Being a former template designer, I tend to create a template first without the elements--pretty much papers, photos, journal cards and title. You saw with my Love layout, I made that in to a template first because I had to do it without color in order for me to see how I was going to birth that layout without distractions.
But then there are those times, with like Studio Basic and sometimes Wendy, where I just wing it and start placing things left and right--you know, everything but the kitchen sink! It is with these ones, if I like the layout, I'll turn them in to templates for future use.
I guess it depends on the kit and how I'm feeling it. I'm strange, I'm sure!