FAQs

To update credit card information, you must be logged in to the site.

If you ARE NOT already logged in to the site, click the log in button on the site homepage.

If you ARE already logged in to the site, click the Welcome drop down, and go to Account.

Once you are logged in, you will be in your Account page.  Click on the SUBSCRIPTIONS link to edit your subscription information.

The Subscriptions link brings you to a summary of your subscription.  This is where you can update information.  Click UPDATE to edit your subscription formation.

1. Type in the credit card number that you want to use.
2. Type in the expiration date (MM/YY).
3. Type in the card’s  verification code.
4. Click the SUBMIT button to send the change to the payment processor.

New bundles are released each Monday at 7am Eastern Standard Time.  They do not need to be downloaded immediately.  The great thing about the Premium Membership Site is that you can access & download the graphics any time you need them.  As long as you have a membership, the site will be available to download images and bundles as you need them.

Each individual bundle has a theme for the week, with image files, printables, a Photoshop Elements tutorial and a crafting tutorial.

Note:  In many bundles, we have also included the same files in additional formats for those who have different software. For brush sets (.abr) you will need Photoshop, and vector formats (.ai, .eps) you will need software like Illustrator, while other vectors (.svg) can be opened by vector software & cutting machines.

In this video, Karen takes you through a tour of an individual bundle page to see what you get each week. Explore what is in each bundle, where to find & how to download images and printables, where to find related Photoshop Elements & craft tutorials, and learn about additional file formats you may see (vectors & brush sets).

Here is a short video where Karen explains how to search for images, bundles, printables, digital tutorials, & handcraft tutorials.

You can search through all images and all the printables by clicking on either the ‘Image’ or ‘Printables’ buttons in the menu at the top of the site.  Click on either icon to see a search page of thumbnails of either all the Images or all the Printables.

Note:  I am showing the Image search here, but the Printables search works the same way.  Each will bring you to a search page, where you can either search through images (Images icon) or Printables (printables icon).  Click any categories on the left to filter your search results.  Click any thumbnail image to bring up the full resolution original.

When you click on the thumbnail of an IMAGE, the image will come up in your internet browser as a full size image.  To download this image, right click on the image in your internet browser, and choose Save image as.

When you click on the thumbnail of a PRINTABLE, the printable will come up in your internet browser as a full size document.  Click on the print or download button to print or save the printable.

You can also find the images and printables on INDIVIDUAL BUNDLE PAGES, which you can access from either the home page, or bundle downloads page.

To download individual images once in a bundle page, scroll down to the thumbnails of the images in that bundle.

Click on the thumbnail of any image you want; the image will come up in your internet browser as a full size image.  To download this image, right click on the image in your internet browser, and choose Save image as.

To download individual printables once in a bundle page, scroll down to the thumbnails of the printables in that bundle.

Click on any thumbnail to bring up the full size PDF in your browser, then choose the download or print button.

The images throughout the site are 300 DPI and come in a variety of sizes (e.g., stamps may be 1.5” while large documents are around 12”).  The size offered highly depends on the source document’s size & quality.

If you experience a blurry image for some reason, it could be one of several contributing factors (download process, save/export process, image manipulation, software settings, shortcuts used, printer settings).  Here we will share the most common reasons an image on the site may appear blurry for you when you view or print it.  There are illustrations and videos to help you understand these points below too.

Not Saving the Full Size Image

If you save individual files from the site, be sure you bring up the full size image, and are not inadvertently saving a thumbnail version.  Thumbnails are smaller files, and thus lower quality when you enlarge them to work with. (Note:  if you can’t clearly see the difference in quality below, you may want to click the image below to bring it up even larger in your browser)

This video below demonstrates the incorrect way (and correct way) to save individual images.  We look at clues to help you identify if you are working with a lower quality thumbnail, including clues in the image file’s name, file size characteristics, and what the image looks like in an image editing program.

Copy / Paste Images from Website in to Other Programs

Some are used to using keyboard shortcuts or copying/pasting images from one location or website directly in to an image editing program.  Variables like the browser you use, computer settings, and the program you are pasting in to, could give varied results, including:

• a lesser quality or web version of the image gets pasted in, not the full size image
• the browser or program changes a transparent png to another file type during the copy/paste process so the image can’t be layered
• the image appears with remnants from the browser, like a black/grey/white background

Please do not copy/paste images from the site in to other programs unless you are 100% certain how copy/paste works for your set of variables in your situation.  In my case, copying from one browser works okay in one of my image editing programs, but gives me a totally unusable result if I paste in another program.

In the video below, see how copy/paste in to an image editing program (rather than saving the image first) creates unintended consequences.

We are sometimes asked why a png image (a transparent image) has what looks like a box behind the image or a colored background when viewed in your browser.  This is due to settings & how the computer/internet browser you’re using displays different image types.  When you open a transparent image on the site, you may see a white box, black, or grey areas behind the transparent image, this is okay.  Here is an example…

In the video below, we open the same file in two different sample browsers to demonstrate a difference in display.  Then we open those two different images in an image editing program to verify that although they display differently online, the downloaded images are identical and retain their transparent backgrounds.

