Annie Lang's Blog!

Anyone can paint up this fun DIY wood project to decorate any way you wish for any season of the year!  Here's the basic step-by-step project to get you inspired to welcome the Autumn Season.  So grab your craft supplies and get started...no pattern needed!  You can find the  10" x 20" Door with Panel Kit used for the sample project online from Cupboard Distributing (also comes in smaller sizes!)  Just click the images below to see full size how-to instructions. Please Enjoy and feel free to SHARE THIS PAGE LINK!

If you need quick and easy decorations for your Autumn or Thanksgiving gatherings, here's a great DIY project idea you can complete in less than 10 minutes.  Best of all, you can make them both for next to nothing with supplies you can easily find at your local Dollar Store if you don't already have them on hand.  So start the timer and give it a try!

I've always wanted to make a few birdhouses from gourds but never seemed to actually get around to actually making them until now.  I recently picked up a few gourds for $5 each while visiting the Past Tense Arts and Antiques Store in Lapeer Mi and within a week, these 2 birdhouses became part of my home landscaping!  Hopefully next spring I will find them fully occupied with happily nesting feathered families.  DESIGNING ...   Since no 2 gourds are exactly alike, it's difficult to create patterns for these natural surfaces.  I prefer to play with a variety of design ideas with my Photoshop image editor before grabbing my craft paints and brushes.  I first take a digital photo, open it in my editor, cut out the areas around the shape which I can then use as my basic shape template.  Digital designing allows me to experiment with the design without worry. Because I create a new layer for each design element and color, correcting unwanted errors is as simple as del

Digitally design before you paint by using your image editing program.   I use Adobe Photoshop.   Use a tape measure to get the height and width measurements to size your digital canvas Create a white layer over the background and a duplicate layer of your background image   I chose a blue color overlay but you can change this to anything you'd like to suit your design I always save a copy of each design layer I may want to use for future projects! I also created a cardinal and a Santa design before deciding to use this scenic for my project Digital designing allows you to group elements so you easily position them any way you'd like. I prefer to use my line art as a guide, but you can transfer directly onto your prepped surface. Make sure you remove any dirt or rust areas with steel wool before priming with your basecoat. I'll most likely be using this finished project as a small centerpiece filled with holiday greens.  However, I also