Digital Scrapbooking Freebies

Now that I've been playing with the art of digital scrapbooking for the past week or so, I've begun to get a better grasp of my digital scrapping style and figure out what tools I need to make my visions come to life on screen. I've been using Adobe Photoshop 7.0, but Photoshop Elements (which comes with most new computers) works just as well. While I've stil got a ways to go in terms of technique, I'm pleased to present my first digital scrapbook page!

And the best part is it didn't cost me a dime. The papers, the ribbon, the accents and the fonts were all downloaded FREE from a variety of different places online--you just have to know where to look. It took me days to find the page kits I wanted to use, and even now I am still coming across new one. I thought I'd share the sites I've discovered that offer quality digital page kits as well as individual elements available for download. If shopping for scrapbooking supplies at the store is habit-forming then this is twice as addicting!

ShabbyPrincess -- One of the first sites I found, the kits I downloaded from SP are the ones I've been using most frequently. Their shabby chic kits are fun and festive with just a touch of distressing in the patterns.

RAK Scraps -- Random Acts of Kindness Scraps offers a free mega-kit every month, available for download from their homepage. Visit their forums for word art, metals and overlays swaps.

ScrapGirls -- You'll want to check out their Biggie "Refresh" collection; just scroll down until you see the first item on the page. Sign up for the newsletter and receive new freebies every day.

Free Digital Scrapbooking -- A one stop shop for embellishments, fonts, layout ideas, paper, tags, tutorials and more. Joining the Members Only Club gives you access to exclusive kit downloads.

Scrapbook-bytes -- Quick registration will lead you to over a dozen categories of element sets, 34 all inclusive page kits, charms, eyelets, etc. Don't miss the Tropical Summer mega-kit

eScrappers -- Beads, buttons, magnetic poetry and paint chips are a few of the embellishments offered on their freebies page.

Scrapbook Scrapbook -- Theme kits broken down by category

Scrapping with IkeaGoddess -- Blogger who is kind enough to share the grungy papers and templates she's found.

DigiScrap Depot -- Currently featuring Halloween themed freebies, this site also has links to the many homepages of digital designers.

ScrapArtist -- Browse through the forums to find vibrantly colored kits and gorgeous paper sets. Summer Driggs' Inspiration kit is my personal favorite, along with Daniela Peuss' Diva and Aja Abney's My Wish for You.

Creating Keepsakes -- This is a scrapbooking magazine that sometimes offers digital downloads in their online archives. I've taken the liberty of scrolling through their 2007 publications so you don't have to!

• July, Strawberry Lemonade kit
• June, Journaling brush
• May, Mom downloads
• April, Free kits
• January, Echoes of Asia kit

Simply Clean DigiScraps -- Floral themed page kits with petal accents and a stitched alphabet.

Digital Freebies -- Home of the Friday Freebie, grab September's adorable "Sassy" kit while it's still available and head to the forums for a special Back to School club kit.

Peppermint Creative -- Offers a huge free kit every month. This month's "Twinkle Toes" comes with papers, photo clips, epoxy stickers, ribbons, and starry edges to name a few.

Digital Scrapbook Pages -- Scroll down past the layouts to the Digitals Design Star rounds where you'll find mini-kits and element sets.

goDigitalScrapbooking -- Daily downloads and designer giveaways are available in the forums once you register. Registration is quick and easy, it took me about twenty seconds and man was it worth it!

Digital Scrapbook Place -- Freebies gallery has page kits, backgrounds, overlays, word art and embellishments galore.

Digital Diva's Designs -- Mega kit is a word I like to hear, and this place has got one mega kit for each month of the year.

Doodles4Scraps -- The creator of this site is kind enough to offer a beautiful blue and green page kit, accents and photo overlays all for free.

Two Peas in a Bucket -- I've been a member of this site for years. I love to view the layouts posted here for scrapbooking inspiration, but 2Peas now also has 46 free digital kits up for grabs. The Future Rockstar kit by Tia Bennett is one of my favorites.

oScraps -- The free kits on this page are done in lovely traditional colors and hues of brown and gray.

A Cherry on Top -- Features 18 gorgeous sample kits for you to experiment with.

Little Dreamer Designs -- Go for the quick-page templates, but stay for the hand-stamped alphabets and highlight brushes.

For instructions on how to download and extract the kits for use, check out my How-to hub. And if anybody knows of any other sites that offer free digital scrapbooking downloads, please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks so much, and happy scrapping!