Templates by Erica

Store Closing

2009-01-05T20:20:00.002+03:00

Unfortunately, due to some difficulties, the site where my store is located is closed. If I had been a better shopkeeper I might be upset, but as it is I am relieved. I'm sorry to those of you whom I've let down by not keeping up this blog or my store, and mostly I'm sorry that I let myself down by not making the most of the opportunities that were given to me. This past year in my non-scrapbooking life has been a wild ride, and I just wasn't able to give my hobby the time that it required. I hope you all understand. Anyway, I probably won't be doing anything with this blog, at least for a while. I still plan to scrap my own stuff, so maybe I'll see you around the digital neighborhood. Thanks to all for your support!

Breast Cancer Awareness Kit

2008-10-02T10:19:00.002+03:00

I just want to make sure that you all are aware of the Scrap Professor Breast Cancer Awareness Kit called Love Life. All of the proceeds will be donated to charity. And, the kit only costs $5, a small price to pay for a good cause, plus you get this fabulous kit!
Please consider purchasing Love Life here.

I'm back!

2008-09-28T20:45:00.003+03:00

I had no intention of completely ignoring scrapbooking for 2 months while I was back in the States, but that's what happened. Other than missing my favorite hobby and the people that I interact with here on the web, it's been great. :) We did so much this summer it was ridiculous, I mean, wonderful. Here's a layout to show you what I mean:

I based the layout on one in the August issue of Creating Keepsakes by Amanda Probst. I made the tag and the "and here" stickers. The little man is a clipart from Word. The papers are from A. Rockwell's MojoMon freebie (sorry she doesn't have a TOU and that's all the info I have.) The fonts are Franklin Med, Franklin Bold, Mom's Typewriter and MA Sexy.

And, you didn't think I would do all that without making a template, did you? :) Here it is! The file also contains the We Were Here tag if you want that without the template. It's a two-pager, by the way, but I didn't separate it into two pages. I ran out of patience....

Download the We Were Here template here.

Better late than never!

2008-08-01T18:45:00.003+03:00

I haven't designed anything new since I've been home, but I did take some time this morning to make a little freebie for you all. It's a desktop that I made using my Joyful Summer kit. The download includes both widescreen and regular formats.

Download the desktop here.

Template Tuesday!

2008-07-22T17:44:00.003+03:00

I'm having such a good time in the States. There's so much that I didn't even realize that I missed. Most of all, it's good to be at my parents' house. This morning, my dad and I sat on the porch and ate breakfast together. You can't do that in Doha!

Here is my newest scrapbook page. I made it with my Summer Smoothie kit and the template below.

Download Template #56 here.

If you like this template, check out my Swirls and Whirls template set.

Freebie Friday

2008-07-18T16:33:00.004+03:00

I posted this freebie already this week, but I don't think many people noticed it because I wasn't very clear in the post that there was a freebie, and since the link was to my shop, it wasn't picked up by digi-free. So, here it is again, an add-on to my Lone Star kit. Enjoy! :)

Download the Lone Star add-on here.

Be sure to check out my last post. There's a coupon at the bottom! :)

Drumroll please!

2008-07-16T00:16:00.005+03:00

I have a big announcement! I've been so excited to tell you guys, but I wanted to wait until it was all official. Drumroll please ................. I am the newest designer at Scrap Professor! I have all my new products uploaded into my shop, but since there's not all that many I'd like to share them with you here, too. :)

Here are my template sets:

My first template set is called Stars and Strips :) and the focus is exactly that, paper strips and all kinds of stars. You'll love these templates, I promise! This is the preview for the complete set, but you can also buy the templates in packs of 4. Of course, when you buy the complete set, the price is discounted. :)

This is my second set of templates, Swirls and Whirls. I just love swirly-thingies on my layouts, and I've done all the hard work of erasing the bits and pieces that you wouldn't want showing for you. I plan to make more templates in this style, so stay tuned. :)

Also, all of my templates that I am selling in my shop now have PNG's for those of you who need them. :) Additionally, I've changed my TOU to include S4H/S4O. As always, if you have any questions about anything regarding my products, please email me; I'd love to help you out.

Now, here are my new kits:

First is a mini-kit, that I really do think is darling, Darling Daisy. Doesn't it make you feel happy? :) And, this mini-kit has a mini-pricetag. :)

Here's the kit that I teased you with last week, Isn't It Romantic? I know it kind of looks like Valentine's Day, but it could be used for all kinds of pages and projects. All of the papers are heavily grunged. My favorite part of this kit is the envelope and old paper. But, I'm also kind of partial to the polka-dot paper flower with the eyelet center. :)

When you buy Isn't It Romantic, you also get this coordinating alpha FREE!

This next kit is yummy! Summer Smoothie was one of my favorite things to work on so far. It does include some "fruity" elements and papers, but there's also a lot of neutral items. I think you'll love this kit. :)

And, when you buy Summer Smoothie, you get this alpha FREE! :)

This kit just says summer to me. I love the fresh colors, and I had a lot of fun creating the papers. You'll love the graphic style of this kit. You can also buy separate element and paper packs if you prefer.

While I wasn't intending to create a tribute to Texas, I was stumped on a name for this kit and my husband suggested Lone Star and it stuck. :) I just love the colors in this kit. It'd be great for all kinds of projects. I hope it sparks your creativity like it has mine. :)

And, if you buy Lone Star, you get the coordinating chipboard alpha FREE! :)

I couldn't seem to stop playing with this kit, so I've created a little add-on freebie for you. You do need to be logged in to download this freebie, but you do not need to add it to your cart. Enjoy! :) (Click image to go to download.)

