Free Digital Images & Elements INDEX & LINKS (+Copic brushstroke & Impasto technique)

I Love You this Much!

Image by Anita Jeram for Sam McBratney's Book Guess How Much I Love You.
(printed & embossed from this gorgeous Party Kit)

With digis (digital images) being so hot right now, I thought I'd make a little Index & link list to share with Y'all. I'll keep adding to this post as an index for digital freebies (mine & other people's) :O)

The bunny up above is a free digital image printed on metallic cardstock from Paper Temptress, embossed, coloured & texturized. [Link and details are in the tutorial at the bottom of this post.]

Don't do Digital? Stamping works too.
The technique in the tutorial below could just as easily be a neat way to add visual interest and texture to stamped images. :O)

1-Some ideas on where to look for free digital images & elements
2-Index with Thumbnails linked to my digital freebie schtuff
3-Link list of Digi freebies from around the web
4-Copic Technique: Copics on metallic cardstock & Matte medium Impasto (a snifty way to add dimension & texture to your digital images) works with other markers too though.

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General sources to consider for digital freebies:
(some are very obvious, but i just threw 'em all in there.)

• Public domain images
  
• Colouring pages
• Martha Stewart templates & clip art
• Clip art sites here's my favourite
  
• Photoshop brushes (there are SO many free ones) use in a document & print--great for making homemade digital paper
• Vintage/antique images: ledgers, maps and script (Google image search ROCKs)
• Search words/phrases to consider: "freebies" "free downloads" "free image" "free clipart" "public domain"
• Free Dingbats fonts (some have lovely shapes for stamping) especially here; I like the nature. Disclaimer
  

(Copyright Stuff)

Other artist's work: Of course, you & your copyright adventures are you business. However, for me, I feel strongly about giving credit & never selling anything made with an image or element without permission & never unless terms of use say it's okay to. :O) Just had to say that...my team of lawyers made me. ;o) BWahahahahaHA

My schtuff: It's totally completely fantastico if you sell handmade things with any of my stuff, just please no selling things that copy my exact designs and no selly the free images, etc...please & thank you.) :O)

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that I doodled and/or scanned...

Please click the photos or links if you'd like to check out the blog posts:

ApotheSCARY Jars:



We love our "Mummy" babies:

Digi City Anyas

Birds & Owl

Flower Image & Papers

Giraffe image


lots of Tree freebies
(black & white, but colourable in graphics programs)

and some ideas on DIY digital papers

Wild Roses

Parachuting Bunnies



Scanned Text Freebies:
(3 separate posts with...)
"Dream" Dictionary definition......Merry Christmas...................Crafting text
andand

Black sheep buddy text:


Puppy Love text:


Are Ewe Blue? text

and response in pink

Dress maker's Judy images & paper:
(One post with these 3 digital elements +others)
A) Plain B) Sewing themed text C) Judy with text overlay


With Clock-in Card:




Dress Shapes:

Tree image, paper, & text



Tree themed text piece


Labels:

Arabesque:

(see my personal faves in the Martha links bellow for
another version of this shape It's #1)

Square label templates & Rectangles

and

and Dark Rectangles here

Doodle Tabs:

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from some very generous peeps:

Recent Additions:

Great video tutorial on How to use digital images in word from HeroArts

Links:

SplitCoastStampers' Digital Image forum (SCS ROCKs!)

Free Christmas Paper designs (Martha Stewart) can be used to make these candles or just printed...

Nina's stunning flower (her first digital freebie) & another with a beautiful bouquet of flowers here too.
Freebies from the fabulous Fred She Said
Summer's Free Design Goodies blog
Pink Petticoat's free Chick & their free little birdy image. (Their digis are SO cute!)
& their great tutorial on water colouring digital images (you can also use the Krylon brand of spray sealer)

Tami's free digital images (great graphic look!)
Digiments (digi sentiments) free quote
Squigglefly's free Digis to try
Dustin Pike freebies
A Print a Day generous Downloads section
Lindsay links up some colouring pages by Elizabeth & her card is gorgeous
Charmed Cards & Crafts cute "try before you buy" freebie
BeccaKay Designs cute freebies
Polly craft Love bird freebie (SO cute!)
Two Scoops adorable free digis
Hambo Cool Cat freebie
mg my graphico freebies (gorgeous!)
Snippets Inc freebies
Bee Crafty sweet Flower Girl freebie
Freebies from Digtal Scrapbooking at Heart2Heart Designs
Colouring pages here

Papers:
Sweet Digital Papers from Erum
ShabbyPrincess.com lovely Vintage Florals Digital Paper
The Daisy Companies free printables (templates too) & their scrumptious Christmas images
4 My Babies Scraps gorgeous mint chocolate digi paper (links expire)
Great Free Downloads linked by Jessica "How about Orange"

Free digital image editing software

Edited to Add: 94 free kits from Two Peas in a Bucket!!! (you must be a member to download though.)

