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So what I want to do is take images and put them in either hearts or stars.
So like this:
Attachment 58779
But ideally I would like to be able to cut all around the heart. I know there is the free-form selection but I can never get that to properly surround the shape. Is there a better way to do this?
In Gimp 2, use the magic wand. What you want to do to get a perfect heart shape to cut around is to create a new layer with your heart shape. Use the wand and select around your shape. It will select everything around the shape. Inverse your selection, and work with the layer with the image you are using, and you will be able to cut the heart shape selection of your image to paste. If you just want to cut around the heart, there's no need to inverse your selection so you can skip that.
If you're creating the hearts yourself, this is the best way:
First of all, always make sure your heart is on a different layer to the image (i.e. make a new layer for the heart). Make your heart shape with whatever tool, and fill it with your chosen colour. Then, with your heart selected (as in dotted-outline on picture selected), change layers back to the image, and invert your selection (ctrl+I). Then you can just delete, and press ctrl+shift+A to deselect everything.
To merge your layers down, select the top layer, right click it and choose merge down. If you have a heart with transparency but you need to select the outline, you can right-click the layer with the heart and choose alpha to selection.