Young Women Values Plaque & an Important Plaque-Making Tip!

In our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- aka "L.D.S." or "Mormons") our young women throughout the world ages 12-18 are part of an organization that is aptly named "Young Women." This organization helps our teenage girls grow and mature in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The girls and their leaders meet twice weekly -- on Sundays for a spiritually-oriented lesson and once during the week for an activity night. I've been privileged to serve as a leader in Young Women several times, so I was thrilled when one of my daughters called me to let me know that she had been asked to lead the group of Young Women in her congregation.

Every week our young women recite together the "Young Women Theme." It goes like this:

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are: Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue ... 

Generally this theme comes to mean a great deal to the girls that go through the program. They learn the meaning behind each of those values and the merit of internalizing the principles and making them a part of their daily lives .... that's the goal anyway! ;o)

I made a "Young Women Values Plaque" for my daughter to use in her class and thought some of the rest of you might be able to use it as well. The document is the same size as my "Plaque Attack" documents, so you would use a 6 3/4" x 6 3/4" plaque. If you can't find plaques in your area, I've found an internet resource here that sells them for just $1.49 each. Go to my tutorial to find out how to make these plaques.

{Important Tip} I learned a valuable lesson last week when I was making this plaque. Occasionally when I've made my plaques I've been disappointed because sometimes the ink bleeds a little when I put on the Mod Podge. As I was making this plaque, I had to throw one out because the purple ink bled so badly. I decided to try the product below to see if it would seal the ink on the paper, and it did...

That's Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2x Matte Clear Sealer. You can get it in the spray paint department at Home Depot or the like. I printed the document on my scrapbook paper and then sprayed this sealer on it. Hold the can about 2 feet away from the paper and very lightly spray it one direction and then the other direction. You don't want to get the paper wet. You just want to spray on a light coating to set and seal the ink, so it doesn't bleed when you apply the Mod Podge. In the collage below you can see the difference that the clear sealer makes. I didn't use the sealer on the paper of the plaque on the left. Note the purple and black letters that bled into the surrounding paper. I applied the sealer on the paper for the plaque on the right. Much, much better.

 

There are so many applications for this plaque. The girls could make them during an activity. They cost less to make than a birthday card bought at a store, so you could make them for the girls as a birthday gift. They could be given to Young Women as they enter the program.  Mothers and daughters can make them together. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I'm offering this plaque free of charge to all. Feel free to request this plaque document whether you are a member of our church or not. Certainly any young woman could benefit from having this plaque in a conspicuous place so she can read it often! Just leave a comment below and shoot me an email (my email address is on my right sidebar under "Contact Information") with the words "Young Women Plaque" in the subject line and I'll return your email with the plaque image in a Microsoft Word document. I'm heading out to my daughter's home next week, so I'll be out of town from February 8th - 11th, so you might want to request your document as soon as possible! Any emails I receive between those dates will be answered on February 12th!

Important: By requesting this plaque you agree not to sell this document or sell products with this document attached. You may make as many copies of this for personal use or for gifts.

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