Here's a list of links to some useful sites, resources and free/open source software that I recommend.
Design
The Gimp
GIMP (short for the GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free software raster graphics editor, an awesome open source alternative to Photoshop. You can use to to edit, resize, crop and create fantastic images in many different formats. You've got everything you need: layers, filters, brushes (it's compatible with Photoshop brushes, too) and overall awesomeness.
Brusheezy
Brusheezy is a great resource for brushes and textures. Did I mention The Gimp uses Photoshop brushes? ;)
Fonts
Dafont
Dafont is one of my favorite websites for finding fresh, new fonts and one of the best known, largest archives on the web. I like it because there's such a large number of fonts to choose from. It's hard not to find what you're looking for! You can also find finds that I've created on my Dafont profile page!
Fontspace
Fontspace is my other favorite online font archive. It doesn't have quite as many fonts as Dafont, but I like it because it updates all the time so there's always great new fonts added every time you visit. I also have a profile page on Fontspace.
AMP Font Viewer
Amp Font Viewer is a free font manager. I use it to keep track of the large number of fonts on my computer. It really comes in handy when trying to find the perfect font for a specific phrase because you can define the text sample and it will show you what it looks like in every font you have installed.
Web Tools
Coffee Cup Free HTML Editor
Coffee Cup has a lot of cool software and one of the things that I like about it is that they offer a lot of trimmed-down versions for free. My favorite of these is the free HTML editor. It's no WYSIWYG, but you shouldn't need that anyway, right? You can work on lots of different files at the same time, and I love the color coded-code (that's a tongue-twister)! Overall, it's a great way to stay organized while you work. Plus, it beats using NotePad!
Filezilla
Filezilla is a good, reliable FTP solution that offers both a free FTP client and server. You can drag and drop files and connect quickly by saving mulitple logins.
HTML Ipsum
Lorem Ipsum on steroids for the web designer with different text samples already bracketed as paragraphs, lists, forms, tables, etc...
XAMPP is a free Apache HTTP web-server you can put on your computer to develop your dynamic webpages offline! I use it so that I can work with PHP, but you can do a lot with it, including using MySQL and Perl.
Web Treats ETC
Web Treats is a great resource for lots of web elements, like icons and background textures and images.
Creative Resources
CreativeMYK
CreativeMYK is an archive of free graphics created by Christian artists around the world. It's an awesome resource for churches and Christian non-profits.
Flickr
Flickr is great, whether you're looking for inspiration or managing and hosting your photos online. It's also a good way to connect with photographers and artists.
General Purpose
Open Office
You don't need to spend hundreds on a office suite, Open Office is free! It includes a word processor, a database and a spreadsheet creator, presentation software, and graphics publisher. I mostly use Writer (the word processor) and Draw (similar to Publisher). One great feature of Open Office is the ability to easily export your files as pdfs.
Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a free, cross-platform email client from Mozilla. What makes it even better is the new Lightning extension that adds in the Sunbird calendar so you can create email-related tasks and events. I don't miss Outlook at all!
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
AVG's free-version of their anti-virus software offers real-time protection while you're searching and surfing the web or spending time on social networks.
Recommended Artists
Here's a few other talented artists you should take the time to check out.
Kristi Kern
Kristi Kern is a good friend and fantastic artist, both in traditional and digital media. She graduated from Columbia College in Chicago with a major in graphic design.
Kimberly Geswein
If you spend any time browsing on Dafont or Fontspace, it won't take you long to notice a very talented artist with tons of beautiful handwritten fonts for every occasion.
Jerra Murphy
Inspired Images by Jerra aims at providing unique photographs to capture moments and memories to last a lifetime.