Annie Lang's Blog!

It's a gloomy day.  It's too cold for outdoor activities.  You're bored and restless. You head to your craft supply shelves.  You discover a stash of scrap fabrics.  You also notice that wire frame you picked up from the Dollar Store.  You grab a pair of scissors and head for the table with your coffee and supplies and turn on your favorite music playlist.  Before you know it, you have made a whimsical wreath.  Hope you'll try out this traditional craft and experience the joy of creating a handmade treasure! 

Bright and cheery Bookworms make reading a little more fun for the kids!  Just print out this colorful reading list and let them see how many books they can add to it.  It's always nice to add a little reward, too so why not use some bookworm character cutouts as small incentives?  Simply print and cut out the motifs to create stickers, magnets and fun craftables to inspire them to progress through their book titles.  Mount them on stars or heart shapes cut from color cardstock and write a positive message on the back.  Hang the shapes from color ribbon to create danglers and watch your bookworms be amazed as they hang each one as a reminder that Bookworms really DO know stuff ! CLICK HERE to download Annie Lang's FREE full color, ready to print set because Annie Things Possible!

I must confess that I have a rocky relationship when it comes to my sewing machine!  Though I've owned one all of my adult life, I've mostly put it to use for hemming curtains, altering and repairing my clothing and for crafting small project.  I am however, a passionate fabriholic and my heart skips a beat any time I walk through the fabric aisles, captivated by the colors, textures and irresistible urge to buy something!  As a textile designer, I find great joy in creating repeat patterns, experimenting with color combinations and the simple challenge of creating something fun that can be used for future projects keeps me creatively motivated.  While recently organizing my craft shelves, I decided it was time to pull my scraps out of the bins and put them to everyday use.  Since a making a quilt is well beyond my skill level, I did an internet search to see what more talented experts were doing.  Here are a few of the projects I came up with that I wanted to share with my fel

Here's a fun and easy way to brighten up both your world and your day with painted wooden Flower Swags!  You don't need to be a decorative painter to make these fun little flowers in only a few hours or less.  All you need are some craft paints, brushes and glue and then use the finished painted items to decorate and embellish all kinds of items for your home or friends.  Enjoy this step by step tutorial along with a few ideas to get you inspired.  Happy Crafting!

Have a little creative fun by dying and decorating fake eggs for Easter this year!  I'm always on the lookout for new crafting surfaces so when I stumbled on these fake eggs that were pre-packaged in cartons at Walmart, I just had to take them home to play with.  Unlike shiny plastic pull apart eggs, these are actually solid lightweight plastic with a lightly textured realistic feel matte surface.  Unlike real eggs, you don't need to boil them or keep them refrigerated until Easter, they don't crack when you drop them and the price is right.  It so happened that my 4 year old granddaughter was visiting the day I tested this new product and thought it would be a fun crafting project for us to work on together.   Here are a few supply suggestions and tips if working with this kit.  Make sure the work area is covered with plastic.  Dye will wash out but you should have plenty of paper towels and baby wipes nearby.  Pitch the tiny little plastic bags that come with the kit and

If you love Gnomes as much as I always have, here's a fun little FREE project that any "Gnome Lover" will enjoy!  Originally designed as a Leprechaun Festival activity with my granddaughters, it can easily be adapted for any occasion in any color you wish.  Best of all, the kids can use embellishments of their choosing like gemstones, glitter, stickers, ribbons, washi tape and more to make this character their own!  You can download the FREE project from Annie Lang's DIY page because Annie Things Possible with a little imagination.  So bag up your own Gnome and take him home!

Let's have a little fun and get ready for Fall!  I painted up this whimsical little project on a quiet afternoon and can't wait to hang him up once the Autumn decorations come out after Labor Day!  Here's the FREE step-by-step project along with the character lineart ( right click the image and save ).  You can find the 4" x 6" Pumpkin Hollow Ornament I used for the sample project online at  Cupboard Distributing .  ENJOY AND FEEL FREE TO SHARE THIS PAGE LINK!

Fabric Designing I've been a "fabriholic" for as long as I can remember even though I was not very skilled when it came to sewing machines or threading needles!   However, in 1998 I was offered a licensing contract to design fabric prints based on the line art pattern characters I had published through Easl Publications and a whole new world of design possibilities opened up.   My fabric prints were being nationally sold through quilting, crafts and fabric stores like Jo-Ann Stores, Hancock Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, etc. until the recession hit and markets took a step backwards.  I then sold my printable designs for scrapbooking paper prints online and it was then that I discovered it was the design process that I've missed the most! Unlike the past when commercial prints required screen printing and final approval which sometimes took months, today's digital printing process takes only days before printed fabrics are shipped to the doorstep.  My Spoonflower sample s

 

Spring will be here soon so now is the perfect time to get ready for the return of our fine feathered friends!  I made my first gourd birdhouse in 2017 and it's time to replace it with a newer model.  I'm pleased it held up this long under the harsh winter and summer weather events we've experienced here in Michigan over the past few years and I expect it will be the same for this new gourd.  Unlike many of the wooden birdhouses I've had, the original gourd birdhouse has been continually occupied by a variety of nesting bird families for the last four years.  I can hardly wait for the snow to melt so I can hang my new one up amid the blossoming tree branches.  I wasn't able to locate a dried gourd locally, but was fortunate to find one to order online from Gourdaments  .  I hope you enjoy and happy birdwatching! UPDATE It only took a few days after hanging the new gourd birdhouse before a new family of birds began using it!  Within the next several weeks, the tree w

  Turn plain paper mache eggs into fun little owl characters to enjoy year round.  You most likely have most of the craft supplies you'll need on hand to complete this heartwarming DIY project yourself.  Here's how I made the sample project... Enjoy with a Smile!

I've never crafted my own snow globe so I thought I'd give it a try to see if it's as easy as my Pinterest research assured me it would be.   I did try using an "Instant Snow" recipe as suggested by one posted project and it was an absolute disaster!  I also learned through trial and error that using super glue to seal the jar lid works MUCH better than hot glue which tends to build up unevenly around the rim of the jar causing it to leak.  I already had most of the necessary supplies on hand and found a wide assortment of jars, smooth styrofoam balls and assorted plastic aquatics at the local Dollar Tree store.  After trying this globe project with great success, the grandkids and I are now ready to work on making "Enchanted Snow Fairy" globes using silver tinsel and a few of their figurines instead of aquatic themed trinkets.  This is most definitely a project the entire family will enjoy making any time of year.  Give it a try and enjoy!

Whether it's for a rainy day, group project, keepsake gift or just for yourself, give this project a try and you'll surely fill your heart with music! I haven't made music boxes in quite a few years so I recently decided to introduce the grandkids to this super fun DIY craft.  I had the paper mache heart boxes in my craft closet so all I needed were some wind-up music boxes.  I had a difficult time finding them locally at a reasonable price but I stumbled upon a super selection of boxes and tunes online at Glaser Ceramics .  Best of all, I could buy them in bulk at a great price so I mixed and matched seasonal tunes for holiday projects along with some of the girl's fun favorites. I was pleasantly surprised when the order arrived on my doorstep a few days later. Whether it's for a rainy day, group project, keepsake gift or just for yourself, give this project a try and you'll surely fill your heart with music!