To template or not to template

abm234 said:
This thread makes me feel so much better. Honestly, I didn't really consider myself a "real" scrapper because I always use templates. However, I 100% agree that I am doing this for my kids and future grandkids, to document our story and they won't know/care if a template was used.
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Heheh, the scrapbooking police is coming to get you, if you don't love EVERY aspect of scrapbooking. I simply don't enjoy the page designing that much.
And if you ever doubt, that it takes creativity and talent to use a template perfectly, just look at some of the layouts the templates are based on. Will we all scrap like Lynnette and Cindy now? Just because we have their templates? We wish!

Some people love fantasy layouts with extractions, but hate patterns. Others cannot get clusters right and don't like them anyway. This is meant to be fun for us all. Just do, what you enjoy.
 
I don't even try to do original pages anymore. There's an obvious point in my albums where I switched from painfully trying to do my own thing, to where I started using templates. Ie- the layouts with a template are actually good! Lol. I just don't enjoy, nor am I any good at original composition. I do always end up changing the template, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. But I definitely don't see it as cheating. I doubt I'd still be scrapping if I still had to make my own original designs.
 
I love using templates!! I use them most of the time, unless I'm going for a really simple and clean layout...that's what I end up with most of the time when I scrap without one.

I feel like I am learning a lot about composition because of using templates. Using them more gives me more confidence to go without them from time to time.
 
When templates first came out I kind of felt like they were cheating but I was so used to no real tools of that sort for digiscrappers (I had color blocking templates for paper scrapping though). It was kind of like quickpages. It felt like the lazy way to a layout. I used them when the designers I CT'd for had some that needed to be showcased but that was the only time I used them. Then I got so behind in my scrapping and so wrapped up in designing that it felt like I never had time to scrap. My love affair with templates AND with quickpages began then. Like it has been said, its all about preserving the memories. :)
 
I am so glad I asked this question and that is has helped some of us feel like it's really "ok" to use them and not feel bad about yourselves because we do. I have 5 kids, started a part time job which actually has been ending up being more of a full time job and all the house wife stuff to do too and sometimes I just want to be able to slap my pictures down and be happy they are scrapped and not worry about how should I design this page what should I do. I am so happy that you guys don't feel like its cheating. And now I will be relaxing about it more and getting my scrap on. :)
 
I love templates and never feel guilty about using them. I've seen tons of pages using the same template and they all look different. I don't see them as me being uncreative. I see them as freeing me to be creative.

I always thought that "cheating" argument was really silly since we all use the same kits and don't think twice about them making us uncreative. How are templates any different? I say if you like them, use them. As women, we make ourselves feel guilty about too much. I sit in my chair and shove chocolate in my face while scrapping with a template as often as humanly possible. lolol
 
I am like the majority here. I LOVE templates and using them, but also enjoy creating my own pages too. I would like to say I have a good mix, but in reality I do use alot of templates. :) If someone has already done all of the hard work of making a perfect composition for a layout, I say why not use it?!? And I agree that they are MY memories... no one in my family will know if it was a template or not... honestly they probably would have NO IDEA what I was talking about if I tried to explain it! :) haha
 
iScrap said:
I always thought that "cheating" argument was really silly since we all use the same kits and don't think twice about them making us uncreative. How are templates any different?
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This is how I think about it, too. In the earlier days of digiscrapping, people made a lot more of their own scrap supplies and did more to alter the ones they bought, like applying overlays to papers. I don't feel guilty because I'm using a paper that someone else designed and distressed, so why should I feel guilty using another kind of scrap supply? My template-based LOs still reflect my taste and scrap style, and they tell my family's stories.
 
I very, very, VERY rarely scrap without a template. When I do, it feels forced and a lot of times, the pages look all very much alike. While I love the creative outlet that scrapping provides me, my main goal is just to preserve my family's memories & the fun part for me is telling the stories, taking the photos, and picking out colors & patterns to mix & match. So, I'm not a standout scrapper, I'm not crazy original, I'm no rockstar but...my albums look awesome with pages in them that I created with love, and that's the most important part to me.

