I am in the same boat with you! I just got a short arm that I have set up, but not used.
A friend of mine has a long arm machine and she lays a perforated paper on the top, and then uses a pounce chalk to mark the quilt the chalk just brushes off.
To make the template, trace the shape you are interested in on freezer paper, mark it and then use an unthreaded needle on your regular machine to follow the design and perforate the paper for your template. Then you can just move the template to each area of the quilt and use the same one over and over. If you do this, each of your quilts will have a uniform look, but each will have an original design for the quilting.
This is how I am planning on tackeling my situation.