And, just for you, because you read all the way to the end of this post, I have a coupon for 10% off your order from my store. Coupon code: TEBlog Hurry! The coupon expires on July 22nd. :)

My decision and a freebie

2008-07-07T22:31:00.003+03:00

After much deliberating, and since about half of you said that you wanted me to change the name or that you didn't care, I decided to change my name to Templates, Etc. by Erica. Since it's so close to my old name (which was my intention in choosing it) I'm not going to change my blog address, so you won't need to change anything if you have me on your google reader.

I've been missing giving you all freebies, and since it's nearly midnight here, we'll call it Template Tuesday! Here's a little template I made up for you tonight. It's based loosely on an LO that I saw here.

Download Template #55 here.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

2008-07-04T16:23:00.002+03:00

It's been quiet around here, but I've been working hard on a few different projects, not to mention the fact that I've been gearing up for a trip back to the US. Here's a little sneak peek at one of the things to come:

I've been thinking, too, about my name. Not my real name, my digi-scrapping name, Templates by Erica. I don't just want to do templates anymore. But, everyone knows me as Templates by Erica, so if I changed my name, I might lose some of my peeps. :) What do you think? I tried to make a poll, let's see how it works. And, if you have any suggestions for me, leave me a comment!

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Broken links

2008-06-21T08:03:00.002+03:00

It has come to my attention that several of my older links are broken. I don't want you all to think I'm ignoring your requests, but I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do about them. I let you know as soon as I've decided. Thanks for your patience.

Just a layout share

2008-06-19T07:14:00.003+03:00

My scrapbook style is pretty graphic usually. Clean lines, geometric shapes, etc. But when I was working on this picture, it took on a life of it's own. This is so not my style, and it will probably be a while before I do anything like this again, if ever, but I wanted to show you all that I'm not just a template scrapper. :)

Credits: The background, the wings, the red and yellow flowers, the moss, the stardust, and the white flower in her hand came from a kit called Secret of Avalon. The mushroom is from Mrs. Miles. Most of the butterflies are from Butterfly Dreams by Attic Treasures. If you see anything else on there that I didn't mention and want to know where it came from, let me know. I was all over the place for this page.

Popcorn for lunch

2008-06-19T06:57:00.003+03:00

I remember days as a kid when we had the day off, so we'd go to the movies and my mom would say, "Let's just have popcorn for lunch." Of course, I didn't mind, because I love popcorn, and having popcorn for lunch meant that you could have that much more of it. Now that I'm a grown-up mom, I know that the popcorn for lunch thing was probably more about not having to make lunch than anything else. At least, that's what it's about for me. So, a couple weeks ago, when the twins were so crabby that I had to put them down for a nap before they had lunch and then they woke up at 3 pm and lunch was too close to dinner, I fed my kids popcorn for lunch. Being the silly person I am, I had to get out my camera to document the experience, and then scrap it too, of course. :)

Credits: Saturday in the Park kit by Linda Walton (Bon Scrapatit) Fonts from top to bottom are Grilled Cheese, MA Sexy, and Joyful Juliana.

Download Template #54 here.

Back to my favorite scrap subjects

2008-06-16T09:23:00.003+03:00

Thanks to everyone who left me such nice comments this week. It really means a lot.

This picture has been burning a hole in my hard drive, so to speak; I've been looking forward to scrapping it for almost a month now. Aren't my kids adorable? :) It almost makes it worth picking up all those tiny pieces of plastic food.Credits: The idea for the four squares came from a layout in the book Mastering Scrapbook Page Design with Michele Gerbrandt. The kit is Picnic by Krista. The block letters came from Shabby Princess's Sweet Sprinkles and the stitching (recolored) is from her Splendid kit. The font is Girls Are Weird.

I was getting bored with shades of gray. Isn't this template pretty? :) The block font on the template is Rubber Stamp from FontFace.com. I didn't take the time to make stitching for the blocks, so you can just use the outlines that I put on there, or you can delete those and replace them with stitching from your stash. Also, the scalloped page curls were part of the Picnic kit, so I can't give that to you. I made a scalloped tear for you instead. Enjoy!
Download Template #53 here.

A new kit

2008-06-12T16:04:00.003+03:00

I have some pages I want to scrap, but before I can get to them, I had to finish this kit so that I can stop thinking about it. Seriously, I've spent the last few nights before I fall asleep planning what I'm going to make for this kit the next day. It's been a lot of fun, and I'm still learning so much.

I know you all are going to think I'm silly. Now that I've finished my whole Egypt scrapbook (all 22 pages), I started messing with one of my photos, and ended up creating a whole kit that I could have used. :) I titled it Arabia, because the colors and the abstract palm shapes really remind me of the Middle East, but I hope that the kit doesn't limit you. It's full of greens and browns and lots of glitter. So, without further ado, here's Arabia:
Download Arabia here.

Shamelessly Begging

2008-06-08T08:00:00.000+03:00

I used to wonder at all the designers who asked people to leave them love. Now, I'm joining their ranks. I gotta tell you, I'm getting a little burnt out after working on my Egypt pages for so long, and the comments here and on 4-shared have been running low. I'll keep this short, but just remember to show your appreciation for those designers out there who are giving away freebies, especially the ones who, like me, don't have stores that they are promoting.

By the way, I'm going to be taking a short break. :) I'll be back soon, maybe a week or so.