Of course, sometimes I have to remind myself of that. In fact, I just scrapped a page (with a template!! ;)) about my issues. It sometimes DOES feel like a creativity contest, but I am to a point where I am good with my pages & I hope that shows. :)

SO, in conclusion, TEMPLATE. :)
 
When I first started digi scrapping, I NEVER used a template....in fact...I really disliked template challenges b/c I had no idea how to use them and make them my own...I ended up deleting most of them b/c I didn't use them. And then something happened in the past year two years...maybe when I discovered Cindy's templates at PC....I fell in love with templates and use them all the time.

This week I challenged myself to scrap without templates though and I did it on all but a few layouts!!!!
 
i have VERY little time to scrap so i use a template. i don't care if it's cheating because it's getting my pages & memories scrapped. that's what matters. plus, the template designers make AMAZING templates so why try to upstage them? lol
 
britaneejean said:
i have VERY little time to scrap so i use a template. i don't care if it's cheating because it's getting my pages & memories scrapped. that's what matters. plus, the template designers make AMAZING templates so why try to upstage them? lol
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couldn't have said it better
 
My scrap time really comes down to the weekends, so I'm lucky to get 1-2 done a weekend. So I will absoluely grab a template - my kids won't care and some of my favorite pages started with a template. There are so many designers out there that I'm fortunte to have an eclectic mix.
 
Who said it's cheating??? :p Not me. ;) I don't think anyone here is passing judgement on the use of templates. We all use templates... whether it's all the time or once in a while. It's a totally common thing and 100% acceptable!! No need to feel defensive. ;) And those of us who don't use them the majority of the time are NOT trying to upstage the template designers or trying to win a contest of any kind. Promise! :p
 
100% template user here. I SUCK at making my own layouts and get utterly frustrated that I want to hit the computer screen or throw something. So for the sake of my computer and things in my house.... I use templates! LOL.
 
AmberK said:
100% template user here. I SUCK at making my own layouts and get utterly frustrated that I want to hit the computer screen or throw something. So for the sake of my computer and things in my house.... I use templates! LOL.
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yep this too! always have used templates or sketches as my start
 
I would say I do about 80% of the time. I also like to use sketches alot from a variety of sources. I like trying new styles!
 
I love using templates and often resize or rework them to fit my style. I find they inspire me to use more photos or create more pages when I am short on time. I don't think they are cheating - I think I am still creating layouts that have my family's memories....which is what we all do in the end. :)
 
I use them all the time. Like others I have a limited amount of time and I just don't want to waste it figuring out how I want to start my page. When I paper scrapped I used sketches as a guideline for my layout composition and to me it's the same idea. Many times I delete everything but the photo placement and background paper right at the start and then add all my elements the way I want, but I really hate wasting my time trying to measure and "cut" my papers so they are all proportionate.

I do a lot of quilting and I always use a pattern from a book or magazine - I never design my own patterns - same thing with scrapping.

Scrapping to me isn't a contest, it's a way to preserve my photos for future generations, and if someone doesn't like how I do it they can jump off a bridge for all I care :p
 
I am not good at scrapping without templates.....you have to know your negatives right???? And more than that.....I LOVE THEM!!
 
Lately, I've been using templates a lot, especially with the pregnancy progressing, I seem to lose my mojo in a long run....
Normally, I would try to scrap without template :)
 
I love templates! I really like the idea that a Designer who has so much more experience than I do, works at and comes up with, something that I never would end up with on my own. I'm willing to pay for that expertise because I like the way my layouts look when I use them. I especially love Cindy's templates and Nettio's! They make me happy. :)
 
In the past, I didn't really use templates that much (when I started scrapping, they weren't really around?) But I did a lot of scrap-lifting, with proper credits of course! Then I noticed I was scrap-lifting pages that were created with a template, which obviously is not cool (IMO) b/c you should just buy the template. I have used templates some over time, but I can see that I will probably use them a lot more going forward. They really seem to speed up my scrapping, which is important to me since I struggle to find time to scrap at all!

(I just uploaded a LO using one of Cindy's templates, actually- very fun to use! :w00t:)
 
Just wondering... those of you who are 100% template users (or close), did you digiscrap before templates were available? When I first started there weren't templates but I'm old so I am wondering about the rest of you. If so, when did you decide that it was 'okay' to use them? Right away, or was there something that drew you towards them?

