Chime School

Posts Tagged ‘vintage art’

Because there are so many Web-savvy scrapbook paper and embellishment designers today, the Web is full of free digital scrapbooking supplies. That means all you need to know is how to do an Internet search and download files and you can find all the designs you need to create professional-looking scrapbooks. That caused famous artist Mary Englebreit to remark recently that the Web is so overflowing with terrific free scrapbook supplies, it can provide virtually any type of images you might need. And she’s an authority on good images; products with her graphics on them fly off the shelves as soon as they’re released!

Here are some of the types of free scrapbook materials available:

Vintage
More and more people seem to be searching for vintage scrapbook images. 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 wonderful vintage scrapbook embellishments, as do clipart images from years gone by. And if you’re fortunate enough to find vintage designs on digital scrapbook papers, you’ll have the best of both worlds. Antique graphics also cover a wide variety of subjects, which means you can find images as diverse as Victorian fashion illustrations, magic show posters, vintage flowers, vintage cats and vintage advertising posters. So whatever subject you’re trying to cover in your scrapbook, you can probably find antique art to match.

Holiday
The holidays just naturally invite scrapbooking, since those are the occasions when many of us create some of our most lasting 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. There are all kinds of patriotic scrapbooking papers and embellishments on the Internet for holidays such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Fourth of July and Flag Day. There are also images suitable for Earth Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and just about any other holiday you can think of; even the off-beat and downright bizarre ones.

Floral and Butterfly
Scrapbookers seem to love flowers of all kinds, and why not? They work for nearly any occasion. Butterflies, too, have a large audience, because they represent summertime, freedom, happiness and other cheerful things. Butterfly and flower images are also diverse, because you can find them in both illustration and photographic form, and in modern and vintage forms. You can even find butterfly scrapbook embellishments that have coordinating modern and vintage designs available in the same collections.

Weddings
Weddings and scrapbooks were naturally made to go together, because wedding photo albums have always been traditional anyway. 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 online 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 can also give you a timeless look.

Baby
Like weddings, little ones invite the taking of photos. And what scrapbooker wouldn’t want to pass down a distinctive baby scrapbook to her child as he or she gets older? Fortunately, you can find a huge selection of scrapbook graphics 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. Chocolate brown, burnt orange and red are popular, as are various shades of green. Blue and pink are still popular, of course, it’s just that you can find a lot of bolder color choices too.

So the next time you go looking for scrapbooking graphics, check out what’s available on the Web. You might find some amazing free things.

In America, the “patriotic season” begins in late May with Memorial Day and continues on until November, when we honor our war veterans on Veterans Day. There are also other patriotic holidays during that period, such as Flag Day in June, the Fourth of July and Labor Day in September. Those are the major patriotic holidays but there are also others that are lesser-known. The first holiday actually comes before Memorial Day and is called Armed Forces Day. Then in September we have Patriot Day and Citizenship Day, followed by United Nations Day right before Halloween in October.

Many Americans take the major patriotic holidays seriously, as well as some of the minor ones. This is probably partially due to the fact that so many people have war veterans in their immediate families, or at least have some relationship to people who have served in the U.S. armed forces. For them, the patriotic holidays are personal. This is probably why a tradition has begun to use veterans clip art to send greetings that pay homage to veterans for each major patriotic holiday. The simple act of sending a card can make a world of difference to a veteran who might think his or her service to our country has been forgotten.

On a cheerier note, there’s almost no one in the U.S. who doesn’t like July 4th. Some people really get into it — fireworks and all — and celebrate like mad. Many people throw parties, which give people a great excuse to run around with sparklers and eat a lot. A common trend has been for people to make their own invitations to these parties, using contemporary 4th of July free clip art or free American flag clipart images. This makes invitations cheap and easy because with little effort they can create and print fun invites. Even those who never designed a thing can do it!

Now that so many good scrapbooking supply designers are Internet savvy, the Web is full of free holiday and seasonal scrapbook supplies that can be downloaded for no charge. That means all you need to know is how to do an online search and download files and you can find all the images you need to create beautiful scrapbooks. That caused popular artist Mary Englebreit to remark recently that the Web is a great source of scrapbook supplies that will yield almost anything you might need. And she should know about good images; products carrying her designs sell like mad!

The following are samples of some of the types of free seasonal scrapbooking designs I’ve found on the Web:

Holiday

Holidays are great subjects for scrapbooking, since those are the occasions when many of us create some of our most lasting 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. There are all kinds of patriotic scrapbooking papers and embellishments on the Internet for holidays such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Fourth of July and Flag Day. There are also images suitable for Earth Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and just about any other holiday you can think of; even the off-beat and downright bizarre ones.

Spring and Summer Flowers and Butterflies

I’ve definitely noticed that scrapbookers love spring and summer flowers, and who can blame them? They work for nearly any occasion. Butterflies, too, have a large audience, because they represent summertime, freedom, happiness and other cheerful things. Butterfly and flower images are also diverse, because an abundance of them can be found as both illustrations and photos, and in modern and vintage styles. You can even find floral scrapbook papers that have many mix-and-match designs available in the same collections.

Summer Weddings

June is the traditional month for weddings but in reality they take place all summer long. It’s not hard to guess why that would be, it’s because the sun is shining and there’s usually less rain. Scrapbooks and weddings are a natural combination, because wedding photo albums have always been traditional anyway. But a wedding scrapbook can will have an even more creative way to preserve your precious memories. There are many good free wedding scrapbooking embellishments on the Internet that will allow you to create a lasting memento for little or no cost. And if for some reason you don’t find any specifically for weddings that appeal to you, flower scrapbook images will often do just as well.

Timeless Antique Art

More and more people seem to be searching for.free vintage scrapbooking papers. That could be because antique art is so ageless and creates such gorgeous results that fit any season. Antique greeting cards make terrific vintage scrapbooking embellishments, as does antique clipart. And if you’re lucky enough to find vintage designs on digital scrapbook papers, you’ll have the best of both worlds. Vintage designs also cover a wide variety of subjects, including images as diverse as vintage travel posters, antique flower baskets, Victorian fashion illustrations, magic show posters and old sailing ships. So whatever season or holiday you’re celebrating in your scrapbook, there’s probably vintage art to match.

So the next time you need seasonal scrapbooking materials, check online. You might find some free images that will really surprise you.