I love the look of combining multiple kits but usually don't have the time or energy to do so.
I almost always use a template when I am creating an event page as I have zero composition skills. My "free design" pages are usually a big cluster, one photo, and a bunch of words.
I like to say that I'm a storyteller who makes pretty pages so people read my stories vs. an artist who makes art that happens to include stories. My pages reflect that.