more motivated if they see that the award consistently goes to the hardest working employee who has contributed the most to the company that month. Therefore, you’ll want to set some objective criteria to evaluate people. These could include special projects completed, value of innovative ideas, overall positive attitude in the workplace, supervisor recommendations, or peer nominations.

Create compelling incentives

Your employees will be much more likely to change their work habits as a result of the program if you offer incentives that they view as worthwhile. For example, you may offer a free lunch out with the boss, a “sleep in” day where the employee can come to work an hour late but get paid for a normal day, casual dress days, or a gift card. Once you have the incentives, announce the program, evaluation criteria, and incentives to employees.

Celebrate your first employee of the month

You’ll want to announce your winner at an all-office meeting so everybody can celebrate Employee of the Month Vinyl Banners by PaperDirecttogether. Build anticipation by describing the employee’s accomplishments before announcing the name so people will be on the edge of their seats trying to figure out who will win. Present the employee with a certificate in an elegant frame that can be displayed in the employee’s office or cubicle. In addition, consider creating a plaque or other permanent award to display centrally with the name of each month’s winner engraved on it.

You will know you have created a successful employee of the month program if you hear people talking about it throughout the month. Having a goal in mind provides motivation for employees to go above and beyond expectations. Get ready to launch your program right away by shopping at PaperDirect for fun awards for your workplace!

April 21, 2014

How to Put a Map on Your Wedding Invitations

Filed under: DIY Wedding Ideas — Tags: , — PDWriter @ 9:06 am

Famous Program Paper by PaperDirectWhen it comes to planning a wedding, details matter. And one of those details is ensuring guests know how to get to your location with a map. Wondering just how to put a map on your wedding invitations? Check out three different options.

Hire a Designer

Hiring a designer to take over the map duties, or even the duty of creating the entire invitation, may be the easiest option. But it can also be the most expensive option that causes you to miss out on all the fun.

Copy a Google Map image.

If you’re fairly adept on your PC, you can create your map by simply copying and pasting an image from Google Maps.

  1. Search for your address on Google Maps and get an image of the map on your screen.
  2. Zoom in or out to adjust the level of detail you want.
  3. Find the “Snipping Tool” in your lineup of computer programs.
  4. Select “New Snip” from the file menu on the little box that appears on your screen.
  5. Drag the cursor on the screen to create a box around the map area you want to copy. This gives you a pop-up screen containing your selected area.
  6. Select “Save” from the file menu on your pop-up screen to save the image as a JPEG.
  7. Get ready to insert the JPEG into your custom wedding invitation layout to add your map.

Does hiring a designer sound good yet?

Actually, the process is not that difficult and it gives you a full-color, fully-detailed map of your area. You can open the JPEG in a photo editing program to add an icon or exact address for your location, adjust the coloring, or change the image from color to black and white.

Trace a Simple Map.

Another option is to get a Google Map printout of your map or an old-school paper map and trace a simple map of your location. Place tracing paper over the area you want to target, then use markers of varying widths to create fat freeways and thin smaller streets. Write in your address next to a little icon of your house.

You can then scan the map into your computer and adjust as needed, saving the image as a JPEG or head to a copy shop for help sizing the image. Review more detailed tracing instructions on a YouTube wedding map tutorial:

However you choose to add a map to your wedding invitation, your guests are likely to be thankful that you did. You can also have fun doing so, thanks to the variety of wedding invitation layouts and stationery you can customize at PaperDirect.

April 18, 2014

8 Fun Game Ideas for Company Picnics

Filed under: Seasonal & Special Events Ideas — Tags: , , , , — PDWriter @ 8:44 am
Barbeque Border Papers by PaperDirect

As the weather warms up, it’s time to start thinking about enjoying it with a company picnic! Choose from a variety of invitations r create your own invites on festive border paper and get your employees, and perhaps their family members, together for a fun afternoon outdoors. Help keep the party enjoyable with these fun game ideas for company picnic days.

Game Ideas:
Barbeque Border Paper by PaperDirect

1. Sack Race: This rowdy outdoor game will get everyone loosened up because it’s impossible to not look silly while hopping around in a sack. If you don’t have access to sacks, pillowcases work just as well.

2. Water Balloon Toss: There’s no harm in getting a little wet, and most people will in a water balloon toss game. Have people pair up and stand a few feet away and toss a water balloon from one person to the other, taking a step back with each successful catch.

3. Horseshoes: If your picnic area has a horseshoe pit, this makes a fun and casual game for people to play whenever they have a spare moment at the picnic. There’s not much as satisfying as hearing the clink of a horseshoe around the stake!

4. Bocce Ball, Bean Bag Toss, or Ladder Golf: These picnic games go along with nice weather and being outdoors. Consider building a branded game and give out prizes to the winner!

5. Three-Legged Race: If your group doesn’t mind getting a little crazy, pair off and tie your adjoining legs together for a classic three legged race. It’s amazing how well people can get along if they’re depending on each other to cross the finish line first.

6. Human Knot Challenge: Divide picnic attendees into teams and have each team get in a circle, put their hands in the middle, and grab two different people’s hands. Then challenge teams to untangle into a circle as quickly as possible without letting go.

