Because there are so many Internet-savvy scrapbook supply designers today, the Web is full of free scrapbooking supplies. That means all you need to know is how to do a Web search and download files and you can find all the images you need to create professional-looking scrapbooks. That’s why famous artist Mary Englebreit recently remarked that the Internet is so overflowing with terrific free scrapbooking graphics, it can provide nearly any type of images you might need. And she’s an authority on quality images; products featuring her designs on them fly off the shelves as soon as they’re released!
The following are samples of some of the types of free scrapbook graphics I’ve found on the Web:
Vintage
More and more people seem to be searching for antique scrapbooking materials. Maybe that’s because antique art is so timeless and doesn’t date the final product to any particular modern era. Greeting cards from times long gone make great vintage scrapbooking embellishments, as does antique clipart. And when you can find digital scrapbook papers made from compilations of vintage images, you’ll have the best of both worlds. Antique art also covers a range of subjects, including images as diverse as vintage flowers, magician posters, Victorian fashion illustrations, sailing ships and free vintage travel posters. So whatever the topic of your scrapbook, there’s probably vintage art to match.
Holidays
Holidays are great subjects for scrapbooks, since those are the times we gather with friends and family to create special memories. And it’s not just the “showier” holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day and Halloween that inspire scrapbooks; it’s the minor holidays too. You can find lots of patriotic scrapbooking papers and embellishments on the Web for holidays such as Veterans Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Flag Day. There are also many images out there for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Earth Day and any other holiday you can think of; even the silly or off-beat ones.
Flowers and Butterflies
I’ve definitely noticed that people who scrapbook love flowers, and why not? They’re appropriate for almost any occasion. Butterflies, too, have a large audience, because they bring to mind so many things we love: freedom, summertime and other happy things. Flowers and butterflies are also diverse, because an abundance of them can be found as both illustrations and photos, and in modern and vintage styles. There are even free butterfly scrapbook papers that have coordinating modern and vintage designs available in the same collections.
Wedding Images
Weddings and scrapbooks were naturally made to go together, because it’s always been a tradition to have a wedding photo album. But if you can make it a wedding scrapbook instead, you can preserve your memories in an even more creative way. There are many good free wedding scrapbooking images on the Internet that will allow you to create one of these very special mementos with no or little cost. And if for some reason you don’t find any specifically for weddings that appeal to you, flower images would also be a great choice.
Babies
Like weddings, tiny tots invite photography. And, of course, people who scrapbook love to use those photos to create family heirlooms. Fortunately, you can find a huge selection of scrapbooking materials for babies. If you’re not up on baby images, however, you might be surprised to learn that the colors are less traditional than they used to be. Burnt orange, chocolate brown and red are all the rage, as well as a few specific shades of green. Of course, you can still find lots of blue and pink, but these days there are many bold color choices too.
So the next time you go looking for scrapbooking materials, check out what’s available on the Web. You might find some free images that will really surprise you.