Change It Up!

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.