Good, free photo editing and graphic design program for windows?

I'd like to install some kind of program on my laptop (Windows 8) that lets me edit photos or create my own images. Something similar to snapseed or overgram on the iPhone but more extensive and in depth. It would mostly be used for personal projects and tinkering. Also I have no knowledge of photoshop or anything like that and would prefer to not spend any money.

Being Window 8 and possibly 64 bit or 32 bit compatible,
you need to find ware that works, and free,

Gimp ~
> GIMP requires Windows XP with Service Pack 3, or a newer version of Windows to run.
This version of GIMP also requires a CPU with SSE instruction set (Pentium III, Athlon XP or better).
http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

PhotoPlus Starter Edition
http://www.serif.com/free-photo-editing-software/
# Operating system: Windows XP/Vista/7/8
http://download.cnet.com/...47686.html

DigiFoto ~ von Klaus (windows)
http://www.klausdoege.de/DigiFoto/
___

Artweaver Free
http://www.artweaver.de/products-en/artweaver-free/
Phierha
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mighty/knight/

Paint.NET - Free Software for Digital Photo Editing
http://www.getpaint.net/
.