Template Tricks with SuzyQ

In my effort to scrap more, I have fallen in love with templates all over again. Digital scrap templates are fabulous tools for scrapping quickly and beautifully. All the composition work is done for you, from where to put your photos and papers to suggestions for placements of embellishments, titles, and/or journaling. Templates are also super versatile — you can use them as is or change them to suit your needs or style. So I thought I’d share with you a few of the tricks I use. I’ll show the “before” preview of the template and the “after” preview of my layout. These are some great techniques for stretching your stash of templates and boosting your creativity.

(Note: My favorite designer of all time, Amanda Heimann, is taking a break from designing and closing her store at Scrap Orchard. This blog post is a bit of a tribute to her — I’ve used her kits for every single layout. If you want to add some gorgeous kits to your stash for a steal of a deal, go shopping in her store before it’s gone!)

Using a Template “As-Is”
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using a template straight-out-of-the-box, just as it is, without rotating or flipping anything. That’s exactly what I did with this Creative Block template by Britt-ish Designs that I dug out of my stash. (I also used Peanut by Amanda Heimann & Laura Banasiak, and my Wooden Nursery Alpha.)

Rotating a Template
For this technique, I generally rotate the entire image right after I open the template … either 90 degrees to the left (or right) or a complete 180 degrees. I love this technique when I need to change the orientation of the photos in the template to match my photos. This layout uses a template freebie I snagged from Heather Roselli’s blog a while back, along with For the Boys by Amanda Heimann and Wild Dandelion Designs by Meg Mullens.

Flipping a Template
Again, to do this technique I open the template and flip the entire image, either vertically or horizontally, before I start clipping anything to the layers. This template was a freebie I picked up from Lauren Grier’s blog (I think last year — I told you, I went digging thru my stash, lol). I also used Spittin’ Seeds by Amanda Heimann (and Laugh Out Loud alpha by me).

Resizing a Template
By resize, I mean resize the main aspect of the template, not the entire thing, ’cause obviously you still want the background. To do this technique, after opening the template select all the layers except the background (and any matted background papers that you want to keep the full size of the template) and then “transform” them smaller and move them to an eye-pleasing spot on the page. You’ll see what I mean in the example below. (I used a template freebie from Britt’s blog about 2 years ago, and Just Add Water by Amanda Heimann.)

Fun huh? Want to see some more cool tricks? Check out:
One Digital Scrapbook Template — Many Different Layouts by Katie the Scrapbook Lady (The Daily Digi)
10 Tips for Templates also by Katie (guest post on Ali Edwards’ blog)
Making Templates Work for You by Janet (The Daily Digi)
Top Ten Reasons to Love Templates — Part 1 by Janet (The Daily Digi)
Top Ten Reasons to Love Templates — Part 2 by Janet (The Daily Digi)
Top Ten Reasons to Love Templates — Part 3 by Janet (The Daily Digi)
4 Ways to Use One Photo on a Multiphoto Layout by Aaron aka Sir Scrapalot (www.sirscrapalotdesigns.com)

Don’t miss out on my CT call (see next post) or a chance to win my new release this week (post after the next post). Have a fantastic Thursday!