My last Egypt page

2008-06-07T08:00:00.000+03:00

Told you I'd come back to the Luxor Museum page. :) Just like the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, we weren't allowed to bring in a camera, so I had to make do with postcards. Here it is:

Credits: Mother Nature kit from Scrap Matters. Cartouche alpha by Suzanne C. Walker. Palm tree from Road to the Oasis kit by Kyra.

Download Template #52 here.

The temples on the East Bank (double pager)

2008-06-06T12:00:00.000+03:00

On our last full day in Egypt, we saw the two temples on the East Bank of Luxor. They were both incredible! I have so many pictures, it was hard to choose. So, I made templates that accomodate a lot of photos. Here are my layouts:

Credits: Mother Nature kit from Scrap Matters except palm tree which came from Road to the Oasis by Kyra and the scarab heiroglyph which I made from a postcard. The font that I use for journaling (someone asked the other day) is Jayne print from Font Garden.

I didn't make templates for the Karnak Temple layouts because they're so straight forward. Let's just say I'm getting tired of working with the same kit after 22 pages and I couldn't come up with any more brilliant ideas. :)

However, I really like the templates that I made for the Luxor Temple LO's. Hope you like them too. :)

Download Template #50 here. (Can you believe I've made 50 templates in less than 3 months?!)

Download Template #51 here.

Medinet Habu, page 2

2008-06-05T08:00:00.002+03:00

I didn't really make this a 2-page template even though it goes with yesterday's LO, so I didn't post them together. :) Isn't this picture amazing? You almost have to know that Catie and Nick are at the bottom of the picture, or you would totally miss them. :)Credits: Mother Nature kit by Scrap Matters.

This template is more of an idea of how you could put together your own page than it is a template. Of course you can download and use it, though. :)
Download Template #49 here.

Medinet Habu

2008-06-04T08:00:00.001+03:00

I love this layout. :) I loved Medinet Habu, too. It's a temple that was built by Ramses III. Can you believe how colorful the walls are even after 3,000 years?
Credits: Mother Nature by Scrap Matters.Download Template #48 here.

More on Luxor's West Bank

2008-06-03T08:00:00.000+03:00

There were tons of alabaster "factories" in Luxor. Seriously, one every ten feet. Our driver took us to one, where we like to think that we got good deals, not that we lined his friend's pockets. :) They were very nice about entertaining the kids so that we could take a look around, and they gave us a nice demonstration on how they make alabaster jars.

Credits: Mother Nature kit from Scrap Matters.

Download Template #47 here.

The Colossi of Memnon

2008-06-02T08:00:00.002+03:00

We went to see the sites on the West Bank on our second day in Luxor. (I just realized that I skipped a day in my scrapbooking because we went to the museum, and again we weren't allowed to take our cameras in. I scanned in the postcards that I bought. I'll have to get back to those later.) Anyway, this was the first thing we saw. It was crazy. We just pulled over to a small parking lot on the side of the road, and there they were, the Colossi of Memnon. Amazing! Look at the tiny people at their feet. :)
Credits: Mother Nature kit from Scrap Matters.

The vines on the template are a brush that I got from deviant art, but they don't have the designer's name on them. Sorry to that designer for not giving credit.
Download Template #46 here.

Egypt--Page 13

2008-06-01T08:00:00.000+03:00

Can you believe I'm on page 13, and I just now made it to the half-way point of our vacation?!

We had so much fun in Luxor. If you ever go to Egypt, I would recommend that you go to Cairo, because you have to see the pyramids, but only for a couple days. Spend the rest of your vacation in Luxor or Aswan. Luxor was so much more peaceful and beautiful. Even the waiters were friendlier. :) Here are the twins at the hotel restaurant where we ate breakfast every morning.

Credits: Mother Nature kit from Scrap Matters

Tip for the template: The large strip across the bottom of the photo is a place marker for a ribbon wrap. Delete it and put a ribbon there. As always, the flowers are also place holders. Do yourself a favor and delete those too so that you can put better flowers there. The bracket and the punched frame on my LO came from the Mother Nature kit, but I tried to simulate them in the template. Replace them or fill them with paper, up to you!

Download Template #45 here.

Another Egypt 2-pager

2008-05-31T08:00:00.000+03:00

Credits: Mother Nature kit from Scrap Matters except circle stitching which came from Shabby Princess's Urban Kiwi kit.
Download Template #43 here.

Download Template #44 here.

Khan El-Khalili with a single photo template

2008-05-30T08:00:00.000+03:00

The journalling on this page is almost exactly the same as this blog post from my family blog.

Credits: Mother Nature from Scrap Matters

Tip: The flowers on the corner of my LO are part of the paper. You could fill my flowers on the template with paper or color them, but it would probably look best if you deleted them, and filled that corner with coordinating flowers or used a paper with designs on the corners already, like I did.
Download Template #42 here.

The Sphinx

2008-05-29T08:00:00.001+03:00

I took about 25 photos of the Sphinx in about 5 minutes. :) Before we got there, I thought that seeing the Sphinx wouldn't be all that big of a deal, but I was overwhelmed with the idea that I was actually there. Even my wide-angle lens wasn't enough to get the whole thing in one photo from the side, so I took several photos and then pieced them together.Credits: Mother Nature kit at Scrap Matters except the camel and palm tree which came from the Road to the Oasis kit by Kyra and the cartouche alpha from Suzanne Walker. Here's a link for the alpha: http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=144100

I arranged the template differently since your LO's don't have to fit my photos, and I think this will work better for most of you.
Download Template #41 here.

American #1!

