Digital Scrapbooking Freebies for a Happy New Year

Digital scrapbooking is a great way to preserve memories. Capture the excitement and fun of your New Year's celebration with these free digital papers and embellishments. When you print the pages out, you can remember Auld Lang Syne, or times gone by.

For those who are new to digital scrapbooking, most people use Photoshop Elements to create the page layouts. The author of this article uses GIMP, an open-source (free) photo editing software. For fellow GIMP users, I have written a digital scrapbooking tutorial for GIMP.

I generally print my digital pages through an online service, such as Scrapbooks Please (they print 12" x 12" and 8" x 8" pages as well as complete books). Other digital photo printing services will work, so long as they offer 12" x 12" or 8" x 8" printing sizes.

Did you know that Auld Lang Syne is an old Scottish song? It was passed down orally until the 1700's, when the first penned versions appeared (with variable spelling). The song we know today was written by Robert Burns, and it is commonly sung as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve. The Auld Lang Syne word art would make a great title for a page featuring friends and family, remembering years gone by.

Capture the excitement of the new year with the "ring in the new!" word art. All title images are .png files for easy placement onto digital papers - simply resize the image to fit your page layout.

Several year images (starting with 2012) are placed onto a single digital file - simply download the page and select the year you would like to capture. Copy and paste the image of the current year onto your new digital page, and adjust the size as needed.

I have created three digital paper backgrounds with the New Year's theme - one paper features miniature champagne glasses scattered over a blue background. The middle paper is free from any designs, but features a cloth-like texture. The last paper is rather bold, and features a starry background with a bold central stripe.

Simply choose the photos and embellishments you would like to add you your page and layer them on top of the background paper. Add a frame or mat to photos to help them "pop" on the page! You can also layer different paper types to create a multi-dimensional feel to the page.

These digital papers are all high quality .jpg files and are suitable for printing 12" x 12" scrapbook pages.

All of these page "embellishments" are created as .png files to layer on top of a digital background. The star scatter can be scaled to fit the page, and creates a starry, glittery background behind photos or to fill in a blank area on the page.

Balloons, fireworks and a noise maker are also offered as embellishments for your New Year's Eve scrapbook. These items are easily scaled and added to your page to re-create the party atmosphere! Change the size, rotate, or flip these objects to create a unique layout for your pictures.

The last item offered is a digital frame, featuring starts and streamers. Simply layer it over a chosen photo and adjust the scale to fit! Feel free to download these images for your own use, and create a beautiful keepsake for years to come!