Making Templates Work for You
Posted in SCHOOL of SCRAPPING | 19 Comments »
19 Comments »
I get reader questions almost every day. And I LOVE it. I love hearing what you want to know, what confuses you, what you have always wanted to ask but never have. I have gotten all sorts of questions from “Would I make a good designer?” to “where do you get ideas for your titles?” I am by no means an expert (there are MANY people who know MUCH more than I do!) but I do love being able to help. Usually, I try to answer people right away with whatever information I can offer them. One thing I have noticed, though, is that I tend to get a lot of repeat questions and I do a lot of repeat answers. What I really need to be doing, is taking more of those reader questions and answering them right here on the site. The other day a reader emailed and asked a GREAT question…so I thought I would share.
The reader asked where to find 8.5 x 11 templates. She said that she wanted to create an album but that as she looked for 8.5 x 11 templates she wasn’t really able to find any.
“Where can I find 8.5 x 11 templates?”
It’s a great question. However, I don’t have the answer. I haven’t really seen many 8.5 x 11 templates. I do admit, though, that I am not a huge digi shopper (I have personal rules that I only buy what I am going to scrap with right then) and so I don’t see a lot of what is in the stores. I know for myself, as a template designer, that I don’t make 8.5 x 11 templates because they don’t sell well. The vast majority of digi scrappers scrap on 12 x 12 and 8×8, so that is how I create my templates. The thing is, You don’t need 8.5 x 11 templates.
You can easily turn a 12 x 12 template into an 8.5 x 11 template
The beauty of templates is that they are totally customizable! Because the files are layered, everything can be moved, changed, resized, and more. There is no reason you have to search high and low for a designer you love who creates in 8.5 x 11, you can just take regular templates that you love and make them work for you! Here are three examples of 12 x 12 templates that I altered in less than 2 minutes to create an 8.5 x 11 template.
In the first example I took a 12 x 12 template, rotated it to the left, and the repositioned onto an 8.5 x 11. Two minutes, tops.
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In this second example, I just cropped the page to 8.5 x 11 and then cut off the paper on the left (so that there would be a margin on both sides.
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In my third example, I took the 12 x 12 template, moved all the layers to an 8.5 x 11 canvas, and then shrunk everything until it “fit” and I liked the way it looked. Again, no more than two minutes.
So if you are looking for great 8.5 x 11 templates, you don’t need to look any farther than your favorite template designer. If you need some great designers, be sure to check out Reason #7 in Part Three of my TEN REASONS TO LOVE TEMPLATES (Part One and Two can be found by clicking on the number).
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I do the same thing – resize templates to my desired size. It works well. Sometimes I just resize the background and leave everything else as is, while other times I resize other parts of the template as well. It depends how much white space I want.
Sorry – I don’t like to flog another site in your comments, so feel free to delete this part of my comment! If people really want to buy ready-made letter size templates, rather than resizing some they already have, 2Peas does sell some…
That’s a great idea… i love love love templates… I’d rather buy them then actual kits… (cause I like to use what I’ve got!)
But style is very important to me and so is time…. I can be creative with a template but not take hours trying to design my page “exactly right”. 
sometimes I do, but usually I just want my story told.
Anyway…. Jessica Sprague has some 8.5×11 templates as well. (same comment as the user above, delete if this is inappropriate)
Since we’re talking templates….I don’t have photoshop in any way shape or form; I use Digital Image pro. Is there any way I can convert all these amazing templates into DIP and make them work for me?
I recently did this but I made the templates into 4×6s and made a mini-album about a recent trip to Disney World. I even did some quick pages this way. It’s a lot of fun and you get extra mileage out of your templates and quick pages!
If you’re still looking for someone who sells 8.5×11 templates, Chrissy W at Elemental Scraps does all her templates in both formats: http://www.elementalscraps.com/shoppe/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=116
Yes, what A Canuck says, so feel free to delete, but Andrea Gold at GDS seems to always include an 8.5 x 11 and an 11 x 8.5 version with her 12 x 12 templates.
I don’t know if this is OK to post, if not please delete! All of my templates come in both 12×12 and 8.5×11 and are CU friendly. (Nibbles Skribbles)
Great tips Janet! I’m a 12×12 scrapper so I don’t use 8.5×11 much but I do know that ChrissyW has great templates in both sizes available in her shop @ Elemental Scraps
Great topic Janet!
Ditto to what Mary said. Andrea Gold does all the converting for you — her templates are available in all three formats: 12×12, 8.5×11, and 11×8.5
And taking a look at her store will give you lots more examples of modifying templates.
Heatheranndesigns also has some 8.5×11 templates sold in singles and bundles.
Chrissy W. at Elemental Scraps and Sine Designs at Scrap Orchard make all their templates in both 12×12 and 8.5×11 sizes as well.
TaylorMade and NinaScraps at Oscraps both make 8.5″x 11″ templates. Some of the other designers at Oscraps do too.
Page Maps…one of the best inspirational sites around sell digital templates every month – some are in 8 1/2″ x 11″ as well. They have been amazing! And of course, delete me if I’m not appropriate.
I scrap in 8.5×11 and usually rearrange 12×12 templates. I first resize the whole template to 11×11, and then change the width to 8.5, then I rearrange/change size of whatever I want to on the template to make it fit and look good. As Janet said, it takes a few minutes TOPS!
Ruth
[...] shared two ways to do this last month and The Daily Digi added some tips for convering templates yesterday. Does this [...]
Another great post! I resize 12×12 templates to 8.5×11s all the time since many of my favorite template designers stick to 12×12s. But I still love being able to buy rectangles, especially for templates with many pieces and less white space that take more tweaking to convert. Elemental scraps has an 8.5×11 category on their store menu and Bree Clarkson at Sweet Shoppe Designs has a few great 8.5×11 packs.
I resize templates all the time too because I’m planning to put my Project 365 pages into an 8×10 photobook from Blurb. Sometimes I just have Photoshop Elements resize the whole template for me. If that would distort the photo parts of the template too much, then I will just resize the background, moving the other elements as necessary to avoid cutting into them.
As for purchasing 8.5 x 11 templates ready-made, another great place that carries them is Scrapgirls.
Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question.
Designer Andrea Gold makes her templates in 3 sizes,and packages them that way. One is an 8.5×11. I’m not sure of the companies she works for, so just google her name and you should find her templates. I usually find her on Digi Free also.