To be honest, I am not a huge fan of templates. Although I have a ton of them, I rarely use them. When I saw the Deluxe Cuts Color Blocking Template I wasn't sure they were for me. Let me tell you that I am now addicted and almost have them all.

At HIA in January I had the privilege of talking with co-owner Jolleen Hansen(who was nice enough to autograph my copy of their new idea book). She told me that many people that use these templates start dreaming in squares. I'm here to tell you that it is true. The slogan on the template package reads, "We took the thinking out…You put the creativity in." The options are endless. When I scrapbook, I usually cut my pictures in squares or rectangles anyway. The template is a great guide of where to put them. Smaller squares and rectangles are available for journaling, mixed media, tags and more.

I really like that even though I used the same template for several layouts, they still look different. Each time that you turn the template you get a new look. Eight different looks in all, because when you turn the template over you get four new designs.

Fun things to come from Deluxe Cuts include card size color blocking templates, pre-made shaker laser cuts, and lots of new lasers to come (including a small version of some of their popular designs for card making) They have really thought of it all!