Saving an image to your computer & using an image editing program is the preferred printing method.  To print a single image, click the thumbnail to bring up the full size image, right click to save it to your computer, and bring that image in to your editing program.  When compared to browser printing, image editing programs have much more flexibility with how you can modify size and print the images.

If you do print an image from your browser within the site and it prints on multiple pages, you must adjust your print settings in the browser.

Please note: there are so many possible configurations by device, version, browser, printer, and default settings. This video will not go over your exact configuration, but can give you key terms in your browser print menu to look for and adjust.

On The Graphics Fairy Members site, you will see the option to download your bundle images and printables in a zipped file (these are gold download buttons at the bottom of an individual bundle’s page).  A zip file is a package of files that have been grouped and compressed so they are easier to share and send.

To open the group of files, you must first download the zipped file and then you will unzip (or extract) those files.

On a PC, first click on the download link and save the zipped to your computer (note the location where you saved it).  Now navigate to the location where the zipped file is. Double click on the zipped file (it looks like a file folder with a zipper).  You can now see the zipped folder’s contents.  Click on the option at the top to “Extract all Files”.   Windows asks you where you want to save the extracted individual files.  Select a file folder and hit “Extract.”  You now have all of the individual files on your computer, ready to use in your graphics programs.

Mac Computers have a built in compression support called the Archive Utility.  The Archive Utility is located at /System/Library/CoreServices, navigate there to open it.  Click on File > Expand Archive.  Navigate to the zipped file you want to expand, select the file, and hit Expand.

On a Mac, many people have additional apps to help work with zipped files.  This article from About.com has more information for Mac users.  WinZip, The Unarchiver, and iZip are popular third party options to help unzip files.

Vector files will have the file type extension of .ai, .eps or .svg.  In order to use vector files, you must have advanced software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.  SVG files are often used in conjunction with paper cutting machine software.  Do not worry, the vectors are just another file format we add as a bonus format in some bundles.  The same image files are already included in your bundle as .png files, so you’re not missing out.

Vector files are used by design professionals to make large scale projects (think billboards). The program basically redraws the image as you make it bigger, so it does not get blurry when resized for really large projects.  Most people that are not professional designers will find the image files (.png, .jpg) are perfect for their needs and will never need to work with vectors.

Our printables are saved in the most common PDF format.  In order to open & view a PDF, you’ll need a PDF reader (this comes standard in many computers).  If you can’t “see” or open the PDF just by clicking on it, try downloading a PDF reader.

If this is your first time downloading a PDF reader, click the link above to download the free Adobe reader.  The prompts will have you download an .exe file to your computer.  Then navigate to that file and click on it to install the application.

If you are in a bundle page, click on printable you want to print.  This brings it up in a new browser.  Click the print icon (or download icon).

In order to use Photoshop brushes, you must have Adobe Photoshop software.  Photoshop brushes work like digital stamps that can be added to your images.  The brushes are images that, by using the Photoshop brush tool, can be stamped on your digital project.  Photoshop brushes are a convenient way to add images you use frequently, and they can still be manipulated (e.g., color, opacity, size).  Photoshop brushes are files with the .abr file extension.

In order to use Photoshop brushes, you must have Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements software.

Open your Photoshop program.  Make sure the brush tool is selected.  You’ll need to click on the brush tool type (at the top) you’re using.  A popup menu will appear (this is where you normally select the brush you want to use).  To load new brushes, click on the small triangular arrow on the menu, and scroll down and click “Load Brushes.”  Note the location that opens.  You will need to copy and paste your brush file (.abr file) to this location and click “Load.”

For more details on how to work with Photoshop brushes, visit this tutorial.

INDIVIDUAL IMAGES can be downloaded on each INDIVIDUAL BUNDLE PAGE. Browse the image list on the bundle page to preview the bundle images and note the number of the image you want. Look for a set of corresponding thumbnails at the bottom of the image section in the bundle page. Click on the image’s thumbnail to get the full size image, then right click to save the image (the same way you would on The Graphics Fairy site). Note: if you want all the bundle’s images at once, use the gold image download buttons instead to download groups of images in a zipped file format.

There are many image editing programs on the market & we get questions about all of them! Although we can’t give specific instructions on how to use all of these programs, we do have a few that we have used directly through the years, or that our users highly recommend, including Photoshop Elements, PicMonkey, Corel PaintShop Pro, and GIMP. We have put together a video {available here} what walks through many of the available options, and helps you determine which software would be best for you.  Carefully think about things like what you want to do with the images, how tech savvy you are, and how much time you want to invest in learning a new skill.  In the video, we also try to share some other types of software that we are asked about often, that are NOT ideal for those learning image editing.

We currently do not have a dedicated phone line to handle questions (we are too small). Answers to many questions (membership, how to download, etc.) can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you still are unsure, please use the Contact Us form at the top of each page, and we will respond to you in 24 hours.