Annie Lang's Blog!

It's been 38 years since I first decided to take a journey on a creative career path that did indeed make Annie Things Possible in ways that I never could have imagined.  I have been so very blessed to have met so  so many friends and creative kindred spirits along the way to help inspire and guide me  through the many ups and downs of my journey.  I will be forever grateful for their encouragement, support and much needed advice and know that it is they who have made Annie Things Possible through all these years.   It has been nothing short of amazing to watch 3 generations of artisans follow in the footsteps of our collective creative community who now share their own talents, ideas and enthusiasm of the arts with all of us.  It's now been decided that the time is right to retire my own entrepreneurial ventures and move on to yet another chapter which I hope includes more time with my family, fun excursions, time in my garden and to simply enjoy every minute of life's une

It's that time of year again when the world turns green and our inner Lucky Leprechauns are in search of some St. Patrick's Day fun.  I thought I'd revisit a few past posts with fun ideas and FREE downloadable projects to inspire, download and enjoy.  Have a Lucky Green Day!  

Anyone can celebrate National Reading Month to encourage reading for all ages!  The first week of March also kicks off the Read Across America Week to promote literacy and encourages children to explore the world of books through the love of reading. You're never too young to read a good book and nobody knows this better than kids!  Reading to young children and toddlers not only helps them develop good reading skills and learning habits but it's a bonding activity that helps them explore the world through imaginative stories with each turn of the page. Whether you are a teacher, reading tutor, parent, grandparent or simply a bookworm book enthusiast, you're in luck!  Find lots of great storybooks, Bookworm merchandise, fabrics, clipart and crafting ideas for yourself or favorite reader.  Just keep scrolling to see how Annie Lang's Bookworm characters make Annie Things Possible!  " Bookworms Know Stuff Storybook by Annie Lang " was among the first storybooks I

During the pandemic when in-store shopping was not an option, many discovered that the  convenience of browsing and ordering greeting cards online was a less expensive and more enjoyable experience.   I've been creating greeting cards through Greeting Card Universe since 2015 and recently added more than a dozen new cards  for 2024.  It's still exciting to be able to send my cards to friends and family and see my art so professionally reproduced on greeting cards.  It took a while to understand the card designing process but the helpful GCU team patiently helped me through the many scripting, classifying and problematic image issues that often came up during the submission procedure.  As a result, I've gradually become a better artist and more able to identify designing flaws that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. If you have never ordered online greeting cards through Greeting Card Universe, you can watch their video to see for yourself as to just how easy it is.  You can

As of January, Spoonflower has just stepped up the game when it comes to fabric designs by the independent artist community!  Artists no longer have to purchase sample fabric proofs, wait for them to arrive by mail and once approved, offer them for sale through the Spoonflower website.  Artist can now use Spoonflower's online digital proofing tool to detect any design flaws and resubmit revised files to make them immediately available for sale to the public.  This most definitely provides a bit of financial relief for independent designers with limited budgets and helps better detect problematic design issues that may have otherwise gone undetected.  To read more about how changes at Spoonflower impacts artists, here's a very well written article by Craft Industry Alliance   that you should check out.  The Designing Process Back in the early 90's, I was offered a unique opportunity to work with the Balson-Hercules Group (later became Balson Erlanger) who licensed my design

  It's the time of year when we gather up the hearts and craft supplies to make something special for someone we love.  Whether it's a bit of festive decorating, brightening up a wearable, making it a heartfelt table setting or just a few handcrafted cards, here are some cheerfully fun downloadables that will make you smile.  So jump right into some creatively fun projects and idea inspirations and let's make something heartfelt and AMAZING! Perfect for kids of all ages!  You can print and create as many project sheets as you need and then Give a Little Love .  Instructions are included with this .pdf formatted full color 8.5" x 11" publication.   Want patterns?  You'll absolutely LOVE Annie Lang's Sharing Hearts and Loving Smiles Line Art Pattern Publication.  Just watch the video to see what's inside and get inspired! Make your own 5"x7" heartfelt greeting cards for your special Valentine and just Print it with Heart ! Would you rather wor