2008-05-28T08:00:00.001+03:00

I have to tell you, we loved Egypt very much, but the people who make their money off tourists could be extremely annoying. They didn't see us, they saw dollar signs. It nearly ruined our experience at the pyramids. These guys came and got in our picture and then wanted a tip. So frustrating! When we got closer to the pyramids, some guys helped us with the strollers, then they wanted us to give them $200 for their troubles. Even at the temples, there were men who acted like guides and then after giving you a little information asked for a little tip. Anyway, I had to make at least one page so that years from now we could remember it all. :)

Credits: Mother Nature kit at Scrap Matters

Keep the film strip as is or fill it with paper to coordinate with your own LO.

Download Template #40 here.

Another Pyramid LO

2008-05-27T14:01:00.002+03:00

I really like this picture, so I wanted to create an LO that highlighted one photo. I love the contrast between the circles and rectangles. A clean, simple way to create interest. :)Credits: Everything from Mother Nature kit at Scrap Matters.

Download Template #39 here.

The Pyramids!

2008-05-26T18:01:00.002+03:00

Here's the page you've all been waiting for. I have to tell you, I had a really hard time making a LO that deserved these photos. LOL Credits: Mother Nature kit from Scrap Matters, except camel which came from Road to the Oasis by Kyra
Download Template #38 here.

Egyptian Museum, Part 2

2008-05-24T16:20:00.002+03:00

From a photographer's point of view, the Egyptian Museum was frustrating. I wanted to take pictures so badly! But, we had to turn in our camera before we could go inside. I bought some postcards so that I could scrap some of the more impressive artifacts, but they aren't the best photographs ever. I had to do a lot of messing with them in PSP once I scanned them in order to get the lighting and color right. Oh, well, at least the page turned out good. :)
Credits: Mother Nature kit from Scrap Matters, except Tut tag which I made from a postcard with heiroglyphs. Oh, and I keep forgetting to say that the font that I use for my journaling (my favorite journaling font, BTW) is Font Garden's Jayne Print.

The bracket is part of the Mother Nature kit, but I created the bracket frame for this template.

Download Template #37 here.

Egyptian Museum--2 Page Template

2008-05-23T09:02:00.003+03:00

Just a quick post to share a two-pager. Here are my layouts:

Credits: Everything from Scrap Matters Mother Nature kit except Cartouche Alpha by Suzanne C. Walker and the palm tree tag from Road to the Oasis kit by Kyra.

And here are your templates:
Download Template #35 here.

Download Template #36 here.

A new freebie and I've been tagged!

2008-05-22T08:32:00.002+03:00

I've been tagged by my friend from BabyCenter, Amanda at Simply Scrapping. Here are the rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are 7 facts about me:

1. I love my name now, not too popular, but everyone knows how to pronounce it. I always wished it had a nickname to go with it, though. One of my college friends called me Rick, but it didn't stick.

2. My favorite ice cream is peppermint stick, but it has to be the cheap kind, where the candy has gotten all gooey.

3. Brad, my husband, was my first and only boyfriend.

4. I think a good gift is even better if the person who bought it got a great deal. My mom leaves the prices on presents for me so that I can share in the joy of a good buy.

5. I would bake cookies everyday if someone else would eat them before I could eat too many and clean the kitchen afterwards.

6. I don't like socks with terry cloth in them or couches with buttons. My dad calls me the princess and the pea.

7. I like taking tests, and I miss going to school.

Now, here are seven bloggers that I am tagging:

1. Lori from The Simple Life at Home. She's doing a nice series right now on respecting your husband. She's a good friend too--yesterday she watched my kids for me. :)

2. Laura from My Quotidian Mysteries. I'm not sure if she has time to do this sort of thing since she just had a new baby. But, I also know her in real life and her blog is so good!

3. Krista from Designs by Krista. She probably has no idea who I am, but I've posted comments on her blog a couple times and her freebies are awesome!

4. Shawna from Scrap Stuff with PSP. She also has no idea who I am :), but I love her blog, especially her tutorial section!

5. Jennifer from Zaankali's Adventures. She always leaves such nice comments on my other blog.

Well, I broke the rules, because I can't think of anyone else to tag. :)

Here comes Egypt, part 2:

Once again, everything on this page came from the Mother Nature kit at Scrap Matters. I promise the next page will actually have the pictures you want to see with real Egyptian things. LOL :)
Download Template #34 here.

Finally got back into my groove

2008-05-20T19:03:00.003+03:00

I've been waiting to get enough pages done from Egypt before I start posting them, just in case I decided to change my mind about the style or the kit that I'm using. But, I'm feeling pretty comfortable now. I've gotten them about halfway done, meaning I've done 11 pages so far. :) Unless otherwise stated, everything comes from the Mother Nature collab kit from Scrap Matters.

If you'd like to know more about the story behind this page, visit my family blog here.

Download Template #33 here.

A new freebie and sometimes I just don't think things through :)

2008-05-08T18:55:00.003+03:00

Last night, laying in bed trying to go to sleep, I realized that the bent photos in some of templates are going to look weird when they're on top of background paper because I left the shadows opaque. So, then I was trying to think what would be the best way for you all to fix it so that it looks right, and I think it would be using an eraser at about 50 % or less opacity to carefully erase some of the shadow area. Sorry! :) I'll keep it in mind in the future if I make another template with bent photos.

While we're on the topic of templates, I'm having scrapper's block with my photos from Egypt. In the meantime, I've been "clowning around" with this little kit. It's so much more fun to create a kit right now than it is to sit down and really think about templates that work for my photos. Hope you enjoy this kit, though. :) I called it Clowning Around because that's what I was doing, and the colors reminded me of the circus. You certainly wouldn't have to use it for circus pictures, but I didn't think it would be right to title it Clowning Around and not include a clown in the kit. Also, the staples are supposed to look like Fastenaters, large staples that are popular in the paper scrapping world. If you don't like the look of the big staples, you could shrink the blank ones and they'll look like normal ones.

Clowning Around kit includes:
4 solid papers
6 patterned papers
4 polka dot ribbons
2 flowers
8 large staples (4 blank, 4 with words)
1 beaded wire
colored dot alpha (multiple dots for each letter for mixing and matching)

Download Clowning Around Papers here.

Download Clowning Around Elements and Alpha here.

Catie's Swim Suit

2008-05-05T16:51:00.005+03:00

I'm still working on my Egypt pages, but in the meantime, here's a kit that I've been working on off and on for a little while. It's inspired by my daughter's swim suit. I've learned a lot making this kit. Hope you enjoy it!

Kit includes:
6 patterned papers
6 solid papers with inked edges
6 ribbons (5 solid, 1 striped)
2 wooden frames (square and rectangular)
9 stickers (some puffy, some flat, including a glittery sun sticker)
2 word art stickers
2 patterned paperclips
2 brads

Download Catie's Swim Suit here.

I'm back and it's National Scrapbooking Day!

2008-05-03T08:00:00.000+03:00

Well, we got back from our wonderful trip to Egypt on Tuesday afternoon, and while we were at the grocery store that evening, my son started throwing up. Ever since, we've been having a family pukey party. But, we're better now and I'm back with a bunch of templates. I had a creative bug right before we left and made all of these templates for you. I'm planning on making templates to use for my Egypt pictures, but I haven't had the energy think about what they're going to look like yet. In the meantime, here's a bunch of templates to tide you over. Oh, and if you want to hear some of the stories about out trip to Egypt, head on over to my family blog.

First, here's a two pager with lots of photo spaces.

Download Template #28 (side A) here.

Download Template #29 (side B) here.

Next, are two templates that I scraplifted from a talented paper scrapper on BabyCenter. Here is a link to her two layouts. And here is my page that I made with the first one:

A few thoughts on working with this template. I was just messing around when I made the photo mat. I'm pretty sure that you can get much nicer ones, but if you don't have one, you can use mine. :) I used the dots as a guide for placing the gemstones and then deleted the dot layer. You could also fill them with paper or use them to "punch" holes in the paper strips.

I haven't used the other template yet, but I think the template itself looks adorable, so it's bound to be really cute filled with papers and photos. :)

Download Template #30 here.

Download Template #31 here.

Last, but not least, template 32. I just love journalling that follows the lines of the page. :)

Download Template #32 here.

Enjoy. :) And happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Last post for a while

2008-04-20T13:00:00.000+03:00

We're leaving for Egypt tomorrow! So, that means that this is my last post for the next week or so. I'm gonna miss you guys. :) I'll probably have internet access, but I'm not planning on taking my laptop. I'm going to have PSP withdrawal. :)

So, to tide you guys over, I'm giving you two templates today. Enjoy! :)

Download Template #26 here.

Download Template #27 here.

Just a little bit of frill

2008-04-19T13:00:00.000+03:00

As you have probably noticed, my scrapping style is pretty simple, and I think that's what a lot of you come to my blog for, but I couldn't resist just a little bit of frills today. Granted, it's not nearly as frilly as some scalloped borders out there. It's a simple frill. :) LOL Enjoy. :)

Download Template #25 here.

Countdown to Egypt

2008-04-18T13:00:00.002+03:00

3 days until Egypt! I won't be posting templates while I'm gone, but I'll be back soon. Promise. :) We come back on Tuesday the 29th. So, hopefully, I'll be back to posting on the 30th. Hope you all don't miss me too much. :)

Today's template is another first--my first attempt at stitching. Unless there's something I'm missing, it's a little time-consuming. :) Zig zag stitches are easy, but this template called for some straight stitches. Hope you like it!
Download Template #24 here.

Changed my Header

2008-04-17T16:09:00.001+03:00

While I liked the idea of my first header (it looked like a template) it drove me crazy everytime I came here, because it wasn't pretty. So here's my new pretty header. Hope it didn't confuse anyone. :)

Yay! I like this one!

2008-04-17T13:00:00.000+03:00

I think this is my favorite template so far. :) I just love having a photo in the middle of a circle with paper forming the rest of the circle. And, I like the journalling following the contours of the circle. One tip to make that easier--allign the text to the right when you're typing on the right side of the circle. Hope you enjoy this template as much as I have. Now I need to get off the computer and take some photos to put in it. :)Download Template #23 here.

Check it out!

2008-04-16T22:07:00.002+03:00

Check out the new slide show at the bottom of the page. :) Keep those layouts coming! I love seeing them. If you see an LO that catches your eye, run your mouse over it, and you'll see which template the scrapper used so that you can snag it. :)

On a related subject, I just have to tell you how fun it has been creating templates for you all. I have all the comments from the blog sent to my email inbox, and with those, in addition to the other emails I get from you all, I have about 10 emails a day telling me how awesome I am. What an upper! :) Thanks for your support! You totally make it worth it.

Keeping it Simple

2008-04-16T13:00:00.000+03:00

On a personal note, thank you so much for all your kind comments about my back. It's feeling better, and a new memory foam mattress topper is on it's way! Hopefully I'll be able to get it all healthy and keep it healthy. :)

It's back to the basics with this template. I'm sure you talented scrappers out there can make something beautiful with it. :) Enjoy!

Download Template #22 here.

