MAKE BEAUTIFUL PHOTO COLLAGES

a digital photo collage is not as difficult as one thinks with most photo editing software. It just takes a little time and patience. Even basic photo editing software . A very good photo editing software is Picture Collage Maker Pro , which is a professional photo collage creator.Picture Collage Maker Pro can allow you to optionally create layouts, add text, alter color and much more it provides various templates for making scrapbooks, greeting cards, calendars, Share digital scrapbooks through email, Facebook, Flickr; Supports printing greeting cards, calendars and photo books its as easy as downloading the software and following the simple directions and in no time with your imagination you will be making beautiful digital image collages

grape vine png

grape vine 2 png

my favorite sites offering free clip art

hummingbird

http://free-christmas-clipart.blogspot.com/    http://pasticheportal.blogspot.com/    http://free-easter-clipart.blogspot.com/           

scrapbooking

http://www.cafepress.com/toadysplace.488978123

> You can get some free scrapbooking ideas from sketches and all sorts of galleries with existing albums. Sketches are inspirational and if you didn't know where to start, then, that is about to change. While for some scrapbookers this will be enough, for others guidance is necessary all along the way. Both beginners and more experienced scrapbookers are in search of free scrapbooking ideas; while beginners need assistance with the basics, more experienced scrapbookers want to get ideas for unique designs.

People are most often in search of some theme to put into practice. The occasions for which albums are usually created include Christmas, anniversaries, weddings and honeymoons. Yet, free scrapbooking ideas are about a bit more than that. -- google_ad_section_end -->Sometimes, people need help with suggestions for supplies and materials necessary for scrapbooking. The kit of basic accessories represents the subject of most queries and questions you'll come across

Contrary to popular belief, scrapbooking is not just an activity for parents to do with their children. Regardless of your age or knowledge of the craft, anyone can enjoy creating a scrapbook. You can go about scrapbooking two ways. You can choose to scrapbook traditionally by using multicolored papers, photos, markers, glitter, ribbons, glue and other craft supplies or you can utilize your computer. Although newcomers and experienced scrapbookers alike are skeptical about computer scrapbooking, there are plenty of reasons to pick up a scrapbooking program . If you are undecided about purchasing a scrapbook software program, here are some options to help you decide.

FREE TRIAL: Some companies might make you pay to see what their scrapbooking program is all about, other Scrapbook companies will offer scrapbookers a free trial. To download the free trial, simply go to the free trial page, and enter in your name and email address. Unlike other programs, the trial is free for thirty days and you are not obligated to purchase it. Although you may be only seeing a small portion of what program has to offer, it is enough to let you know if you are interested in the program or in computer scrapbooking.

TUTORIALS: Although there are classes to teach you how to scrapbook in a traditional manner, you may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed if you are not doing as well as everyone else. With computer scrapbooking, you can learn and practice the craft in the comfort and privacy of your own home. On the tutorials page, you can learn new techniques or discuss scrapbook software on the community page.

PURPOSE: What is the purpose of your scrapbook? Is it personal or do you plan to share it with family and friends? Would you like your family or friends to have a copy? If so, you may be interested in digital scrapbooking. Unlike traditional scrapbooks, scrapbook software allows you to print copies and give them to loved ones.

PRESEVERATION: Do you want to be able to look at your scrapbooks 5, 10, or even 20 years from now? With a scrapbook software program, you do not have to worry about your scrapbook being damaged or worn out over

free digital collage templates

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free templates and clipart free high resolution graphics and clipart    

Reasons to Try Digital Scrapbooking

Do you love taking photos with your digital camera? Do you ever wonder what to do with all of those photos collecting dust on your hard drive? One thing you can do to show off your favorite photos and memories is to try digital scrapbooking. Digital scrapbooking is much like regular scrapbooking, except you will first design the pages on your computer before printing them.
Here are 5 reasons to give digital scrapbooking a try:
Costs Less: Scrapbooking supplies are expensive. When you switch to digital, your only expenses are what you pay to print them and if you decide to use any special software such as Adobe Photoshop. Best of all, you can use your digital supplies over and over again.
No Mess: You won't need to worry about having paper, glue and glitter all over your kitchen table - everything is done on your computer, meaning there is no mess to clean up when you are done!
Easy to Share: A physical book can be difficult to share with family and friends, especially if you are not able to see them often. When you go digital, you can easily share your pages on popular social networking sites as well as send them by email or upload to galleries online to show off your work.
No Talent Necessary: Even if you are not creative or have an eye for design you can still make amazing looking pages. This is because online there are thousands of free templates ready for you to use where all you need to do is add your photos.
Save on Time: With everything on your computer, you won't need to worry about how long it takes to cut pieces of paper or glue things together - it's just a matter of dragging and dropping your elements to where you want them to be.
Digital scrapbooking is a lot of fun, and once you try it you juust might be surprised at how easy it is and enjoyable to do. Just be warned: it can be addictive!

Create A Scrapbook of Memories

Despite the proliferation of blogs and online photo albums, which can all offer you a good way to preserve any special pictures, memories, and occasions, there's still something really quite appealing about having a scrapbook that you put together yourself, complete with actual photographs, perhaps mementoes like tickets from shows or games, receipts, or other simple, but memorable little items. Taking out your scrapbook from time to time and adding things to it makes for an interesting pastime, as does flipping through it and remembering some unique moments in your life.
When you create a scrapbook, you should think about whether you want to get a book that is ready-made or if you want to go about compiling paper and having them bound as one book, with saddle stitching to hold all the pages together. A ready-made book will save you time and effort, but one that you create from scratch is also interesting, because you can make the cover yourself and design it as you see fit.
Then it's time for you to decide what goes into your scrapbook. Will it focus on a particular time of your life, say, be a chronicle of your marriage? Is it something that you're creating for your child to enjoy in the future? Or maybe it's a scrapbook featuring the highlights of a great vacation you recently took? Whichever the theme, make sure to incorporate little details that will clearly define it. For your vacation, as an example, you might want to include not just photographs, but postcards, entrance passes, or buttons. For your child's scrapbook, pictures are a given, and don't forget things like baby bracelets and a lock of his or her hair.
You can also gift someone with a mini-scrapbook of your times together. Include birthday photos, little illustrations, pressed flowers, and other cunning little objects that remind you of your friend, and put it all together to make a slim volume. You can sew the pages together yourself or look into spiral binding to make it easy to leaf through the pages.
Scrapbooking is definitely a fun hobby, one that deserves to survive even as the Internet takes over most of our lives. Having your happiest memories preserved on paper is definitely something special, and over time, your collection of scrapbooks will grow, allowing you to take a look over some lovely times in your life whenever you feel like it.

Easy Digital Scrapbooking Layout Programs: About Serif Digital Scrapbook Artist

f you've been thinking about making the transition to digital scrapbooking, keep in mind that you no longer need to have outstanding computer skills to create beautiful pages that showcase your family's precious memories. With Serif Digital Scrapbook Artist, you can choose to either begin with a pre-designed layout template or create a one-of-a-kind page using graphics from one of many different content packs. (The program comes with 2 digikits and a DVD with 10 bonus kits, but you can download additional freebies from the DaisyTrail Web site or choose to purchase CDs with larger kit collections.) Notable features of Serif Digital Scrapbook Artist include:

• The content pack manager makes it easy to quickly sort through all of your patterned papers and embellishments to see what designs best match your photos.
• You can mimic traditional scrapbooking techniques by using brushes to fake the look of handstitching, cutting tools to make decorative scissor borders, or punches to make your own creative embellishments.
• The text editor's built in spell check lets you avoid embarrassing errors in your journaling.
• Built-in photo editing tools let you crop your pictures and correct minor flaws without the hassle of opening a separate image editing file.
• An entire album can be created as one project file, so you can easily see how your book will look when it's finished

Scrapbook Factory Deluxe
Rating 

Due to its incredible collection of templates and embellishments, Scrapbook Factory Deluxe is a big favorite with digital scrapbookers – especially among novice and intermediate users. You can also use the software to create photo calendars and day planners as well as photo cubes, recipe cards, and many other items.

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/photography/articles/58947.aspx#ixzz11jZBWcV9

Get Digital Scrapbooking Freebies.

Digital Scrapbooking has become extremely popular over the last few years, and for many like myself, it has replaced traditional scrapbooking because it is easier to maintain, and cheaper. Digiscraps is the common term for the collective word art, backgrounds, and elements you use to create your scrapbook pages with any photo editing software (I use MS Digital Image Pro). While you can purchase full kits online, once you've gotten started, you may prefer to add to your digiscrap collection a few elements at a time. Most digital scrapbooking sites offer FREEBIES on a weekly basis (in .jpg or .png format)   

You can find thousands of digital scrapbooking supplies online for any scrapbook theme or subject: baby, wedding, sports, heritage, holiday, school. Most freebies are for elements - quick pages, overlays, embellishments, alphabets, or background papers -- but occasionally, you'll find a great deal on an entire kit. Whether your style is grunge and altered, floral, or primary color based, there are freebies to be had for all!

At Best Scrap Freebies, you can browse through an entire list of "Top Sites" - these change frequently, so be sure to bookmark! Once you've become addicted, er...familiar with the world of Digiscrappers and Bloggers, I'm sure you'll want to create your own freebies to share, or at the very least, join a group of happy digiscrappers and participate in their group activities and contests. Soon you'll learn how to create other paper crafts

Go to SimplyCleanDigiscraps.com for a variety of free elements, alphabets, word art and background papers with a floral flair. Click on Resources once you've downloaded and you can get also get a great "How-to Get Started" tutorial.

If you are just starting out, or prefer to buy entire coordinating kits, check out CottageArts.net.  Cottagearts.net has some of the most beautiful mega kits for purchase, and if you are new to Digital Scrapbooking, then this is the site to create a good foundation of digital art and templates to use. Sign up for their newsletter (free) and you'll get lots of great tutorials, info and FREEBIES via email.

Scrapbooking Page Ideas and free clipart

You should not think of any other pastime in life that can enable you come out with something memorable like a scrapbook. In fact, this is a pastime, but it is equally one of these rare ways that you can use to recollect those happy moments and share them with those around you. Remember that scrapbook making is one of the simplest ways that you can use to blend pictures, captions and happy moments and relate them to a particular theme which should be pleasing and nostalgic to every viewer. It may only be through such an art that you will be able to tell people of what happened in the past. Therefore, the art of scrapbook making should be taken as something more important, even than a leisure activity.
Although it is true that making a scrapbook from scratch is one of the easiest pastimes, learners of this art are advised not to focus all their attentions on attempting to use all the materials they have and placing in on the pages. Always keep in mind that it is not much that will be placed on your scrapbook that should reflect some meaning in it. Little can be taken to mean much on the scrapbook. There should also be a balance between everything that will feature on your scrapbook. Remember that the pictures should not overshadow the messages or captions and the captions should in turn not overshadow the pictures.
As it is always said in life that overuse of something is an abuse, so too this is accurate when making a scrapbook. In reality, the greatest problem in making a scrapbook is not found in the paperwork. The real problem is in how you attempt to design your scrapbook so that it should be pleasing and attractive to both the eyes and the minds. Remember that if a lot of information and even beautifications are affixed to your scrapbook, this would not be different from any ordinary album. There would therefore be no need to have created the scrapbook. And of course, an overuse of these would make the scrapbook uninteresting. In another sense, too much representation of information may end up puzzling the viewer as to what subject matter you intend to represent in the scrapbook.
Your aim should be to create something neat and attractive. This is one of the simplest actions. But this seems to be one of the most difficult if you are new into scrapbook making. Remember that you should reasonably mix your pictures and texts. There is no limit as to what you will include in one single page. You can still blend in so much, yet the scrapbook will be fairly made. And you can also include one or two pictures, but with the wrong mixture. Always think of creating something that will not only be beautiful to you, but to the viewers. Keep in mind that the album is meant for them to view.

Free Digital Scrapbooking Templates

Have you ever wondered what Digital Scrapbooking is? I did, so I looked it up. Digital Scrapbooking is basically making a collage of your photos, art, layouts, fonts, etc in a graphics, or “Image Editing” program. It is just like Scrapbooking, only without the book! If you enjoy working with computers and showing off your work/art, this is a great way to go! It is especially good if you take a lot of Digital Photo’s. How broke can you go with Digital Scrapbooking? No Need! I found out how you can begin with more than the basics for low cost, or free! If you own a Digital Camera, then you most likely have some type of software that came with it. These are often referred to as “Image Editing” Package’s, or software. Most of these software programs, allow you to create “Albums” right on your computer. Other programs you can purchase that are REAL nice are: Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Ulead, Adobe, or Microsoft Picture It only to name a few. Now, you can create all your own scrap book art, if you like. But, if you want to save time, and go the traditional way, just download some free templates for yourself. I will list an abundance of digital scrapbooking templates and freebies for you. So, now you know that Digital Scrapbooking is just done on the computer. You can save to disk, upload, download, share it with a friend, print and make a book…A Scrapbook.
DaFont.com - Huge free font resource
Digital Scrapbook Place - Page Kits, Ploppers, Elements, Alphas, Overlays, WordArt, Backgrounds, Textures, Brushes, Blinkies, and more! Register to receive their freebies.
Free Digital Scrapbooking – Backgrounds, custom text, page kits, greeting cards and gift tags, as well as layout ideas and tutorials
HP Photosmart Essential – Free easy to use photo printing and sharing software that gives you the freedom to capture and share your life.
Princess Crafts Sign up for our Computer Scrapbooking Mini-Course and get 36+ more FREE pages. Find out just how easy it really is to start digital scrapbooking and you can usually nab a free page template from the homepage.
The Daily Scrap – Freebie packages.
Scrap Book Graphics - Download Digital scrapbooking sampler.
Shabby Princess - Free Page Templates, and packages. Free for personal use.
Sweetest Things - The Free Template mother-load! Check these out!
Free Digital Scrapbooking – Backgrounds, custom text, page kits, greeting cards and gift tags, as well as layout ideas and tutorials.

http://www.bigstockphoto.com/browse/lightbox/521518

Simple Free Scrapbooking Sites for Beginners and free clipart graphics

 athe art of digital scrapbooking has exploded, in part because of imagining software like Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop, and the plethora of digital resources, workshops, magazines, web sites, and graphic design techniques that can help anyone put together some eye pleasing visual memories and artifacts.Scrapbooking is an art form of creating a paper-based collage centered around a memorable photo or set of photos. Traditionally, collages are created using an assortment of papers, markers, frames, rub-on letters, stickers, and other embellishment materials. But now in the age of digital software, scrapbooking can be more accessible for those who don’t want to spend a lot of money on paper resources.

If you’re looking to boost your skills as a photographer or graphic designer, digital scrapbooking is useful hobby for achieving these goals. The following is a sampling of free scrapbooking sites that provide tutorials and free downloads for those wanting to get started with digital scrapbooking.  here are a few sites too help

Free Digital Scrapbooking.com  2

CottageArts.net  3 

Computer Scrapbook.com

When you’re ready to get deeper into digital scrapbooking, Computer Scrapbook.com offers several dozen absolutely free starter kits. You sign up on the site, and the kits will be delivered from its supply page. The kits include assorted backgrounds, shapes, and other elements.

Learn To Do Beginner Scrapbooking Online

Scrapbooking is a type of popular craft where the history of either personal or family is preserved via the form of photograph pictures, printed media, contained memorabilia in albums which are decorated and etc.
Historically, the ingenious idea of collecting printed materials related to personal and family probably began after the invention of printing. It is somewhat similar to storytelling but with additions of visuals or photographic materials.
Here are some of the popular and interested beginner scrapbooking articles
Basic Do It Yourself Scrapbook Making Tips
With so many arts and craft stores, hobby stores and bookstores now offering from entire scrapbook making kits to magazines dedicated to the art of scrapbook making and displays of completed scrapbooks, it is so hard not to be encouraged to join the bandwagon and take up scrapbook making as a hobby of your own. Scrapbook making has become the most popular hobby today. So far, many people only know scrapbook making as simply making a really fancy photo album. In a way, it is. But the art of scrapbook making is more than that. If you want to try your hand on scrapbook making but do not have a clue where to begin, this is the article for you.
First of all, just what is a scrapbook? A scrapbook literally a book made out of bits and pieces of scrap materials that would have otherwise been thrown away. This could be anything and everything from buttons to fabrics and strips of paper. Scrapbooks were originally created by creating pages upon pages of various representations of certain important events of a person’s life and then bound together by string, rope or lace.
Today, arts and crafts stores have now begun to sell scrapbook making materials and tools ranging from blank scrapbook albums which you would just need to fill up with designs and decorations to embossing and engraving tools for the more advance scrapbook makers. With the advent of digital media, some scrapbook makers have begun to create virtual scrapbooks which they create through a computer and then stored in a CD, uploaded on the Internet or printed out for binding.
Creating a scrapbook is now so easy to do that even a child can now create his or her own scrapbook from scratch for as long as you know where to begin.
Scrapbook Theme Ideas
The first thing that you would need to decide on is a theme. What would you like to create a scrapbook about? Recent memories and events in your life are a good place to start. Have you just recently traveled? Perhaps you have just graduated from high school? The best way to choose which one you would be starting on first is by going through old photo albums, through your computer, digital camera and even your cell phone.
You can also try asking your friends to give you copies of the photos that were taken by her camera. The best scrapbooks are those that have lots and lots of pictures to choose from so that you won’t wind up lacking towards the end of the scrapbook.
Once you have decided what would your scrapbook be all about, the next step is to gather up the materials that you would need to create the pages for your scrapbook. Arts and crafts stores are full of these for you to choose from. These items would range from specialty papers, stickers, charms and writing, cutting and adhesive materials. Just make sure that before you purchase any of these products, it would be a good idea to make sure that none of these materials contain any acid components since these would easily damage your photographs if they come in contact with them.
You can also find lot of useful materials in your own room that you can use to decorate your scrapbook. For example, if you are creating a scrapbook of your senior high school year, you could also include tickets to basketball games and football games that you have went to, pictures of your high school’s insignia or your high school’s mascot.
When you have already collected all the materials that you will need to create your scrapbook, now it is time to make your imagination run wild. Although there is no right or wrong way for you to create your very first scrapbook, it is important to remember that balance is everything. Do not concentrate all of your efforts on the first few pages because by the time that you reach the last page of your scrap

Benefits of Digital Scrapbooking

1. Nothing is glued down. You can fix all mistakes with an undo button and never ruin a picture by cropping it too small again.
2. All of your digital Scrapbooking
supplies are on your computer. They are not taking up space in your living room or on your kitchen table.
3. You can make as many copies of your layouts as you wish and share them with family and friends.
4. You can send your pieces to family through email and on personal web pages.
5. Once you've learned how to scrap the digital way, it will take you less time to accomplish fantastic layouts and albums.
6. You can re-use your supplies over and over again!

7. You can save you pieces and preserve them forever in a digital format. No more yellowing.

Digital Scrapbooking and Making Money

Digital Scrapbooking is much faster than traditional scrapbooking. There is a learning curve involved before most people are really skilled at putting together the various elements into a pleasing scrapbook page. For some people this is something pleasing to learn as a hobby. They will learn by experimentation and accept failure as it happens. For others, there simply isn't the time to invest in learning this beautiful hobby. That doesn't mean they do not want a remarkable presentation of their cherished photographs within a scrapbook.
If you have the time and experience of putting scrapbooks together then you might consider advertising your services for others, either as your primary occupation or as a side line to existing at home work
. There are several ways that you could operate such a business.
A website is essential. Through a business website
you can show and suggest available layouts and themes for both pages and entire books. How customers order particular items will depend upon your billing system.
How will you know what photos to use? Customers can upload to your site or email the photos they want used to you, indicating the order in which they wish them to be used. Or else you may wish to make the option available to people to use their own photographs, mailing the set to you. In this case you would likely offer a minor price decrease because you would not have to print them yourself. You should also emphasize that any mailed photos could be lost. Remind customers to send only duplicate photos.
Materials used will include the pages themselves; any die casts and special papers, as well as the photographic paper. The costs for these will need to be covered with the fee you charge. A fee for your own time spent will also need to be added.
Once the layout is completed and any books are assembled, you would email them back to the customer. Here again they would perhaps have the choice of shipping options.
A variation on the traditional scrapbooking is digital scrapbooking where all layouts and themes are chosen in digital format and any images and other graphics are added all within an image manipulation program. Software such as Photoshop and GIMP work well for these kinds of functions, however you may have to purchase the royalty free graphics you wish to use on your sold items.
Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_1102066_24.html?kcplink=1