Annie Lang's Blog!

It was a great year for my outdoor herb garden but the time has now come to harvest and dry what I can to be used for the long winter ahead.  Since I don't have a kitchen window to grow fresh herbs indoors and a cat who loves to indulge in anything resembling greenery, I had to come up with a way to safely dry my garden delights while keeping them handy for kitchen use.  Up until now, I've been hanging them "willy-nilly" from cabinet knobs and kitchen peghooks which simply isn't practical.  So here's what I came up with to work for my limited kitchen wall space.  I already had a 9" x 12" board which I painted white and then streaked with wood stain.  The two Command small wire hooks I used were those I had on hand which I sprayed with green paint to match my board lettering.   The tree branch "rod" was one from my grandkid's outdoor "enchanted fairy forest" and the herbs were naturally harvested from my outdoor garden! I hand

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

There are so many fun things you can make with wood slice rounds and the possibilities are simply endless!  Here are just a few items I made for my seasonal Fall, Winter Holiday and Fairy Garden decor to get you started on your own creative adventures.  I recommend you lightly sand and apply wood  sealer to both sides of the wood slices before you begin your projects.  Not only will it help preserve the wood, but it also helps prevent paint from bleeding when it hits the porous surface.  The wood is usually soft which makes it quite easy to drill holes for inserting hangers.   Enjoy! Right Click and Save to your computer

Here's a fun way to dress up an ordinary clock and add a little fun to any room.  You can download this FREE super cool Kitty Cat Clock full size color printable craft project right now from Annie Lang's DIY page.  Enjoy!