The year is off to a great start as I've just released my first 26 set of digitally formatted character line art sets to match the clipart collections now available through Creative Market .  So what are some ways you can use line art?  I'll begin by telling you that I've always considered line art as the "Keys to the Creative Kingdom"!  From my fabric designing, crafting patterns, storybook illustrations, greeting card designing, painting projects, wall murals and manufactured merchandise, all undertakings required line art to be created as the first step in the creative process. Once you have the line art, Annie Thing is truly Possible! Each 48 image file set comes with 300dpi line art in PNG ready to color cutouts on transparent background, PNG line art only on transparent background, EPS and JPG formats along with your choice of licensing options.  Whether it's for personal projects, print on demand resale merchandise, items to create and sell for your onl

Gather up your party supplies and celebrate the New Year ahead with printable champagne message bottles for all of your guests!  Whether you use them as table decorations, bottle tags or hostess gifts, you can make this FREE printable papercraft card project by Annie Lang in just minutes.  Simply right click the image below, save to your computer and have a Happy New Year!

Christmas is getting closer, the kids are filled anticipation, holiday parties are in full swing and Christmas lights are shining bright.  There is still time to wrap up those last minute gifts and tag them with some adorable printable tags.  Simply download and print out as many pages as you need in just minutes for FREE ! There's also time to paint up a   FREE festive Penguin Circle and Wooden wreath projects for plates, tree skirts, embellishments and more with Annie's easy to use line art patters and project instructions.  If you haven't already downloaded your free printables and patterns, now is the perfect time to visit Annie's FREE DIY page with my very best wishes for a happy handmade holiday! 

Here's a most delightfully festive DIY project to make the holidays bright!  Painted with acrylic paints on a wood cutout shape, this design has lots creative possibilities.  Simply add a little glitter paint for added sparkle.  After transferring the design, you can also drill small holes to attach little fairy lights around the wreath after painting.  The pattern can be reduced or enlarged to suit your needs.  My original wreath was 36" which I used for holiday wall art.  The line art provided below will fit a 7" wood cutout.  To download the printable pattern or enlarge specific instructions, simply right click the image and SAVE .  Enjoy!

It's time to break out the brushes and get this year's ornaments ready for Holiday annual decorating here that begins the day after Thanksgiving!  Being naturally attracted to more "out of the box" surfaces to paint, I stumbled on these adorable little mini gourd ornaments that will be simply perfect for my small Christmas tree display.  Each one of these real gourds is unique and on average range in size from 1.25" to 2".  These along with many other varieties of Amish family farm grown gourds from Pennsylvania Dutch Country, in Lancaster County are available for sale through a co-op venture you can find online at amishgourds.com    I found that permanent marker brushes and pens were ideal for turning these mini gourd ornaments into tiny birdhouses.  Gourds are naturally porous so they really absorb the color well.  Start with lighter colors and then gradually work in the darker colors for best results.  If you want to add outlining, it's easily done u

Whether you want to take up art as a hobby, want to encourage a budding artist, or simply need great gift ideas for your favorite creative, I've compiled a list of some basic "necessities" to get anyone off to a great start!  You can easily be overwhelmed when browsing the art  and craft store shelves, especially if you don't know exactly what it is you are looking for.  The ideas I've listed are all basics that I personally use here in my studio.  I tend to shop for supplies online which usually keeps me within my budget and helps me keep up with the latest products once I read the reviews feedback and watch the promo videos if available.  Please note that I DO NOT get endorsement fees or rewards for any of the branded products I've posted here! Let's get started! SKETCHING KIT This kit has everything you need all neatly organized in a travel friendly carrying case.  This Kalour sketching kit is manufactured by Love Art and has everything one needs to ex