The invention of the internet has forever changed the human experience in more ways than one could ever count. From the way we date and form friendships to the way we order our weekly groceries - there are few areas of life that haven't been altered in some way by the invention of the world wide web, and - in most cases - improved or made easier.
Throughout my childhood, I was a keen scrapbooker. It was a hobby that I found so soothing and it brought me hours of joy to sit and flick through old photographs, choosing which I'd use and where to place them as I filled my scrapbooks with memories. I used to visit a specialist store every few months to pick up my scrapbooking supplies - I loved that store, and could have happily spent an entire day there just browsing the hundreds of different patterns on the sheets of paper they sold, picking out which ones I liked best and paying a small fortune for them!
Nowadays of course, there'd be no real need for that store - because any design I wanted could be printed on to paper within minutes from the comfort of my own home thanks to the internet and home computers. No doubt for a fraction of the cost!
One of the intentions I set for 2020 was to set aside more time for hobbies and finally get around to completing the Project Life scrapbook kit I was given as a gift 6 years ago and have yet to use!
So for that reason, and also as someone who runs their own website and has a need for graphics every now and then, I've been spending some time hunting down the best places to find graphic design and crafting resources online for craft or school projects, graphic design etc.
It can be a bit difficult to narrow down the search for the best sites, so I thought I'd share my list of the best ones I've found so far.
1) Canva
This is the site I use for all of my blogging needs including creating social media graphics, it has a fantastic catalog of images and backgrounds to use, a great selection of fonts and much more besides.
The platform is really user-friendly and straight forward too. It has a great selection of templates to follow, and allows you to create an account to save your projects too which means I can come back and edit them whenever I want to.
I use Canva to create my media packs for my blogging work, as well as graphics and flyers for events I do in the home education community - it's perfect and offers a good mix of paid and free options too.
2) PicMonkey
This was another site I first discovered through blogging and have used religiously for many years. I love the photo editing tools that PicMonkey offers, as well as the fantastic selection of seasonal graphics which I have always found really handy for creating YouTube graphics and overlays.
These are also lovely for scrapbooking and crafty projects too, and for adding a seasonal touch to my web design as and when I fancy it too.
Again, the site is super user-friendly and offers a mix of free and paid options.
3) Web Designer Depot
Web Designer Depot is one of the most popular blogs on web design out there. As well offering articles to keep users up to date on the latest news and trends in web design, it also offers a large selection of "freebies" ranging from fonts and text designs, to mock ups and icons to name just a few.
It's easy to see why they boast over a million subscribers!
4) Design Bundles
Design Bundles is without a doubt the most varied one-stop destination for all things craft and design on the web. The site is full of all kinds of goodies, from graphics and logos to customisable illustrations and scrapbook paper - everything you could ever need for any sort of design project can be found here!
They offer a mix of free and premium resources, and pride themselves on pairing the best designers with customers who want the highest quality for the best possible price - offering up some incredible discounts up to 96% off the usual market price.
There's even a full section of free design resources, which offer a great alternative to Web Designer Depot.
A particular highlight is their XL bundles which offer a huge amount of craft downloads for a very reasonable price, and include licensing which means you can use their designs commercially too (you can read more about this on their website).
Definitely one for all keen crafters to check out!
5) Be Funky
I love to use Be Funky for making collages, as I find their tool for this to be one of the most simple and effective to use. They also have a great photo editor, and a graphic design tool with hundreds upon hundreds of templates to help you to create layouts, posters and designs of your choice.
Again Be Funky's platform is very clean and easy to use, and they have a great support section designed to help you get to grips with the finer details of using the website. They offer both free and paid elements.
6) DrawKit
DrawKit are a website offering beautiful hand drawn vector illustrations and kits for projects.
The illustrations are sorted into easy to use categories making it very simple to find exactly what you're looking for in a matter of moments. There are paid options and packages available, as well as the option to have custom illustrations made to your requirements but there is also a large library of free to use illustrations as well.
7) Crello
Crello boldly declares itself to be the "Easiest online tool to create graphics and animations for social media and the web", and I have to agree that it delivers.
It offers 30,000 graphic templates to customise, 32,000 Full HD videos, 500,000 premium photos to use at a cost and over 140 million royalty-free photos - pretty impressive! It is super easy to use, too!
8)AllCrafts.Net
For those who are looking for resources purely for at-home projects such as card making and scrapbooking, you really can't go wrong with AllCrafts. They offer a huge selection of resources for every kind of home craft project you can imagine - from decoupage and knitting, to nail art and needlework - every imaginable kind of craft project is covered here!
The scrapbooking and cardmaking resources are really fantastic, and include everything from how-to guides to printables.
9) Free Pretty Things For You
Free Pretty Things For You is my go-to for printable and completely scrapbook paper! They have so many fantastic options, ranging from romantic florals to modern monochrome designs.
They also have a great selection of seasonal scrapbook paper designs available to use too and it is all completely free. Ideal for scrapbookers and card makers!10) MrPrintables
Mr Printables is another great option for free scrapbook paper, as well as for a whole host of other items. The site is full of printables ranging from childrens writing paper, to folding party favours and invitations. Everything is free as well as being completely adorable!
I hope that fellow crafters will find this list useful and if you have any other recommendations, please let me know in the comments below.
Happy crafting!
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