Scrapster

At first

When I started digiscrapping, there was no such thing as templates. I remember very well when they came up about 4 years ago: I was a designer then and someone on my CT asked me if she could use a template to scrap with my kits. I was shocked that she asked. My answer was no, I had picked my girls because of their great scrapping skills, why would they use a template that left all their creativity out? Mind you, I was certainly not the only one who thought like this about templates at that time!

Why would you use templates?

Luckily a lot has changed since then. Templates have become a common value in the digiscrap community. They are great time savers (admit it: how many times have you been sitting in front of your computer, staring for minutes at an empty canvas?) and they encourage people who are less creative to scrap beautiful pages as well. Once you get comfortable in using them, there’s plenty of room left to use your creativity and make them your own. Templates are also a great way to learn to scrap with patterned papers. I’ve noticed that a lot of people like patterned papers, but they’re having a hard time trying to use them in their pages.

When I quit designing last year, I was so behind on my scrapbooks, that I started scrapping like crazy. I discovered an AMAZING template designer: Cindy Schneider. I think I own about half her store and I scrapped page after page, using her templates. I like them particularly for pages with multiple photos, I always have a hard time composing those. In fact, my baby book that I showed in my previous post, is almost completely scrapped using Cindy’s templates.

Perks and dangers

The perks are clear: I loved my pages, I got them scrapped quicker, there was a spot for journaling, I got to use my beloved patterned papers,… I loved it! But then I realized I was becoming dependent of her templates. They were so easy and gorgeous and everything, that I found myself having a particular hard time trying to scrap without templates. I used to have the skills to scrap gorgeous pages of my own, and somehow I seemed to have lost that, because using a template was so much more convenient!

Pages from scratch

So I challenged myself. I tried to come up with my own compositions again, and after a couple of pages, I was pleased to see I still had it in me. Granted, they did take longer to make, but I loved them even more! Here are a couple of pages I scrapped from scratch (so without templates):

I especially try to make my pages from scratch when I’m doing them for my CT’s. Although I know the designers don’t really mind I use templates, I can’t help but still feeling like I am accepted for my skills, so I want to show off those skills!

Using templates Creatively

Does that mean I never use templates for CT work? No. I still do, but when I do, I like to ‘mess up’  the templates and make them my own. They give me a great starting point, especially for the basic photo and paper placement, and then I go my own way. I need that to keep that creative sparkle alive. Sometimes I end up changing things that much, that the original template can hardly be recognized anymore. It’s a lot of fun using templates like that! Here are some examples (notice page 2 and 3 that were made from the same template):

I’ve also made my own double page templates from one single page templates:

And once I combined two templates to make one page:

So you see, using templates doesn’t have to temper your creativity. Even if you use them as is, you can still produce very different pages from one and the same template. Just check out Cindy’s store and look at the additional previews of her products, and you’ll see what I mean! 

More awesome template designers

Another great template designers I discovered yesterday, is Little Green Frog from The Funky Playground.

I just scrapped my first two-pager with a template of hers, and I’m pleased with the result! The kit used is one of my most favorite kits ever: Summer Time Fun: At the Zoo by Jady Day Studio.

For any of you who are new to scrapping with a template: HERE’s a great video tutorial that explains how to work with templates. The template shown in the video is also available as a free download!

To say goodbye, I’m leaving you with my latest page, scrapped with a template by Kay Miller (another very talented designer you just must check!). The kit used is the newest by Kristin Cronin-Barrow: Country Road.