Here's the default pack, if that's what you're asking about in the first question.

Don't know what you mean by the first question, but I HIGHLY suggest using paint.NET. It's free, easy to use, and perfect for low resolution textures. I'm making my 32x pack in it, and I use it for skinning.

Okay, your first question: What do you mean "Where do you get the items"? I'm assuming you're talking about HD packs because for a lot of HD textures people just use photographs and scale them down. However, that's obviously not going to work well for items. There aren't really templates for texturing, you have to make your own textures. Second question is really a matter of personal preference. It also depends on what kind of texture pack you're making. Are you making an hd/realistic pack? Use photoshop/gimp. Are you making a 16x or 32x pack? Definitely use gimp, or photoshop if you know how to use it well. If you're making a texture pack that uses a color palette though, paint.net is the way to go. For me I mainly use gimp because I've found that photoshop is just a bit too unwieldy for normal resolution packs, and gimp has more and easier applied filters and color adjustment options. On my newest project though, I'm using a color palette, which paint.net makes far easier to create, as gimp doesn't allow you to easily and accurately adjust color values to the extent needed for palettes. I hope this helped!

Anyone? It will be helpfull