Custom Awards
Everybody needs a little recognition every now and then. For example, sometimes kids deserve a special award for doing an exceptional job on their chores or their homework. Or there is a person who works extra hard, volunteering his or her time to make the Boy Scout troop meeting or church bake sale a success. Don't they deserve a special "thank you" from time to time? And on occasion, a friend or co-worker may just be having a bad day. What better than a humorous little award certificate to serve as a pick-me-up during a particularly rough time?
Alas, there isn't always enough time or money to run out and purchase a suitable award. But now, thanks to the magic of the Internet, there is an answer -- websites that offer free custom award certificates that can be created online, printed, and delivered in a matter of minutes.
One such website is DLTK's Crafts for Kids, a series of pages devoted to various kid-related crafts, coloring sheets and holiday projects, among other things. DLTK also allows parents to create custom awards through a user-friendly online interface. We decided to test DLTK's award-creation interface to see whether or not this free service was an effective alternative to a quality, purchased award certificate.
Once you find your way to the award-creation page, the first step is to determine whether you want the award to be portrait or landscape in orientation. Second, you are prompted to select a theme for the award. You can select a number of different options, including educational, religious, music, or sports-related. Additionally, there are even award options for such popular kids characters as Blue from Blue's Clues and even Spongebob Squarepants himself, as well as baby and dinosaur-themed awards and, believe it or not, even a few that honor dear old dad.
After choosing a theme, the creation tool prompts you to select whether you want a color certificate, or a black-and-white one. Then, in the fourth step, you are to select a border for the custom award. Options range from the conservative (red and blue lines) to the bold (rainbows and flowers) to the unusual (strawberries?). Afterwards, you can choose to upload your own image or select one of the website's stock ones.
You may then choose enter the date and the name of the person or organization presenting the award -- adjusting the font size and style to your liking -- or you could opt to skip this optional step altogether. Finally, you choose a title for the award, enter a personalized message, and print. The finished product actually looks quite professional, and if printed in color on good quality paper, would work in just about any situation that calls for a custom award. All in all, DLTK's Custom Printable Awards gets high marks. It is, dare we say it, worthy of an award.