Annie Lang's Blog!

Y ou can download this DIY Christmas Mouse Countdown whimsical character scene project designed by Annie Lang for FREE at Annie Things Possible!

You can download this DIY Snowman Christmas Card Holder whimsical character project designed by Annie Lang for FREE at Annie Things Possible!

You can download this DIY Candy Cane Keepers whimsical character scene project designed by Annie Lang for FREE at Annie Things Possible!

You can download this DIY Holiday Welcome Mat project designed by Annie Lang for FREE at Annie Things Possible!

You can download this DIY Cheers and Wishes Bottles project designed by Annie Lang for FREE at Annie Things Possible!

You can download this DIY Wrapped Canvas Gifts Holiday project designed by Annie Lang for FREE at Annie Things Possible!

You can download this DIY Craft project designed by Annie Lang for FREE at Annie Things Possible!

A trip to Grandma's house always includes at least one fun learning activity and here's a simple project anyone can do together with preschool age kids.  All you need is a handful of pebbles, a bottle of Tacky Glue and a surface like wood or paper mache.  I just happened upon this rustic handmade birdhouse feeder while visiting a local cider mill and it turned out to be the perfect surface for our activity of the day. I began by first applying a coat of Thompson's Clear Wood Sealer to the entire surface and allowing it to dry overnight.  The next day, a pile of pebbles was placed onto our work surface where my granddaughter could select which ones she wanted to use on the birdhouse feeder. A plastic knife was the perfect tool for spreading a thick coat of Tacky Glue onto the wood area to be embellished. Pebbles were placed one by one onto the glue and gently pressed down into place.  Not only were her little fingers kept busy for an hour, but she was more than able to s

Chances are most preschoolers already know the "ABC" song. But when it comes to identifying individual letters out of sequence, they may experience a little difficulty associating the correct letter with a "sound alike" word. While my preschooler granddaughter was visiting, we came up with a fun activity which involved both of us taking snapshots with our digital cameras.  I had her find "alphabet treasures" that we could take photos of as we walked around the house and yard and we snapped away!   In about an hour, we had all the photos we needed so we sat at the computer together and unloaded the digital file that we would save.  I let her be the decision maker as to which ones we wanted to use for her book.  Thus ended the first phase of our project and we then moved on to making lunch! When she returned a few days later, Maryann found that each photo had been placed on a digital document (most likely by the digital fairy!) which featured each lett

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

While unpacking my autumn decorations, my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter stumbled upon some paper mache pumpkins I painted several years ago and immediately fell in love with them.  So off to the patio we went, armed with 2 painted pumpkins, a drill for me and a stub handled Phillips-Head screwdriver for her.  It was the perfect late summer day project for us as we chatted about the seasonal changes that were coming in the days ahead.  I drilled the holes and she poked the screwdriver into each one to even out the edges.  Little did she know that I was enjoying spending some quality time with her while she was working on fine motor skills as she concentrated on completing her task. The creative payoff extends far beyond the finished rewards of making fun usable items with your kids, grandkids or students.  They not only learn to focus as they complete the task at hand as you talk about things like shapes, color and imaginative uses for repurposing items, but it's always a thrill wh

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

Create Fun Ears for Elves, Leprechauns and Attentive Readers!  If you're looking for a quick, easy and really fun project, you can print and assemble this project in no time at all! Originally designed as a classroom storytelling prop for my Elf books reading sessions, this project can easily be used to create Leprechaun Ears for St. Patrick's Day or used as a Halloween costume accessory. Here's how to make Leprechaun Ears like the ones Little Emma is modelling for us in the sample photo... 1.  Right click the project page below and save it to your computer. 2.  Print the page.  Apply double sided adhesive to the back of the      page before cutting them out. 3.  To insure the printer ink won't bleed if the ears happened to get wet,      lightly mist with clear sealer or cover them with laminate or clear      Contact (R)  paper. 4.  Apply double sided adhesive to the back of the page before cutting. 5.  Assemble and finish the headband as instructed Ho

There's still plenty of time to work on those fun Halloween party and novelty items before the trick or treaters arrive!  H alloween Pattern pattern line art books in printable .pdf and paperback editions can be found at  Annie Lang's Book Store !  Why not see how much fun you can have Making Your Own Halloween Fun!

Wit Halloween just around the corner, you can make last minute Halloween projects and costume embellishments right NOW!   Annie Lang's Paper Clip Halloween project book is absolutely loaded with fun Halloween printables and ideas to make it a Halloween to remember.  You can order the downloadable .pdf edition right now from Annie Lang's Book Store and you'll be on your way to making your pumpkins SMILE!