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

2008-04-15T13:00:00.000+03:00

Okay, promise you won't laugh. I'm kind of embarassed to share this template with you. :) I made it because we're going to Egypt soon--next Monday, actually--and I wanted a title page for what I'm sure will be many pages in the scrapbook. So, here's my page and my very silly airplane. :)

Download Template #21 here.

Torn paper

2008-04-14T13:00:00.005+03:00

I just love torn paper, don't you? :) I used to use it when I scrapped with paper, and I was so excited to learn how to tear paper digitally. Aren't you lucky? I did all the work for you. :) Enjoy!

Download Template #20 here.

Playing with Shapes, Part 2

2008-04-13T13:00:00.000+03:00

Back again with another template. :) I had so much fun with yesterday's template, I had to try again. Hope you have a use for this one even though it's not even close to Valentine's Day. I just felt like drawing a heart for some reason. :) I think it would look great with a mix of photos and papers. Enjoy! :)Download Template #19 here.

Brainstorm!

2008-04-12T14:28:00.003+03:00

I had a brainstorm just now. :) After spending all that time explaining the part about cropping photos so that they fit better inside templates, I realized that I had been doing something else in other situations that translates perfectly into templates. If you use PSP I hope you can follow this because I don't have screen shots. Here we go.

1. Copy your photo (or paper) that you want to put into the template.
2. Paste the photo as a new layer onto the template.
3. Arrange the layers so that the photo is directly under the part of the template that it goes in.
4. Position the photo how you want it to look (tilt and scale.)
5. Select the template shape. Then, use the magic wand tool to get marching ants around the part of the template that the photo will go on.
6. Invert the selection (Ctrl-I). Now the marching ants are going around the whole page and the template shape.
7. Select the photo layer. Now hit delete. Everything on the photo is deleted, except the part that goes on the template.
8. Select the template layer. Invert the selection again. Hit delete. Now the gray template shape is gone and in its place is your photo (or paper.)
9. If you left part of the template (such as the frame around a photo) you can then right click on that layer on the layers palette and then select Merge-Merge Down. This will merge the frame with the photo so that you can move them together if you want.

This takes a little longer than Ctrl-Shift-L, but it helps to avoid the distortion that can sometimes happen with templates in PSP without cropping your photos ahead of time.

Playing with Shapes

2008-04-12T13:00:00.000+03:00

I was experimenting today, and so you get to enjoy the fruits of my experiments. :) If you're an advanced user, why are you using my templates? Just kidding. :) If you're an advanced user, you could journal up the side of the curve. In PSP, you'll have to make a vector curve that matches the curve of the template to make a path for the text. If someone who uses PSP wants a better explanation, I might be able to give a little tutorial. I'm not sure how it works in PS. :) Either way, I think the journalling looks cute sideways like it's shown on the template. Enjoy. :)
Download Template #18 here.

Tutorials

2008-04-11T19:59:00.005+03:00

I had one commenter ask about a tutorial for making templates. I could be wrong, but it seems like a lot of designers use Paint Shop Pro. Here's a tutorial for making templates using PSP.

I've also had another request for a tutorial on using templates. Here is a tutorial for using templates with Photo Shop.

But, the request came from someone who uses PSP, and while I know that I learned how to use templates from somewhere, I can't find a tutorial. So, here is my tutorial. I always feel funny writing tutorials because I have just "figured out" so much with digital scrapbooking that I'm afraid I'm doing things the hard way. :) The commenter tells me that she is brand new to digi scrapping, so I'm including a bunch of other tips, too. Okay, here we go.

Start by opening your layered template. Make sure you open the .pspimage or the psd. file not the .jpeg so that you have layers to work with. :)

Now, it really doesn't matter which layer you start with, but I usually start with the photos. So, open up your first picture. Then, copy it. Go back to the template. Using the pick tool, select the first photo layer. Then, choose the magic wand tool and click on the photo layer again. You should see "marching ants" around the layer. If it didn't work, check the settings for the magic wand at the top of the screen. It should be selecting by color, and the tolerance should be a low number (try 5). The higher the tolerance, the more the magic wand will pick up. Since this is all one color, you don't need a high tolerance.

Okay, now, with the marching ants around the place on the template where you want your photo, type Ctrl-Shift-L (paste into selection.) Your photo should now be in the selection box.

Magic. :) Type Ctrl-D to get rid of the ants.

Now, for the square photo at the top of this template, I need to select my next photo, but so that the photo doesn't get distorted, I need to turn that photo into a square. So, I use the crop tool. What I'm showing you in this screen shot is that you can tell it's a square because the crop tool tells you the measurements. That's something handy that I didn't notice until recently. :)Now, once I cropped the photo, I copied it. Then, I used the magic wand to select the square on the template, and pressed Ctrl-Shift-L again. Don't forget Ctrl-D to clear the ants. It's that easy! :) I suggest that you don't close the photos until you're completely finished with the LO, just minimize them. Just in case.

It works the same way with the papers. Just copy the paper. Select the layer on the template. Use the magic wand to get the marching ants. Hit Ctrl-Shift-L. Hit Ctrl-D.

Now that I've been staring at the Template for a little while, I pretty much know where things are, so I delete some layers that I don't need. In this case, the text, star, and ribbon, because I'm going to replace them with my own. You can delete a layer two ways: on the layers palette, right click on the layer and then choose delete, or right click on the object and click delete.

Then, add elements just like any other LO.

Okay, that's the main part of the template tutorial. Here are some tips for finishing up the layout.

When you add a new element, it might not be in the order that you want it to be in, you can move them around by right clicking, click arrange, then choose where you want the element to go. Or, you can actually move them around on the layers palette; just click and drag.

