One of my favorite techniques to use with a template is to shrink it. Shrinking can open up white space or room to add other elements to your page. Although I didn’t issue a specific challenge to the Creative Team this week, all of us ended up shrinking Katie’s great Stitched Layered Template No. 06. The examples should give you lots of inspiration to get your creative juices flowing.

Joanne (jcaruth910) shrank the template and used the extra room to include a lovely blended image of herself from her wedding day. I love the touches of green with the neutral tones and the way she added emphasis to the focal photo by making it larger than the other two shots.

Credits: Stitched Layered Template No. 06, Autumnal Artistry Kit, Artistry de Blanco Kit, Harmony Grove Kit, Stamped Stitched Photo Masks No. 01 Brushes and Stamps, Coastal Solids Paper Pack, Painted Accents No. 05, Letter Box Blendables No. 01, Lynn Grieveson chat freebie (background paper), Ripped and Stitched No. 05

Lori (LoriS) reduced the size of the template and moved it to the side of her page. The colorful patterned papers she used support the summery theme of her layout, and I really like the way she filled three of the spaces with some cute new journalers coming to the store this weekend.

Credits: Stitched Layered Template No. 06, Readymade Journalers: Spring {coming soon}, Rainbow Clusters No. 01, Stamped Sentiments No. 06 {coming soon}, Hung Up Frames No. 07 {coming soon}, Pelican Park Element Pack, Clean Stitched Circles: White No. 01, Banner Safety Tags No. 01, Hinge Pack, Whimsy Words No. 01, Pelican Park Brushes and Stamps, Wood Shop Paper Pack No. 01, Little Layette Element Pack, Art Class Frames No. 05, Wire Rimmed Alphabet No. 05, Memory Circles {coming soon}, Summer Rocks Brushes and Stamps, Bessa Paper Pack {coming soon}, In the Swim Kit, Epoxy Extravaganza: In a Word

I not only shrank the template, but I also ended up using only half of it. That still left room for three photos of my grandson playing Legos and a blended image of him. I adore Lynn’s ripped and stitched elements, so I added some Lego-like navy paper to balance my grandson’s jacket.

Credits: Stitched Layered Template No. 06, Classic Embossed Cardstock: Dots No. 01, All Bent Up: Hearts No. 01, Pocket Cards: Rainbow Sentiments No. 02, Bakers Twine Assortment No. 02, Pocket Cards Stitching: Red No. 01, Pocket Cards: Masks No. 01, Ledger Grid Overlays No. 01, Little Bits Alphabet: Red, Drop Shadow Styles Collection, In Distress Naturally Paper Pack, Alphabetically Mini Kit, Ripped and Stitched Do-it-yourself No. 04, Iced Kit, Just Linens Paper Pack No. 37, How’d They Do That? No. 13: Bending Shadows

You can pick up Katie’s cool template for 30% off in the store today, and I challenge you to do some shrinking as you create your page. Post your 100% current DD layout in the Template Challenge Gallery by 11:00 PM EST on Thursday, March 1, for a chance to win a $5 gift code. Happy shrinking!

I tend to be an “inside the box” thinker. It’s probably the left-brained, English teacher in me. And when I see a template, sometimes I’m intimidated by the design that’s already laid out before me. As I’ve grown as a scrapper, however, I am more apt to assert my creative independence. Just because a design element is a certain size or in a certain place, that doesn’t mean it can’t be changed. Part of the real joy of working with a template is making it suit your vision. I didn’t issue a specific challenge to the Creative Team with Studio Double-D’s Layer Works No. 095, but each of us definitely made the template her own. Let’s take a look.

Connie (scullen2), one of our new Creative Team members, used the white space in the template to include a wonderful blended image. The pops of color against the neutral background draw the viewer’s eye down her page to a photo of her daughters giving a kiss to this sweet little guy.

Credits: Layer Works No. 095, Littlest Farmer Kit, Spot Dots Overlays, Edge Overlays No. 04, Stack-a-Date Brushes and Stamps No. 01, Gator Crossing Kit, Little Layette Kit, Baby No. 01 Word Art Brushes, Stormy Weather Kit

Terri (tdavenport) draws us right into her Christmas Eve page with the red background paper, and I love the seasonal embellishments she included to support her theme. The Santa hat on that owl is just too cute, and I really like how she used the photo of Santa’s milk and cookies.

