Christmas Digital Scrapbooking Freebies: Christmas Embellishments for Your Digital Creations

Digital scrapbooking is a neat, mess-free way to create one of a kind picture albums. Creating digital page layouts is fairly easy, and is also completely free when a free photo editor like GIMP is used.

Simply download papers and embellishments (like those found on this page), and open the paper background in your favorite photo editor. Add a new layer and copy and paste the desired digital scrapbooking element into the new layer. Adjust the size of the element or the photograph until it fits the scale of your page. When the scrapbooking page is complete, merge the layers and save the file under a new name.

There are several sources for free digital scrapbooking papers, embellishments, and layouts on the web. In general, a digital page will require a paper background, picture frames, a title, and the photographs you wish to insert into the page. This article will contain several free Christmas embellishments for digital scrapbooking.

The first layer of most digital scrapbook pages is the "paper" background. I have created two backgrounds: one is red with holly berry accents in the corners, and the other is a blue paper with snowflakes scattered in a pattern. The holly paper works well with Christmas photographs of any type, and the snowflake paper can be used for any winter themes, including sledding and ice skating pictures.

These papers can be used with other embellishments you already own, or they can be used with the other embellishments provided on this page. Try layering different papers to create a multi-dimensional look! If you do not like the holly accents on the paper, you can simply cover them with digital ribbons, buttons, or picture frames.

Every page needs a title, and "Be Merry" fits the Christmas theme well. This word art is a .png file, so simply create a new layer and copy and paste the image onto your digital scrapbooking paper. Adjust the scale of the title to fit the page.

Every digital page needs various elements to create a hand-crafted look. I have created a button surrounded by a ribbon-wreath, which can be placed at the edge of a picture frame. Adjust the button to fit the scale of your page, and add it in a new layer.

I have also created a Christmas tag. Simply use a text editor to place your own words into the tag: something like "Christmas 2012" would remind you of when the photos were taken.

The snowflakes work well with a general winter theme: one flake is crystalline, while the other is an old-fashioned crocheted snowflake. These can be used with the snowflake paper above, or with your other digital scrapbooking files.

I have created two frames for use with these pages: one fits the snowflake theme, and the other fits the holly/Christmas theme. Copy these frames to a new layer in your photo editing program, then copy your photograph to another layer. Be sure to move the layer containing the photograph under the layer containing the digital frame.

All of these files are .png format, and will work easily with any photo editing program. While I use (and recommend) GIMP, many digital scrapbookers use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Simply download these files, then open them in your digital photo editor to begin creating a work of art that will showcase treasured memories!