Normally, I would delete the ric rac in my template and replace it with a ric rac that a designer made (because they do things to make it look more realistic), but in the interest of showing you some other handy tools, this is what I did this time. In the right hand corner, you'll see two color boxes. Click on the top one and a menu that looks like this will pop up:

You're mouse will also look like a dropper. Use the dropper to pick up a color somewhere on the page. This is a great way to make sure that your journaling matches your LO exactly. Click okay. I've also circled the ric rac because you can see that I've selected it with the magic wand. Now, I use the paint bucket (flood fill) tool and click inside the marching ants and my ric rac turns blue. :)

Finishing touches, drop shadow:

The zoom is always way too close. Usually something around 5-10 works much better. As far as settings, for most things I use a number between 4 and 6. I might go up to 8 for something that is obviously thicker, like chipboard, but anything higher than that, and it looks like it's floating off the page. Make sure that the box next to shadow on it's own layer isn't checked. That's annoying unless you need it to be a separate layer for some reason. Also, I never add a drop shadow to my text layers.

Make sure you choose "save as" to save your LO, otherwise you'll save over the template and you won't be able to use it again.

Hey! This is fun!

2008-04-11T13:00:00.000+03:00

I just have to tell you all that this is so much fun. :) I love making templates, thinking of all the ways that a template could be used, imagining how people could take my ideas and run with them. I hope I don't run out of ideas. :)

You know what would make it even better? Seeing your LO's. I'd love to have you email me with your LO or a link to your LO. If I get enough, I'll start a slideshow to show them off on here. I really, really, really would love to see what you do with my templates. :)

So, here's the newest. You can use the flowers if you want to, but my intention was to show you places to squeeze in some elements. I also added an overlay that you can change to any color you'd like. Use the magic wand set at a high tolerance (I tested it at 50) to select it for recoloring.
Download Template #17 here.

Template #16

2008-04-10T13:00:00.000+03:00

Okay, so yesterday I gave in to my symmetrical side, and today I fought it off to make this template. And, I have to admit that while I think I'm going to like things symmetrical, it's really not as pleasing to the eye as other kinds of balance. Anyway, enough of the theory, here's the template.

Download Template #16 here.

Template # 15

2008-04-09T13:00:00.003+03:00

Here's a template for an LO with a lot of pictures. I gave in to the side of my personality that wants everything to be symmetrical with this one. But, if you aren't a fan of symmetry, you could always delete one of the pictures and add an element or two in it's place. This template probably won't work for many people as is, but I think it's a great jumping off point. :)

Download Template #15 here.

Template #14

2008-04-08T13:36:00.003+03:00

Just a simple layout, but I love the look of curled photos. :) I don't have an example. Use your imaginations. :)

Download Template #14 here.

Oops!

2008-04-07T14:36:00.003+03:00

The link for Template #13 (Side B) has been fixed below. To the 8 people or so that already downloaded it, sorry! Thank you to the anonymous commenter that pointed out my mistake.

Two Pager

2008-04-07T11:15:00.004+03:00

I made the first template with our trip to the beach in mind. Then, we went and I got a few shots that I wanted to scrap, so I made the template for the second page. Here's my layout:
Credits: Papers, chipboard fish, and tab from Day at the Beach by Julie Kelly, other elements (recolored) from Charlie's World by Candee (Mermaid's Haven)

And here are the templates. As far as the swirls, they're okay, but you probably have better ones in your stash that you can replace them with. :)

Download Template #12 (side A) here.

Download Template #13 (side B) here.

Enjoy! :)

Template #11

2008-04-06T21:12:00.004+03:00

You might have seen that I posted this about an hour ago, with an unfinished layout, because I was stuck. But, posting it guilted me into getting it finished. So, here's my favorite boy:

Credits: My Favorite Boy freebie by Jill D-Zines, arrow by Gina Cabrera, star from Playground Pop by Peppermint Creative

Download Template #11 here.

Enjoy. :)

Bits and Pieces

2008-04-05T12:46:00.003+03:00

The freebies for today are not full page templates, but they could make your scrapping life a little easier especially when you would like a matching tag or flower, but the designer didn't make one.

First here's the stacked flower template. I made a button center, but I would recommend deleting it and using a button from your own stash; it's not the most realistic digital button I've ever seen. :) The flowers do need a little work to look less flat. Using the dodge tool with a soft brush with opacity around 25, lighten the centers of the petals. Then, use the burn tool at the same settings to darken the edges. You could also experiment with it the other way around, which would make the petals look bent in. Then, don't forget to put a drop shadow under each layer to make it even more realistic.

Download Stacked Flower Templates here.

Next is my tag template. It includes both a two paper with ribbon tag (as shown in the preview) and a plain tag. Sorry the string doesn't have a knot in it; I couldn't make it look right. So, I would recommend putting a staple or other fastener at the place where the two ends meet. :)

Download Tag Template here.

Hope you like these templates! Thank you for all your kind comments.

Template #10

2008-04-04T09:15:00.003+03:00

I'm in the double digits! :) I based this template on a paper LO that I saw posted online. Here is my version:
Isn't that adorable? She was so tired she fell asleep while she was eating. And, since I'm me, I couldn't resist taking her picture for the scrapbook. :)
Credits (Paper strips numbered from the top): Background, PP #1, PP #4, folded ribbon and flower from Sweet Pink from G Mendes. PP #2, journal box pp and patterned ribbon from Lady Magdaline by Brent Boone. PP #3 and #5 from Sara Carling's Sweet Rubbish. PP #6 from Sweet Sprinkles by Shabby Princess. PP #7 from Groovy Girl by Carrie Stephens. Font is CAC Pinafore.

