11x17 (8 1/2 x 11) Freebie Templates by ME!

So I decided to create a few templates. I've only done a few in the past--including my Maternity ones you can find here. But I was looking though some of my work lately, and realized that I really DO pack a lot of pictures onto a page. So I created some templates based on pages I have already created in the past.

These are for 8 1/2 x 11 pages--but it's one 11x17 file. You just divide the page in two after you've finished it to print or upload. There are so few templates out there for this size, and I'm always having to adjust those 12x12 pages, so now it's YOUR turn, you traditionalists! Ha!

If you have never used templates or would like a refresher course on how to use them, read Lesson 24 which explains the process in detail. The files you will be downloading are PSD files for Photoshop. Just click on the pictures below to download! Hope you enjoy these freebies!

**Update - I have also created four more templates AND created a video that shows how to use a clipping mask to create a page. You can find it by clicking on the image below:

Template 1

Template 2

Template 3

Template 4

Template 5

Remember, a template is nothing but a JUMPING OFF POINT. Although you could certainly do your page exactly as mine is here, you can change it as much as you want. There are things like the elements and the silhouette in template 4 that are there just as ideas or placeholders for your own elements from the kit you are using and your own pictures. For me, templates are great for when I'm just out of ideas and every page is starting to look the same. You'll also notice that every one of these templates has LOTS of pictures. Even on an 8 1/2 x 11 page, you can still fit a lot of pictures. They don't ALL have to be large pictures--just highlight your best ones in the bigger photo spots. If you use the clipping masks as explained in Lesson 24, you could easily whip out a page in 10 minutes using one of these templates.

Here are the pages that I based these templates on. Sorry for the poor quality on the last two-they are screenshots from Cherishbound. The original files were lost when my hard drive crashed, so I no longer have the .psd's or the .jpgs for them. (trying not to cry...)

Template 1

Note: The photo frames on this page are from an actual kit. This kit is called Pocket Full of Posies from Elemental Scraps. It's long gone and so is the site, but I love that I have used this kit SO many times and you'd never know it.

Template 2

Used A Touch of Class kit, also from Elemental Scraps and one that I bought years ago. Used A LOT of actions on this page. Oh Atomic Cupcake, how I miss you...I used the Foil action from that site to do the Memorial Day Weekend title.

Template 3

This is with the kit Do it Yourself by Connie Prince--she is one of my absolute FAVORITE designers!

Template 4

I didn't use a kit for this page! I created the background, obviously based on my my daughter's shirt. I created the ribbon myself a long time ago using some long lost tutorial. I like how it turned out!

Template 5

This is a real favorite of mine. I used the kit Cheeky from Designs by Krista, which, by the way, I think you can buy for $1.00 right now! I really love the font of my title--it's called Beyond Wonderland.

Coffee Stain Brushes

It's almost Midnight and I have to work tomorrow and I SHOULD be in bed, but I thought I'd do a quick post about some nifty free brushes I found.

I am NOT good at using brushes. I use them occasionally but haven't really discovered what they can do. Hopefully we can get into brushes in more detail in the near future. BUT--I was working on this page and I just wanted a really nice natural looking coffee stain on the page. I hoped to find a tutorial on how to create on in Photoshop--but instead discovered this awesome little freebie, and I thought I'd share it with you...

Coffee Stain Brushes

Here's just a very quick sample I made in about 10 seconds. Awesome.

If you have never used brushes, I hope to have a much more detailed lesson in a future post. But here's the quick run-down:

When you have found a brush file online that you would like to download, like the one at the link above, download and unzip it. I unzip it in my "Brushes" file in photoshop.

In Photoshop, click on the Brush tool.

In the upper bar, pull down the brush selector and click on the small arrow on the right. Choose "Load Brushes" from the list.

Go to where you have saved the unzipped brushes and open it. Your new brushes should appear. As you can see in the photo, the coffee stain brushes are there at the bottom.

Then just basically paint. Mess around with it until you have the right look.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have a more comprehensive lesson on this soon. In the meantime...here's the page I was just working on!

For this page, I used Armina Designs "Delicate Romance" from Gotta Pixel. The paper strip element actually comes from the kit "Classic" by Designs by Krista.

I LOVE this page! I kept catching my twins getting into stuff, always together, and I realized that TWO babies doing just about anything is cuter than just one baby.

Getting Back on the Horse

This weekend my two high school-aged neices came to stay with me while their parents were out of town. It gave me a little extra time away from the kids, and I was able to sit down and actually scrapbook. My 2012 book was uploaded to Cherishbound before I lost my pages, so I have them uploaded but if I want to make any changes, I have to redo the page entirely. Luckily I did NOT lose my 2012 pictures, so I CAN do that, but I have to decide if it's worth an hour of my time to fix one typo! I counted 8 11x17 pages that have errors.

But I knew if I started on those pages first, I'd never feel like I'm getting anywhere. So I started instead on the month of May from this year. This weekend I completed 4 new layouts, and recreated one layout that I had finished but didn't upload to Cherishbound and had to do again. That's five 11x17 pages done! It felt good to get May completed and to be working on June. Doesn't feel like I'm quite so far behind. And I remembered, again, that I actually really LIKE doing this, and there's something theraputic about it that gives me release. Still, I'm such a practical scrapper. I know a lot of scrapper's don't care about deadlines and order and all that--they just scrap what they feel and go where the artform takes them. That's not me. I like art, but I need direction and purpose. I need and Excel spreadsheet to tell me what I'm doing next. I need to know how many pages I have left to do. It's just the way I roll.

I also had another huge milestone, and submitted both my twins' books at last. I should be receiving them in the mail in about two weeks, maybe less. When I do, I'll put some pictures on this blog! Oh, and I did manage to solve why Photoshop kept closing on me. After multiple Google searches I ran across the solution on some random blog where the author mentioned it in passing. Apparently when you have a 64-bit computer and install Photoshop, it actually installs two versions--the 64-bit and the 32-bit. When I pull up the 64-bit version, the whole program crashes. But when I pulled up the other version, it ran just fine. So yay. That made my day, let me tell you.

Anyway, just to prove that I actually HAVE been working this weekend, here is the page I just finished, using Connie Prince's kit Do it Yourself: