Templates are an awesome way to jump-start your mojo, scrap a page quickly, or try a new style. Twist ‘em, flip ‘em, rearrange ‘em,  use ‘em as-is — templates are SO versatile.

Rather than doing a step-by-step tutorial, I’m just going to link you up to a couple of my favorite tutorials already available. Misty Cato has a great layered template tutorial on her blog. The tutorial is specifically written for PSE users, but can easily be adapted for PS users. She also has a few extra tips for using templates too.

Jessica Sprague is another good source — check out her video tutorial on using templates.

Let me just show you a couple of examples of how you can modify a template.

Here’s a template I gave away for a challenge during Polka Dot Plum’s Grand Opening:

Here is the layout I used to create the template:

Laura took the template and moved everything to the upper right corner:

tuneskids made everything smaller in her layout:

And **Holly** took it one step further, making it smaller AND rotating it:

Now, you 8.5×11 scrappers have probably noticed that not many designers create templates in your dimensions — pretty much most of the templates out there are square.  (Although I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some 8x5x11 templates available at Oscraps.) Not to worry, though — converting a square template to a rectangle template is relatively simple. The Daily Digi did a whole article on Making Templates Work for You. They even have illustrated examples — love that article!

Of course, an article on templates wouldn’t be complete without a freebie. And just for you rectangle scrappers, I’ve also included an 8.5×11 version. Yay for versatility!

I created this template from a layout I did (using Jolly Holiday):

And here’s the square version of the template:

And the rectangle version of the template, using tips from The Daily Digi’s article:

Click here to snag the templates!

I’d love your comments about templates — what you love about them, your favorite template designers, maybe even a link to your layout using the template freebie.

Looking for more templates? If you like journaling, check out my Storyteller Templates #1 (more coming soon!), and if you need to scrap a lot of pictures, check out my Pic Attack Templates #1 (more coming soon!). You can find a TON of templates in digi land, for sale and for free. Ikeagoddess posts links to free templates on her blog (she’s a good source for finding freebies in general). And check out Reason #7 in The Daily Digi’s Top Ten Reasons to Love Templates Part 3 for a list of several awesome template designers. Or visit your favorite digi store and click on the “Templates” category.

P.S. I’ve added a new tab to the blog called Current Specials — you can find all my current Buy Together options here, as well as information about upcoming sales.