/ TERRIFIC TEMPLATES

Making Free Printables for Your Blog Couldn't Be Easier

Creating free printables for your blog or email list is a fantastic content strategy that offers value to your audience while boosting your audience engagement and reach.

The most common choice of free printables might range from planners and checklists to worksheets and decorative art, but you are only limited by your imagination for what is possible to offer.

Always keep in mind the niche you serve and generate free content that your audience will appreciate. By providing these resources for free, you establish yourself as a generous and knowledgeable, fostering trust and loyalty among your followers.

Coming up with ideas for free content is one thing, actually making the content is quite another. If you are a non-designer or just a complete beginner it might feel a bit daunting or time consuming to get started and offering free content on a regular basis may seem like an extra burden. But there are ways to streamline things and make it super quick and easy to do.

I've been designing templates for the past 10 years. And while the templates themselves have always made the job easier for non-designers the technical challenge was still very real for many beginners.

With tools like Canva and generative AI though, the playing field has evened out a bit and now most people can be a 'designer' with ease. So making free content to give away to your audience should be a breeze. Or is it? As a professional with loads of experience it's sometimes hard to know where the sticking points are for beginners. Drop a comment below and let me know what you struggle with most when trying to create digital printables.

I think templates are just as useful today as they ever have been and I have a comprehensive bundle for whipping up fun printables with ease. With every size of circle, square, oval or rectangle you can make stickers, labels, atc cards, craft supplies, bookmarks, gift tags or business media. And I offer a range of file formats that make app compatibility a breeze. Whether you want to work in Canva, Cricut or MS Word I've got you covered. And of course if you work in something like Adobe the templates save you setup time and all you have to do is insert your design.

Making free content really couldn't be easier! Checkout my beginner tutorials if you're technically challenged as the stencil template allows for easy design in any program with almost no skills required.

Visit my shop for even more great template ideas that will get you going with loads of free printable ideas for your audience!

Happy designing
Shawnna

These fun graphics are generated by AI to replicate the vintage victorian style. Combine them with grungy textures or creative overlays for fun additions to your junk journal or scrapbooking projects.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Happy crafting
Shawnna

PIN ME

Beautiful authentic vintage illustrations. These come from antique magazine adverts and are scanned at high quality. These backdrops are extra large at approx 18' and 300 dpi, perfect for any project at all.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Happy crafting
Shawnna

PIN ME

These vintage scans are authentic antique photography cabinet cards from various American states. Both sides are scanned in high quality and left in original condition - no touch ups. Sizes are roughly 4x6.5".

DOWNLOAD HERE

Happy Crafting
Shawnna

PIN ME

Following on from my last tutorial where I showed how to insert an image into a shape using the clipping mask in Photopea, I'm going to now create a repeating printable page from that one tag I made.

This tutorial is useful if you want to quickly make a page of duplicates from one image with having to make each one separately.

Please bear in mind, there are many ways to use the tools in Photopea and I am showing just one method here. This is what I consider to be the easiest choice using my templates and having added an image into a shape using the clipping mask.

To begin open Photopea in your web browser.

Step 1:

I left off in the last tutorial with my gift tag template and I had inserted an image into the first tag. Now let's repeat that tag across the page in place of the blank ones.

To start, I want to close the tag folder just to make things easier to view. I'm also going to turn off tags 2 - 4 by clicking the eye icon for each layer.

With the tag layer selected in the layers palette, I'll use a keyboard shortcut and click Ctrl + J.

Alternatively you'll find this command from the top menu bar under Layer>Duplicate Layer.

Step 2:

After hitting Ctrl + J you'll get a duplicate layer in the layers palette but the new tag layer on the canvas is stacked on top of the first tag. Let's drag that to the right while holding down the shift key.

Holding down the shift key keeps the layer moving only in a straight line while dragging it. Place it directly inline with the blank tag below it.

Repeat this step two more times so that you have a full row of tags. As below.

Step 3:

To create to more rows we're going to do a similar action, this time by duplicating the whole row.

Close row 1 and ensure it is selected, turn off rows 2 and 3, then repeat as above clicking Ctrl + J to duplicate the row. Holding shift drag each row down into place on the canvas.

And you're done. A full printable sheet of the same tag in a few simple steps.

To save, go to the top menu File>Export As and choose your file type. To save as a PNG file with a transparent background just be sure to turn off the background layer before saving. If saving as a PSD file make sure to re-name it so you don't accidentally save over the original blank template.

