Annie Lang's Blog!

You don't have to be an avid gardener to grow your own smiles!  Just grab a few craft supplies and let your imagination take over.  If you love papercrafts as much as I do, you'll truly enjoy working with my newly released  Seed Pack Envelopes Activity Crafts downloadable .pdf publication. If you'd rather create with resizable clipart images, Annie Lang's Garden Seed Pack Clipart has everything you need to get started.  This collection from Creative Market comes with a license option available to suit your personal or commercial needs so you can use them for yourself, for your online retail business or simply create something amazing for your print on demand merchandise stores. You don't have to wait until the danger of frost has passed to get those creative smiles growing today.  Happy Gardening!

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

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

Looking for fun Baby Shower ideas?  Here's a few ideas you may want to try... The theme of this shower was Nature after the new Mom-To-Be chose to decorate the nursery with a deer and dandelion design she discovered on a crib bedding set.  Invitations/Thank You cards were handcrafted with yellows, white, soft greys and natural brown colors with a mom and baby deer modeled after the bedding design.  Tabletop creations were made with a birch paper covered pot with a beaded tree branch and paper cutout deer ornaments. Simple silk flowers, vases of baby's breath and jars filled with rosemary, sage, thyme, lemon and lime slices added an inviting fragrance to each tabletop setting. Chairbacks were decorated with wide burlap ribbon and sprigs of "naturals" lending a light and airy ambiance to the room for guests to enjoy. In lieu of gift package bows, the hostess (aka my sister-in-law!) requested guests bring a book for the baby to get a good head start on early rea

When it comes to getting the growing season started, there's nothing better than a trip to the local garden center to get yourself inspired!  This Mother's Day, my daughter-in-law treated me to an afternoon at a nearby Herb Farm.  Heavenly Scent Herb Farm is tucked along a scenic back road and fills you with inspiration the minute you step out of the car!  Scenic pathways, creative displays, beautiful statuaries and quiet places to explore eventually lead you to the gift shop and green house areas that are simply filled to capacity with nature's delights!  Here are just a few snaps I took of some of the displays that caught my eye (and eventually my pocketbook!)  If you're ever in the Fenton, MI area, you should plan a trip to this beautiful farm.