I never felt it was 'okay' to use a template until I realized I just didn't have time to scrap without using them, at least part of the time.
 
i started using them about a year ago after HATING them for years. i've found that they actually speed up my scrapping process.
 
I don't think it's cheating at all...but I personally can't use templates!!! :D :D It seems to take me 3 times as long as to do a page with a template then if I just do one from scratch!!! :D I typically only use templates if my designers are releasing them or if I'm scrapping like December Daily!!! I checked my last 4 pages and other then December Daily I only had 6 pages made from templates.

I say to each there own...there is no right or wrong way to scrap your memories!!! :thumbup:
 
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When I first started scrapping, I didn't use them at all. I didn't get much done either. When I discovered Cindy's templates, I was thrilled. I get to scrap like a superstar and I get more layouts done. This weekend I did three pages, two with Cindy's templates and one with my own composition. I'm happy with all three. :)
 
well... I'm cheap... so it took me a long time to buy templates :D

I started out with the TOTM templates from Darcy... because it would help me get an extra point on the portfolios... but I made sure I'd use them all because I didn't like buying them... don't tell Darcy LOLOL... I just figure if I like something in the gallery I can lift it myself... why buy them LOL... then I realized that I like templates and they make creating a page that I don't already have a vision for, go faster... then I joined several template creative teams... my thing though is that I don't stick to one style and my style is pretty much according to the kit... so if I'm going to use a template I try to find something that matches what I have in mind... so sometimes it actually takes me tons longer to use a template than to just do what I have in my mind myself LOLOL... like tonight... I used a template on this layout I've been working on all night... and I'm still not done, 3 hours later... saving and going to bed LOL :unsure:
 
Sherri Tierney said:
Just wondering... those of you who are 100% template users (or close), did you digiscrap before templates were available? When I first started there weren't templates but I'm old so I am wondering about the rest of you. If so, when did you decide that it was 'okay' to use them? Right away, or was there something that drew you towards them?

I never felt it was 'okay' to use a template until I realized I just didn't have time to scrap without using them, at least part of the time.
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There weren't templates when I began scrapping either and I did scrap regularly back then. I picked up a few templates here and there but didn't really start using them regularly until 2010 and began using them more and more. I use templates nearly 100% of the time now. I know I can make page without a template but I just don't want too LOL. It was Cindy's templates that really got me into using templates and my gallery reflects that pretty well LOL. Pretty much every page is with one of her templates :p!
 
Sherri Tierney said:
Just wondering... those of you who are 100% template users (or close), did you digiscrap before templates were available? When I first started there weren't templates but I'm old so I am wondering about the rest of you. If so, when did you decide that it was 'okay' to use them? Right away, or was there something that drew you towards them?
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I scrapped before templates were available, but back then I used sketches, scraplifted, and found other sources of inspiration (like all the magazine ad challenges sites used to do). I didn't use them at first because all the directions were for PS and PSE, and I scrapped with another program. When I finally found instructions for using templates in Photo Impact (quite a pain to do, BTW), I started and never looked back. I don't know how long ago that was, but I know I was buying Bree Clarkson's templates way back before she moved to SSD.
 
Looks like I'm the odd one out who actually needs 2-3 times as long when I use a template. I can create an original page often in no more than 2 hours (maybe a bit more than 1 hr), but a template page takes me like anywhere between 2-4 hours, lol. So, I like doing my own pages. But I'm on Cindy's CT (and did other template designers too in the past), and usually I love every bit of her templates. :thumbup:
 
I started scrapping before templates, and Michelle Coleman's were the first ones I saw...and I immediately traded in my DIP for PSE so I could use them! I was always doing scraplifts; this made it so much easier for me.

The composition process is SO NOT MY FAVORITE. It's stressful to me; I rarely have a vision for it. That's why I love templates. Sometimes I'll have an idea for a page, and I'll love how it turns out, but mostly I just love looking at my pictures on a pretty page.
 
I use them 99% of the time. I do try to change them up though if I can.

I don't see it as cheating at all. I have no idea why anyone would. I don't make my own kits either!
 
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