People. I am working on the biggest dinosaur of a laptop. I am going cuckoo for cocoa puffs. The weight in my backpack is one thing, but the super poky speeds? Aaaaaaaaaaaaah Calgon! Take me away! Think Flash Slothmore in Zootopia. This is me on my laptop.

So. When it came time to play with one of our newest releases, I wasn’t that interested in doing it all from scratch. I was interested in shortcuts. And lots of them! Luckily my team knows that many of us, not just me & my dinosaur, need shortcuts. If you’ve ever wondered why 1) you need templates; and 2) you need extra’s like clusters… I’ve got a fantabulous quick tip for you!

I started with a magnificent new template from Bryony (Heartstrings Scrap Art). This template is part of the add-on for our September Anthology, releasing September 1. I’m in love with these &  can’t wait for all of you to get a chance to play with them. For now, consider this a sneak peek ❤

I also grabbed Simplette’s new Another School Year to scrap some old (2014!) back to school pictures of Tess & Dane. Check out how quick & easy this layout came together:

I started with Template 1 of Bryony’s soon-to-be-released September Anthology templates.

I put all the elements in a folder & hid them from view.

I slid in two new papers from Simplette’s Another School Year

I added my two photo’s, and deleted the two extra frames I didn’t need.

I added in a stamp & a pre-made cluster from Simplette… twice!

I added two more pre-made clusters to fill out my layout.

Then I added both of the FREE word art clusters!

To really make it mine I added a fabulous book elements and several flowers. That’s it!

You can pick up Another School Year on sale through August 31 Be sure to pick up the FREE Word Art Addon this week.

I made a quick little video showing all 19 clicks to get from Template-to-Layout. Now, go give it a try. Make a quick layout yourself using templates & clusters!