Martha Stewart et al:

my personal faves:
1) My number one fave: LOVE this label; me thinks You gonna like it too! (scroll down to page 2--the paper there is fun to colour too.) and Other gorgeous matching black & white papers here
2) Stunning medallions
3) Cone clip art (but fantabulous for page or card corners!) :O)
4) Lace clutch clip art (so pretty)
5) Colour Place card clip art (so pretty! Use as frames for images or sentiments?)
Black & grey here too

Lace clip art (blue TALL) & SHORT too (stunning! from this luminaria project)
Lovely designs (edges?) from this luminaria project & in orange & grey here
Lace panel template (from this brilliant shirt project)
Lace frame clip art & the smaller one from this lace stationery
Blue lace (from these cupcake towers)
Blue lace frame (from this kissing booth)
Doily labels gorgeous!
Monogram labels (so elegant)
Herringbone alphabet (from this banner project)
Love these clouds (from this cool block printing project)
Beautiful birthday chart (with the project link here)
Dime store games (OH the stamping possibilities!!!)
Delphware & Lustreware clipart (really sweet)
Bunny Template (as shaped card?) (from this nursery lamp)

Tatoo clip art (images on cards?)
Lace corsage template
Leaf & flower templates from this block linen project
Palm fronds (from this rafia rug)
Town house (wee box) template/clip art (image would be cute as a digi stamp)
Post card templates
Labels (the shaped one might make a good template?)
Blank coloured labels (brights)
Blank coloured labels (blues)
Cute animal templates

Martha Index Links:
Lace Clip art projects
Easter clip art & templates
Halloween clip art
Template & Clip art
Gallery of the best Martha Stewart Clip art
Slide show of the best Martha Stewart Clip art

AMAZINGly sweet digi freebies (and loads of them) by the ultra talented Bird

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Copic brush stroke colouring (on metallics)
& Matte medium Impasto:

• Metallic Cardstock to emboss on (this is metallic cardstock from Paper Temptress)
  
• Printer & Digital Image (or you could stamp, of course)
• Colouring medium (i used Copic markers. The alcohol lets them dry on the metallic cardstock)
• Matte Medium (i got mine here. Any art supply store should carry it) You could also use "Impasto Gel medium" and experiment with mod podge or other tacky white glues
  
• Brush

Hare-y Image: The cute hare in all these photos is a free image from Anita Jeram--illustrator of Sam McBratney's Book Guess How Much I Love You. (I love that book so much that I bought the gift set with the hare stuffy.) Images may require a little editing to print the right size (with less paper waste or enough white space) but her art is SO worth it.

Party Kit (wow!)
Teacher's guide & Printables page
Colouring pages (adorable!)

(please note: these are obviously for personal use only, but y'all know that...) ;o)

click the photos below to see detail up close :O)

A) The Colouring




Step 1) Colour the image. Using Copic markers on this metallic cardstock lets you get fine little strokes (i used the tip of a sketch marker the fine little brush end with as little pressure as i could. (Soooooh cool and addictive!!!):



the little brush strokes are great for hair, fur, wood-grain... i shaded by adding tiny darker strokes for shadows.

OR you can use bolder blobby strokes for faux watercolour (the tree trunk) or light strokes & tiny dots or stippling (the bottom of the grass):



If you click the pic above you can see that the Copics leave a sheen. It's semi gloss. I loved the sheen on the sky & the grass and so forth, but bark is very not shiny. lol.

So Matte medium to the rescue (it reduces the gloss of things) Neat product huh?

B) The Sealing



Step 2) A thin coat of matte medium seals the Copic colour. Paint on & let dry.

You may notice a bit of colour comes off on your brush. I was okay with that since this is a brown mass, lol. If you are worried about smudging happening you can test by colouring on a scrap of paper & seeing if it's okay. Or just seal with a spray sealant like Krylon. Of course, he matte medium is less stinky & more environmental.

C) The Texturizing



Step 3) Paint the matte medium on in blobs. This adds the look of Impasto (thick brush strokes of paint) to your image on very thickly (I added a lot more after I took that pic up there.)


SUBSTITUTIONS: You could also use "Impasto Gel medium" and experiment with mod podge or other tacky white glues.

Here's the impasto look you get if you apply it boldly and BLOBbily:



It feels bumpy & is shine free. It dries way flatter than you apply it & it cures crystal clear (this was taken before it was completely cured. When you pet the tree it feels just like real bark, heehee. :O)


Hope you found something here with a modicum of mojo-ness,
Happy happy HAPPY crafting to YOU!!!

(today the ol' blog should be called: Digi saves Dough & blobby is fun)

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