I scrap almost exclusively with templates.
I feel like I say that over and over again, but the truth of the matter is, I don’t scrap without a template any longer. Could I? Sure… Why don’t I then? Mainly, I don’t want to spend the time trying to figure out what looks “just right.” When I have time for scrapping, I just want to get a few pages done. Templates allow me to do that. Especially when they are good templates.
Sometimes, though, even the best templates can limit your scrapping. You sit there, looking at the template, thinking “this template is great, except for XYZ. That’s not working for me.” My gut reaction when this happens is to always go back and look for another template. What I’ve learned is that when I do this, when I go back and look for a different template, I am missing out on a huge opportunity. This is the perfect opportunity to take this layout and make it my own.
A couple of months ago, when I was scrapping some Easter layouts, I ran into this problem. I started out by using a template from Fiddle Dee Dee’s Mini Memories set. I love these templates because they have the layered paper look that I love to use. This set I used.
Great, right? That’s what I thought! It was perfect, too, because I wanted to scrap one photo, and this template only had one photo. I thought I was golden.
Cut to me starting to put the background papers on. It was a nightmare. Looking at this, there is one background paper. I was using Allison’s April Stuff kit, and there are tons of awesome papers in that kit. No matter which one I tried to use, I didn’t like the look. I tried all kinds of combinations and almost all of the papers in the kit. I was just about to trash the layout and go look for a new template when I stopped. What if the background was more than just one paper? What if it was split? I took a woodgrain paper and used it to split the background in half. Now we were in business. For a final touch, I layered a ribbon over the paper divide and I instantly loved how it looked.
This is my finished layout. You can see the basic elements of the original template, but you can also see where I made changes to adapt it to the look I wanted.
The lesson to be learned: templates are great to use, but you have to be willing to make changes to the template when you need to. If you aren’t, you’re cheating yourself of the opportunity to add your own flair to the template.
Dalis says
love that page Aaron!
— Dalis