Watermelon Party Border Paper by PaperDirect

7. Company Trivia: Get everyone together at the end of the day for a trivia game, asking about company history and fun facts. You can even keep the same teams from games earlier in the day.

8. Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest: This classic contest is fun for picnic attendees of all ages, even employees’ children! It’s also an easy one to play if you’re already planning to serve watermelon. Set up a starting line and mark the farthest seed each time with a golf tee.

With every picnic game that’s played at your company picnic, focus on having fun and getting to know each other in a context outside of work. If you want to heat up the competition a bit, shop for prizes and custom certificates for game winners, too.

April 7, 2014

10 Quotes for Wedding Ceremony Programs

Filed under: DIY Wedding Accessories — Tags: — PDWriter @ 1:54 pm
romantic wedding quote 2

A paper wedding program lets your guests know the order of service and who’s who in the bridal party. Many couples like to include a quote or two in the program that succinctly and romantically sums up how they feel about each other. Here are a few ideas for famous romantic quotes for wedding ceremony programs.

1. Aristotle

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is credited with the quote: “Love is a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”

2. Joseph Campbell

Mythologist Joseph Campbell summed up the commitment marriage requires and the great love two people can have with this quote: “When you make a sacrifice in marriage, you’re sacrificing not to each other but to unity in a relationship.”

3. Oscar Wilde

Add a bit of wit and charm to your wedding program with a quote for Oscar Wilde, from his play “A Woman of No Importance.” The quote will give your guests some food for thought: “Who, being loved, is poor?”

4. The Princess Bride

A quote from the popular movie A Princess Bride will make hearts flutter during your wedding ceremony. Stick with the simple, but romantic, and choose “As you wish.”

5. Henry Drummond

Scottish theologian and writer Henry Drummond has a quote that accurately sums up what married life should be like: “To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever.”

romantic wedding quote 1

6. Anna Karenina

In the Russian novel Anna Karenina, land owner Levin feels overjoyed after getting married. Capture his feelings with a quote that describes two people coming together after marriage: “He felt now that he was not simply close to her, but that he did not know where he ended and she began.”

7. Wuthering Heights

Emily Bronte provides another quote about interconnected souls in her novel Wuthering Heights: “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

8. William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s plays and poems are full of lines that are ripe for printing on wedding programs. Here’s one from Henry VI: Part 3: “Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts.”

9. Anonymous

Share your delight in having found your partner with this quote from an unknown, anonymous source: “The perfect marriage begins when each partner believes they got better than they deserve.”

10. John Berger

Highlight the uniqueness of your relationship with a quote from author John Berger on your program: “All weddings are similar, but every marriage is different.”

A well-chosen quote in your wedding program sets the tone and highlights the theme of the ceremony. For more help choosing a wedding program, head to PaperDirect.

April 2, 2014

How to Throw a Patriotic “Welcome Home” Party

Filed under: Seasonal & Special Events Ideas — PDWriter @ 2:00 pm

Patriotic Banners by PaperDirectServing in the military is one of life’s most honorable deeds, and feting returning soldiers is a cherished American tradition. Here are five patriotic party ideas to show love, respect and gratitude to your favorite vet with a “Welcome Home” bash.

1. Pay Tribute

Patriotic Vertical Banners by PaperDirect

Create a display as a testament to your returning soldier, his/her unit and others with whom they served. Include photos, letters, and other memorabilia. Encourage fellow guests to bring photos of themselves in uniform, as well as loved ones who served. Decorate the tablewith American flags and all things red, white and blue. The technologically inclined can also show a slideshow focused on the soldier’s patriotic journey.

2. Game On

While rigorously scheduling the party can detract from casual conversation time, planning a few games can help keep the party moving. Set out a table with cardboard cut-outs of Uncle Sam hats, glitter, pom-poms, streamers and other craft supplies, and encourage guests to decorate their own festive headwear. “Pin the Flag on Uncle Sam” and American trivia are also popular patriotic party games. And who doesn’t love a parade? Provide toy instruments, music and flags for children to to honor your favorite vet with a parade of their very own.

3. Festive Favorites

Camouflage Vertical Banners by PaperDirect

Most soldiers report missing out on the special touches of home while serving overseas.Prepare all of your honoree’s favorite foods for an unforgettable meal. An alternate approach? Serve an all-American barbecue with hot dogs, hamburgers and apple pie.

4. Say Thanks

No matter how many times you say, “thank you,” it’s never enough; but that doesn’t mean you stop trying! Give your guests the chance to collectively express their gratitude by offering an entry book or sign-in board where they can extend best wishes to the guest of honor. A personalized Welcome Home banner helps deliver the message in a high-impact way.

5. Capture the Moment

Don’t miss out on the chance to memorialize this special moment with so many friends and family members gathered in one place. Hire a professional photographer to capture all of the homecoming’s special moments. For a less formal take Freedom Casual Invitations by PaperDirecton this concept and one of our favorite patriotic party ideas, consider renting a photo booth. Stock up on patriotic props and costumes and let guests make their own creative photo ops which can be placed into a keepsake album for the guest of honor.

Welcoming home a vet is one of life’s biggest moments, and deserves an invitation which fully expresses the magnitude of the occasion. For an extra-special touch, enclose confetti or a small American flag within each invitation.

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