Free Clip Art from Vintage Holiday Crafts » Free Holiday Crafts

Free Clip Art Sourcebook

Holiday Crafts — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:50:52 +0000

Announcing the Free Clip Art Sourcebook: links to thousands of categorized free images, all in one place!

When I was a magazine art director about 100 years ago, we didn’t have electronic free clip art. That might seem incomprehensible to younger people, but we had to jump through all kinds of hoops just to get images onto the pages of a magazine. It involved X-Acto knives and sticky wax, which always seemed to be stuck to parts of me, instead of just to the back of the clip art.

I used to design a lot of small ads every month, many of which required some kind of artwork to make them stand out. That was when my love affair with clip art began. Many years later I created Vintage Holiday Crafts and started designing my own clip art because I couldn’t find the quality and type of clip art I wanted unless I paid for it. The same was true for scrapbook papers, which can cost a bundle if you buy them by the sheet at the craft store. I assumed other people had the same issues.

But now I’ve developed a new problem: I have a lot of free contemporary and vintage clip art and scrapbook images. My solution was to compile it into the Free Clip Art Sourcebook, which links to free clip art and scrapbooking image resources squirreled away all over my little online world. The images are categorized alphabetically by subject and located in one document, so everything is easy to find.

The Free Clip Art Sourcebook doesn’t just link to free clip art and scrapbook images; it’s free to download too. So help yourself and have fun! Just click the blue button above.

You need the free Adobe Reader to view the Free Clip Art Sourcebook. You probably already have this software on your computer but if you need to download it, click here.

Please note that the images are subject to the Vintage Holiday Crafts terms of use. Some vary in their restrictions, so please honor the terms on the page where you find art you want to use.

Free Vintage Angels and Cherubs Clip Art

Holiday Crafts — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:57:43 +0000

Who doesn’t love angels and cherubs? These adorable vintage angels and cherubs are perfect for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, weddings, or any time you want to convey sweetness. They also go well with our vintage roses clip art.

Click an image below to view and download a larger version (enlarged sizes vary):

There are all kinds of opinions about whether angels and cherubs really exist. But when it comes to their existence in vintage art, there is no question. Artists of old loved the subject of these little heavenly helpers. You can see evidence of that everywhere in ephemera that has been passed down through the generations, scanned and put online. We’re fortunate so many good examples have survived the passage of time, so we can bring them to you!

You might also be interested in our contemporary wedding clip art.

Like what you see? Please help others find our free vintage clip art and greeting cards by linking to us from your blog or Web site.

NOTE: Please read and honor our terms of use when using any of our vintage images in products or posting them to any blog, Web site, forum or social media site, either commercial or non-commercial. Thanks!

If the terms of use link on this page doesn’t work, please click the one in the top left corner of the site. Thank you!

Free Vintage Father’s Day Greeting Cards

Holiday Crafts — Tue, 31 May 2011 11:38:06 +0000

It’s time to celebrate Father’s Day and honor dear old Dad, so here are some free vintage greeting cards he’s sure to love. Since there aren’t a lot of actual vintage Father’s Day cards available, I’ve provided some cards that weren’t originally meant to be used for the holiday but would make good Father’s Day cards anyway. You can either use them as is or combine them with your own message to create custom cards you couldn’t get anywhere else.

And these free Father’s Day images can also be used as clip art!

Read our TERMS OF USE and then click on the images below to see and download larger versions of the free Father’s Day greeting cards, (enlarged sizes vary):

Like what you see? Please help others find our free vintage clip art and greeting cards by linking to us from your blog or Web site.

Please read and honor our our terms of use when printing or posting these images to any blog, Web site, social media site or forum. Thank you for your cooperation.

Free Victorian Easter Basket Craft Template

Holiday Crafts — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:10:00 +0000

If you’re planning on entertaining family and friends this Easter holiday, that celebration can be made extra special by making your own table decorations. These mini Victorian Easter basket party favors are easy to make but will give your table an elegant Victorian feel that will look like you spent a lot. This is also a project that the kids can do with you!

There are many ways you can use your Victorian Easter baskets: Provide one box for each guest as a party favor, use as centerpieces or side-table candy dishes, or give them as gifts to either adults or children.

Just fill the boxes with Easter grass and top it with candy, just like you would regular Easter baskets. You also could put little chicks and eggs you find in the craft store on top of the grass, or set a votive candle in a glass holder in the middle of the grass. Make sure you use a glass holder, so the wax doesn’t drip onto the grass and cause a fire.

You can make the boxes either with or without paper handles or wrapped in wide ribbon for an elegant effect. If you plan to use candles, DON’T attach paper handles to the baskets, as they could catch on fire.

The box templates below are specially designed to be simple to make. Here are the easy instructions:

1. Please read our TERMS OF USE and then download either the Word document or the PDF:

Box template in a Word document

Box template in a PDF

2. Print box onto heavy white or pastel-colored card stock.

TIP: The boxes look particularly lovely when glitter glue is used on them. To use it, apply several coats — working around the pictures so glitter doesn’t get on them — before you go to step 3. You might even want to try several layers of compatible colors of glitter glue to create a unique effect. I found that using glue with large chunks of glitter in it worked the best. Also, I’ve tried just about every brand of glitter glue on the market and have found Elmer’s 3D washable paint pens to be the best.

3. Cut around the edges of the template carefully with scissors, a craft knife or a paper cutter.

4. Fold the panels with the roses on them first, following the dotted lines. Crease the folds with a bone folder, burnisher or the side of a pen. (If you use the side of a pen, make sure to cover the creased area with a piece of paper so you don’t make any scrape marks.)

5. Fold the panels with the rabbits on them, following the instructions in number 3.

6. Pinch the corner pieces inward toward the center of the box and then crease them. Once they’re creased, put either regular glue or use a glue stick to coat the inside of the fold. If you use a glue stick, pinch the fold together for a moment to get it to stick. Or if you use regular glue, use paper clips to hold the folds in place until they dry. Once dry, these folds will help keep the box stable.

7. Glue the corner pieces to the sides to hold the box together.

8. You can make handles by cutting pieces of card stock about 1-inch wide by 10-12 inches long and gluing them in place. If you don’t want to use handles and you’re going to give the box as a gift, wrap a fancy ribbon around it and tie it in a bow. I used pale yellow see-through ribbon on boxes made with varying colors of glitter glue and the end result was very elegant.

Now all that’s left to do is to enjoy your Victorian Easter decorations. Have a wonderful holiday!

Thanksgiving Crafts: Free Vintage Greeting Cards

Holiday Crafts — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:06:26 +0000

There’s nothing like Thanksgiving to conjure up images of home and hearth. Vintage art is particularly good at doing that, as you’ll see from the free old fashioned Thanksgiving cards below. These images make great e-cards, dinner invitations, scrapbook images and can be used for a variety of Thanksgiving crafts.

To view and download larger versions of these free Thanksgiving vintage greeting cards, just click the images below:

Like what you see? Please help others find our free vintage clip art and free vintage greeting cards by linking to us from your blog or Web site.

Also, view our Thanksgiving vintage postcards and contemporary Thanksgiving clip art.

NOTE: Please read and honor our terms of use when using our vintage images in products or posting them to any blog, Web site, forum or social media site, either commercial or non-commercial. Thanks!

Free Christmas Coloring Pages and Greeting Cards

Holiday Crafts — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:16:01 +0000

Here’s a little something to keep the kids out from underfoot while you prepare for the holidays. These full-page coloring pages have Christmas themes and will keep the little ones busy for hours.

Each coloring page has a holiday message on it, so your children can give them as greeting cards to friends and relatives. Glitter glue can be used on top of crayons, markers or paint to make the pages sparkle, but keep in mind that the results will be better if the pages are printed on card stock instead of paper.

Click each free Christmas coloring page to see a larger version you can download.

These coloring pages were created in Picnik, the free online graphics application. To learn how to make your own free coloring pages or clip art, read my Picnik tutorial.

Christmas pages: