Templates At Work 4 comments  

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Do you have any idea how versatile a digital template can be?  The Digital Creative Team here at A Cherry On Top picked three specific templates and each scrapped one layout per template.  We wanted to show how each template can be used differently and provide a different end result!

The templates that were used were those from Kim Hill and LaWanna Desjardin.

The first template we are showcasing for you is from Kim Hill's PDQ Template Set 42

A Change Will Do Us Good (Left) by Egle (FairyMouseMom)

English Stud Muffin by Cassandra (mommybruno)

Cassandra wrote:  "I used a template from Kim Hill's PDQ Set 42, one that offered a lot of photo blocks. I made the photo block itself slightly larger, as well as enlarging the central photo. I also moved the title, and filled the background with yet another photo. It's easy to be creative with these templates when it's just a matter of tweaking things - all the hard work has been done already!"

Summer Begins by Laura (Art_Teacher)

Laura wrote:  "I did quite a lot of changing to this template, because I wanted my photos to be larger. I moved the bracket and the journaling strips to help balance the layout, and I added a frame around the photo collage, plus embellishments to dress it up. One of the greatest things about templates is how adaptable they are!"

Can you see how Egle and Cassandra kept the photos towards the bottom left-hand side of the layout, but Laura brought hers up to the top?

Can you see how Laura and Cassandra both used nine photos in the 3x3 square for their layouts, but Egle only used five?  Egle kept hers the size from the original template and Cassandra increased the size of hers.

Can you see how each of us placed our titles in different areas on our layouts?

Can you see how Laura and Cassandra kept the journaling strips in the same location while Egle moved hers to a new spot?

Can you see how Laura and Cassandra both kept the bracket photo matte underneath the square grouping of pictures, but Egle deleted it completely and added rectangular strips of paper as mattes?

The second template we are showcasing for you is also from Kim Hill's PDQ Template Set 42

Dane Emerson House by Laura (Art_Teacher)

Laura wrote:  "For our template reveal, I chose this template by Kim Hill to show the many photos I had of our anniversary trip. I moved the tab to better balance the composition and added a journaling spot to show the journaling better.  Add a few extra embellishments to fit the look and voila! I just love how easy templates make it to use a lot of photos on a page without making it look cluttered."

Train Travel by Cassandra (mommybruno)

Cassandra wrote:  "I actually turned the template 90 degrees and joined two of the photo blocks to make one. Templates are very easy to customize, since all the work has already been done. And the changes I made to this one suited my photos better."

Lemonade Stand by Ronny (Smiley-Scrap 8)

...I'd Pick You (Right) by Egle (FairyMouseMom)

Can you see how all four of us have altered the original template somehow?

Ronny kept the basic design, except that she changed up the amount of photographs that are being showcased on her layout.

Cassandra turned the layout, changed the amount of photographs and changed the date tab to better suit what her needs were for this layout.

Laura also kept the basic design, but moved the location of the date tab so that it could better suit her need for more spacing for her title and journaling.

Egle kept the basic design, but added the circles to the right-hand side of the layout so that it would better flow with the left-hand side of a two-page layout she created.  Because of that there was no need to add a title to this side.  She only added the location and date to this side.

And, finally the third template we are showcasing for you is from LaWanna Desjardin's Creative Block Busters Set 3 (PSD)

Sour Puss by Jennifer (sarahwhithers)

Jennifer wrote:  "I moved some of the layers around and voila! It's like a whole new template!!"

Me & Tracy by Cassandra (Mommybruno)

Cassandra wrote:  "I've really become a template user this past year - I love that someone has already put in the hard work of blocking out a page, and it's so easy to make changes to suit my needs. For this template, I eliminated one of the photos, and mixed up the circle border to include flowers, pictures, buttons and flair. So even though it's a template anyone could use, it's still uniquely mine because of the alterations I made."

Paisley's Wheels by Laura (Art_Teacher)

Laura wrote:  "I turned this template so the circles were at the bottom, because it fit my photos better. I also moved the title and journaling. I love templates like this because I'm bad at clustering, and the template makes it so much easier!"

...I'd Pick You (Left) by Egle (FairyMouseMom)

Egle wrote:  "Here is the left-hand side of a two-page layout. I created this for ACOT's Digital Creative Team's reveal...where we used 3 specific templates and wanted to show you how they could be altered and used in different ways! I even added a twist to the whole thing...and combined two templates by two different digital designers...altered them...and made a two-page layout with them!"

Can you see how Jennifer only used one photo on this layout rather than the combination of 3 in the actual template?  She also adjusted her paper to the size she preferred on one of the layers.

Can you see how Cassandra kept the basic paper sizes the same, yet only used 2 rectangular photos on this layout?  She also used two of the circles from one of the layers to showcase some smaller photos of hers.

Can you see that Laura rotated the template for her layout?  She changed the location of the photos a bit, as well as moved the location of the title and journaling.

Can you see how Egle rotated the photos to be landscaped?  She also added some more circle mattes to her layout to go with the flow of the circles along the border as well as the theme from her right-hand side of the layout (of going blueberry picking).  She also changed the location of the title and opted to not include journaling on hers.

And last, but not least, just for a quick peek, here are the left- and right-hand sides of Egle's double-page layout shown below:

Egle wanted to show how easily this could be done.  She used the same shades of colors for her circles, the same background color for both sides, as well as the same accent pink color.  By combining two templates that feature rectangular pictures, she just added the same circle layers from one template to the other to "bring" the two sides together.

By clicking on the link below you will be taken to the template section at A Cherry On Top's Digital Store.  Take a peek and see what might strike your fancy.  Show us how you could get different looks by using a template and making it your own.  Hopefully we have given you some inspiration to try your own hand at it.

Click here to see the templates available at A Cherry On Top's Digital Shop!

So...go ahead...."a tisket, a tasket....put a template or two in your ACOT Digital Shopping Basket!!!"