Happy Crafting
Shawnna

Perfect for junk journaling projects, use the PDF printable sheets for fussycut details!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Happy Crafting
Shawnna

PIN ME

This tutorial works for any image and any shape using the free Photopea online editor. We'll be inserting an image into a shape using the clipping mask tool and this process can be used in any similar situation. You can also do this the same way in Photoshop or PS Elements.

Today, I'm going to use one of my gift tag templates as an example - this works exactly the same way with any of my templates though, or with shapes you draw yourself.

To begin open Photopea in your web browser.

Step 1:

Click Open From Computer to select a PSD template file from your hard drive. It's important that you choose a layered photoshop file for this method - other file formats are not going to work with this process.

Once opened your screen should look like the image below. Locate the layers palette in the bottom right of the screen.

Step 2:

Open the folders by clicking the little arrow next to each and click to select the first tag.

Step 3:

To insert an image to this tag we need to first open our image. Go to the top menu bar and select File>Open and Place. Then navigate on your hard drive to the image you want to insert and double click it. The image will automatically be placed on your template canvas on top of the layer you selected in step 2.

Notice that the image also shows in the layers palette right above the tag I selected. If your image is in the wrong order in the layers palette you can simply drag and drop it to the right location. In step 4 we're going to right click on this layer.

Step 4:

As shown above, right click on the image layer in the layers palette as pictured, and a popup menu will appear. In this menu look for Clipping Mask and select this option.

The image is now 'clipped' to the shape and is ready for re-sizing and precise placement.

Step 5:

To finish, just resize the image as required using the toggle nodes and drag into position however you please.

By default you should have the move tool already selected. If not, just be sure to select this from the left hand tools list (top).

And that's it! Repeat this for each shape in your template if you are wanting to add a different image to each tag. For a repeating tag, check out my next post for instructions on how to duplicate.

Happy Crafting
Shawnna

Get these fun vintage birthday greetings as ephemera printables!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Happy Crafting
Shawnna

PIN ME

I think we all know that product reviews serve to sway consumer decision making. Having honest and transparent reviews has become an integral part of online shopping for most platforms. But consumers don't necessarily need to see a perfect score. In fact, studies have shown that a perfect review score is perceived as either false or manipulated. Buyers feel better when there are at least a few less than positive reviews for a business, since these represent a more honest account.

Beyond the obvious importance of reviews for customers though, how else are reviews and feedback important as a tool for an Etsy shop, particularly if they are less than positive?

It's critical for businesses to understand how their products or services are being perceived in the market and can often inform on future business decisions.You should pay close attention to this feedback in order to make any improvements or adjustments to your daily operations.

Here are some reasons why they are so important:

Identify areas for improvement: Feedback and reviews from customers can help businesses identify areas for improvement in their products or services. By listening to customer concerns, businesses can make necessary changes and adjustments to improve their offerings or their level of service.
Build customer loyalty: When businesses listen to their customers and address their concerns, they build trust and loyalty. Responding to feedback and reviews in a timely and professional manner can also show customers that their opinions matter and that the business values their input.
Increase sales: Positive reviews and feedback can be powerful marketing tools. Many consumers rely on reviews and recommendations when making purchasing decisions. If a business has a strong track record of positive reviews and feedback, it can help attract new customers and increase sales.
Competitor analysis: Customer feedback and reviews can also provide valuable insights into how a business is performing compared to its competitors. By monitoring competitor reviews and feedback, businesses can identify opportunities to differentiate themselves and improve their offerings by comparison.

Overall, customer feedback and reviews are a crucial component of any successful business strategy. They provide valuable insights that can help businesses improve their products or services, build customer loyalty, increase sales, and stay ahead of the competition.

Shawnna

SLIDER

Making Free Printables for Your Blog Couldn't Be Easier

12 Free Vintage Victorian Style Illustrations

Free Vintage Fashion Illustration Adverts

20 Free Vintage Photography Cards

How to Duplicate Shapes in Photopea

Free Fussycut Printables - Vintage Roses

How to Add an Image to Any Shape in Photopea

Free Vintage Birthday Postcards

Why Customer Reviews are Important on Etsy

SLIDER

document.write(postDate);

document.write(postDate);

document.write(postDate);

document.write(postDate);

document.write(postDate);

document.write(postDate);

document.write(postDate);

document.write(postDate);

document.write(postDate);