Credits: Layer Works No. 095, Midwinter Kit, Assorted Messy Stitches: Pink No. 01, Felt Board Friends: Mad Hatters Christmas, Little Snips Alphabet No. 02, Little Hearts Element Pack

I went seasonal with my page in honor of Valentine’s Day. I reduced the size of the inner mat and shifted it off center to make room for a scalloped border and a cool new dictionary blendable by Katie. It was fun incorporating the heart embellishments to support my theme.

Credits: Layer Works No. 095, Just Linens Paper Pack No. 12, Bella Kit, Recycled: Love Paper Pack, Scallop Strip Masks, Lovable Paper Pack, Dictionary Blendables: Love No. 01, All About the Love Brushes and Stamps No. 01, Stitched Word Strips: Dates No. 01 Value Pack, Wire Rimmed Charms No. 01, Tied Fasteners No. 03, Defining Words Brushes and Stamps No. 05, Little Bits Alphabet: Red, Little Bits Alphabet: Red No. 02, Cut Out Alphabet: Red, Drop Shadow Styles Collection, Be Loved Paper Pack, Silk Road Kit: Remix, Sock Monkey Kit, Inky Dink Page Borders, Have a Heart Felts No. 04, How’d They Do That? No. 13: Bending Shadows

Whether you think inside or outside the box, I think you’ll enjoy working with this template. And remember, Katie and Randy are generously donating a $5 gift card to the store to one lucky scrapper whose page will be randomly selected. Post your 100% current DD page in the Template Challenge Gallery by 11:00 PM EST, Thursday, February 16, to be eligible.

We’re shaking things up again with the Template Challenge by offering a $5 gift card to the awesome Designer Digitals store for one lucky scrapper. All you have to do is post your page – using this week’s template and 100% current DD products – in the Template Challenge Gallery by Thursday, February 2 at 11:00 PM EST. I’ll select the winner at random and pm you with the good news. We’re scrapping with Maplebrook Studios’ Layered Memories No. 133 this week, and my personal challenge to the Creative Team members was to use just one picture in the template. Let’s see what they created.

Melanie (Britgirl) takes us to a castle in the English countryside on her beautiful page. I love the striking effect of her photo on the black background and the way the viewer seems to be looking through a window at the scene. The visual triangle of brushwork brings unity to her lovely page. Wouldn’t it be fun to take a castle photowalk with Mel?

Credits: Layered Memories No. 133, Vintage Blendables No. 02, Vintage Flashcards: Numbers, Mixed Bag Brushes and Stamps No. 02, Buttoned Up: Vintage, Naturally Krafty No. 11 Paper Pack, Defined Vintage Clippings No. 01, Vintage Snips No. 01

Melissa (Melissa Hill), one of our newest Creative Team members, also used the “through the window” effect for this cute picture of her daughters. The brown tones of the background paper and mat are echoed in the great photo treatment, setting a nostalgic mood for the entire page. The brushwork she chose grounds and frames her layout. Welcome to the Template Challenge, Melissa!

Credits: Layered Memories No. 133, Neutral Date Bits No. 01 {coming soon}, Home and Garden Kit, Naturally Krafty No. 07 Paper Pack, Roughed Up Photo Mats: Ledger No. 03, Edge Overlays No. 01, Scratchy Masks Brushes and Stamps No. 02, Star Glows Brushes and Stamps No. 01, Cut Ups: Everyday No. 02, Banner Labels No. 01, Twisted Stitches No. 02, Rosie Kit, Lovisa Kit, Frog Prince Kit, Essential Tape: Zig Zag, Staple Its: Clusters, Typesets Memory No. 01 Brushes and Stamps

Never one to pass up the opportunity to use some patterned paper, I merged six of the small squares and used them for my photo. I filled the remaining squares with a mix of purple papers. Purple always makes me happy. Then I framed the rectangle with stitching and used brushwork to give it some depth.

Credits: Layered Memories No. 133, Just Linens Paper Pack No. 36, Just Tonals Paper Pack No. 04, Jacinda Paper Pack, Purple Fever Paper Pack, Damask Tonals: Ocean Blues Paper Pack, Clean Stitched Rectangles: White No. 01, Clean Stitched Rounded Corners: White No. 01, Scallop Strip Masks No. 04, Basic Chipboard Alphabet: White, Notebook Edge Photo Masks No. 08, Spot Dots Overlays, Worth Repeating Expressions No. 04 Brushes and Stamps, Ledger Grid Overlays No. 01, Star Glows Brushes and Stamps No. 02, Tied Fasteners, Bead Scatterings No. 02, Drop Shadow Styles Collection, School Words No. 01 Hand Drawn Brushes, Evidence 4x6 Overlay Collection, How’d They Do That? No. 13: Bending Shadows

I can’t wait to see how you use this versatile template, and the chance of winning $5 to spend in the DD store should be great incentive to create a page. The template is on sale today for 30% off. Remember to post your layout in the Template Challenge Gallery by 11:00 PM EST on Thursday, February 2. Let the fun begin!

Welcome to the first Template Challenge of 2012! If you’ve never participated in a Template Challenge, I hope doing that is on your list of goals for this year. And if you’ve played before, stick around because we have some new ideas we’re tossing around to ramp up the fun-o-meter. This week, the Creative Team played with Pattie Knox’s Speed Byte No. 149, but none of us used it exactly the way Pattie designed it. That’s your challenge, too: use Pattie’s cool template, but change something about it. Let’s look at how the Creative Team members changed it.

Lynn (grandma lynnie) used Pattie’s template to showcase her fun photos from a recent trip to Maine where she and her husband enjoyed some lobster. Lynn rotated the template 90 degrees to accommodate her great landscape-oriented food shot, and she added a third small detail photo. That still left plenty of room for her journaling and for the cool red accents that draw the eye through her page. Great work, Lynn!

Credits: Speed Byte No. 149, Staple Its, Jelly Alphabet No. 06, Marina Paper Pack, Watery Brushes and Stamps No. 02, Red Word Bits No. 01

Jodi (justmp) documented Christmas Eve at her house with some terrific pictures of her children in front of the Christmas tree. Instead of one large photo on the right, Jodi divided the space to make room for her focal photo and some seasonal patterned paper. She also added candy cane frames to the two small photos and used a blended image under her journaling. I love the way Jodi’s page says, “Merry Christmas!”

Credits: Speed Byte No. 149, Santa Land Kit, Little Snips Alphabet, Santa Land Solids and Stripes Paper Pack

I reduced the size of the template and had fun creating a background behind my photos. I found the word color in Katie’s Assorted Advice No. 01, lowered the opacity, and used it to “stamp” the top of my background paper. I also shifted the position of the two small photos slightly to the left to create a “shelf” for my title. The white space to the left of my journaling looked a little blank to me, but Katie’s new Star Glows solved that problem.

Credits: Speed Byte No. 149, Victory Garden Kit, Fasten Its, Little Folded Ribbon Bits, Just Linens Paper Pack No. 30, Kesia Kit, Orange Crush Kit, Clean Stitched Borders: White No. 01Alphabet Ribbons No. 01, Assorted Advice No. 01 Brushes and Stamps, Aged Stripes Alphabet Brushes No. 02, Pinned Tabs No. 01, Pinned Tabs No. 02, Pinned Tabs No. 03, Be Buttoned: Harvest, Zipper Pulls: Dates, Star Glows Brushes and Stamps No. 02, Drop Shadow Styles Collection, How’d They Do That? No. 13: Bending Shadows

Change a little or change a lot, but make a change. Pattie’s versatile template is on sale today for 30% off in the store. I can’t wait to see what sort of changes you make for your page. Post your layout in the Template Challenge Gallery so we can leave you some love.

Free digital scrapbooking downloads or “freebies” are a great way to try a digital scrapbooking store’s products before making a purchase. Here at DesignerDigitals we pride ourselves on our high quality products and have a number of free products for you to try. You will need to create an account in our gallery/forum first before accessing the items.

First we have our Freebies gallery where we have an assortment of 20 items from papers, templates and alphabets for you to try.

And once you create an account in our gallery/forum you will automatically be added to our weekly newsletter. In every newsletter there are 3 scrapbooking challenges and each one has its own freebie. And we have a gallery of current and past challenges where you can have access to over 70 freebies!

Here are the freebies from this past weekend’s challenges: