Dash of Inspiration – Christmas in July, Part 5
A Dash of Inspiration, A Cup of Creativity by Doreen
Christmas in July, Part V
Week five and the final week of our Christmas in July Series – This week I’m offering a list of places to look for holiday elements for your creations. Whether you simply find inspiration by browsing some of these resources or whether you find goodies you just can’t live without, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the selection. I did spend a bit of time researching these links and feel fairly confident that all these resources can be used for your card making, though you still need to read TOU carefully.
Scrap Girls CU Digital Scrapbooking Kits
High Quality Images for CU by Sam Mugraby
Sam used to offer these images free of charge as long as you followed the rules to give him credit, but after consistent abuse of his simple TOU – he’s changed to paying a licensing fee. The fee is worth it though. I can offer personal experience that Sam’s images are of the highest quality and well worth the fee.
Public Domain Religious Images
PLEASE remember two things, even though these are in the Public Domain IF you use them on your cards; give credit where credit is due AND add the link to the image(s) you are using in your Reviewer’s Notes section for quicker review at GCU. Also, be careful to pay attention to the size of the image you chose to download; for professional greeting card use, unless you have some special software tools and a lot of expertise, up-sizing these images will cause you severe quality issues.
For those new to the GCU Community you can catch up with our Dash of Inspiration posts here: Salon of Art Dash of Inspiration
This an example of creating a derivative work from a public domain painting. Here is the original public domain image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:August_Schleich_Rotwild.jpg
GCU Community 
Thanks so much for all of your info again! I really am happy about the public domain religious images. I will use these. Thank you!
You are very welcome Gail! Thanks for stopping by!
Doreen, The card is beautiful. How do you achieve this effect? Special software?
Hi Beverly, no special software. This was done in CS-5, although it can most likely be done in any version of PS since it was done by turning the image into black and white, using layer masks, textures and beveling tools; then using Levels to bring it to these light tones. Glad you like it! Thanks for stopping by!
I have been a Digital Scrapbook Designer for 10 years and have just recently began making greeting cards. Loved your article just wanted everyone to know make sure you can used images from scrapbooking sites on your cards most will want you to buy a commercial license to use their graphics. If you are not sure just ask the designer and keep any emails for proof..
Good advice! Remember, folks, what you need to look for in a license is CU4CU – commercial use for commercial use. And read those licenses VERY carefully. And finally, don’t forget to include a link to a graphics source in the Notes to Reviewers field so your cards won’t be returned due to copyright concerns.
Corrie
Absolutely Marcee! Thanks for mentioning that! For anyone who has missed it, here is a GCU Community Blog Post on understanding TOU: https://gcucommunity.com/2012/06/18/dash-of-inspiration-tou-terms-of-use/
I’ve found the Digital Scrapbook Designers to be FABULOUS to work with and very willing to agree to my design efforts, so when a site does not state clearly enough in their TOU, don’t be shy, contact them and give them links to your storefront(s) so they can see what you do and how well you create derivative works.