Download Template #10 here.

Best of Template and I can't help myself!

2008-04-03T08:12:00.004+03:00

I am absolutely in love with this 2 page template and the layout that I scraplifted to create it. It's a template to scrap baby's first year or any year or anything where you have A LOT of pictures. :) I knew I was going to run out of shades of gray for this template, so I went for the color study look. :) Now, when you put all those squares on one page it makes for a lot of layers, which can make your program run slowly. So, I've got two different downloads, one with each photo square on it's own layer, and one with the photo squares merged into one layer. If you think you would like to move them around, then download the first one. If you like the way it looks exactly the way it is, download the second one.

Download Template #9 with separate photo layers here.
Download Template #9 with less layers here.

Here's the LO that I used to make the template, made by my friend Lucy, a very talented scrapper. :) The only change I made in my template is an allowance for the little bit in the middle that is hard to see when it's printed in a book. Lucy actually scraplifted the LO from Kim Haynes as featured in "The Ultimate Guide to Digital Scrapbooking 2007." The kit is Wild Sorbet by Michelle Coleman, and the font is 1941 Report.

So, even though, like I said before, I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to designing, I just can't seem to help myself! I was messing around with drawing this puppy, and soon he was a whole mini kit. I certainly would never charge anyone for my attempts at designing, but I thought, for free, you might appreciate them. :) So, here it is, Puppy by Erica, a mini-kit.

Download Puppy kit here.

A List of Scrapbooking Links

2008-04-02T20:56:00.002+03:00

Scrap Inside My Box, Part 2

2008-04-02T16:11:00.003+03:00

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday. My back has been bothering me for the past few weeks. I'm not exactly sure what I did at first to injure it, but I'm sure it probably had something to do with picking up one of my 25 pound toddlers. Yesterday, I re-injured it. I was reaching for my little boy in his crib while holding his sister on my other hip and I felt something pop. After doing some Lamaze breathing (that stuff comes in handy :) ) I spent the rest of the day on the couch as much as my twin toddlers would let me. It's back to bearable today. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep from overusing it long enough for it to heal again.

Enough complaining, and back to one of my favorite topics: scrapbooking! So, day before yesterday I shared my digital scrapbooking "box" with you. Today, I'm sharing my paper scrapbooking "box." :) This is what all my paper scrapbooking LO's would look like if I wasn't careful. :) Hope it gives you an idea or two. Enjoy!

Download Template #8 here.

Scrap Inside My Box

2008-03-31T20:31:00.002+03:00

There is so much talk about scrapping outside your box in the digital scrapbooking world. Actually, that's the main reason why I like to use templates on some of my LO's, because if I didn't all my LO's would look the same. But, my box might not be the same as your box, so today I am inviting you to scrap inside my box. This is my fallback layout: A large strip of patterned paper on top, a small strip of coordinating paper below, and a ribbon separating the two papers. Enjoy! :)

Download Template #7 here.

You learn something new everyday

2008-03-30T17:44:00.002+03:00

That really has been true for me lately, anyway! This template is my first attempt at two things: curled pictures and folded corners. Hope you like it. :)

Credits: Yellow Glurpee kit add-on by Suzanne Walker.
Download template #6 here.

Another Template and a Bunny

2008-03-29T21:54:00.004+03:00

Hope you all haven't finished your Easter layouts already! I ventured into the world of vector graphics today, and came up with this bunny. I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt. :) And, since I love templates, I'm giving him to you in both a png and a layered file so that you can fill him in with papers if you would like. I've given you an example in the preview of what it can look like with paper using some papers from the Digitreats Skip kit. Hope you enjoy.

Download the Bunny here.

Also, my template for today is pretty simple, but I love the layout I made. :) Hope it sparks some creativity in you, too!
Credits: Daisy kit by Krista at Designs by Krista, Cardboard tag from Fernlili

Download Template #5 here.

Another Day, Another Template

2008-03-28T12:48:00.003+03:00

I did this layout, and when I was finished I thought it looked like I had used a template. It would have been easier if I had! So, I've made a template to make it easier for you. :)

Credits: Michelle Coleman's Wild Sorbet Kit.

Download Template #4 here.

A Springy Template

2008-03-27T15:15:00.003+03:00

I'm excited about my template for today. I'm just waiting for the right picture to put in it. Hopefully you have one! :) Also, I realized that my first templates didn't have good layer names. If I can remember, they'll be better from now on. :)

Download Template #3 here.

The Reason I Love Templates

2008-03-26T20:39:00.005+03:00

I love templates for lots of reasons, but, honestly, the reason I like making templates is because I'm a terrible designer. Believe me, I've tried. Just to prove my point, I'm offering this little freebie. I made this a little while ago because I couldn't find what I wanted. Maybe someone else will find some use for it too.

Credits (other than my kit) Clothespin from Thaty kit by G Mendes, Brown Inked Edge Overlay by Gina Cabrera, and I feel terrible, but I can't find the receipt anywhere now. Someone who's seen it tell me where I got it from. :)

Download the Spaghetti mini kit here.

First Post, First Templates!

2008-03-26T13:31:00.000+03:00

Hello! Welcome to my blog where I will be sharing my freebie templates! I scrap (and make templates) using Paint Shop Pro, and I know there are many out there who have also chosen this program, so I will offer my templates in both PSP and PSD. :) So, without further ado, here are my first freebies. Hope you enjoy them! Leave a comment if you download, please. :)

Download Template #1 here.

Download Template #2 here.