Annie Lang's Blog!

Today I'm getting ready to mail out this year's greeting cards to friends and family.  I thought this would be the perfect time to reshare this " 15 fun things you can make with recycled greeting cards " project ideas post for you just for fun.  Wondering what to do with all those wonderful greeting cards you've been saving up?  Here are 15 fun DIY ideas anyone can try and I hope you'll share this fun video with your creative friends and family.   All the pictured sample crafts were created with 5" x 7" cards printed on heavy cardstock with a gloss finish.  I'm sure many of these ideas can be easily adapted for use on  cards of various sizes, so go ahead and enjoy your creatively recycled cards!

Download this free "Mr. Lucky " character line art pattern and make this your lucky day!  This design was originally hand painted as a calendar art project and it's a timeless image guaranteed to make you smile.  I transferred the design onto tracing paper, placed the tracing over a sheet of graphite paper and then transferred it onto a sheet of Acrylic Paper.  The entire design was colored using acrylic craft paints that were thinned with water to create this sample project.   Here's an expanded view of the paper used to paint this sample project.  I've use this acrylic paper for years with all types of mediums including watercolor brushes, markers, inks, gouache, tempera and tube acrylics.  This paper has a smooth linen weave finish and canvas-like texture that grabs the medium and holds the vibrancy of your colors.  It's a quality heavy weight paper that doesn't bleed through to the backing and best of all, doesn't curl when wet!  I seems a bit pr

It's time to get your scarecrows out and enjoy a few smiles as autumn draws near!  Annie Lang has plenty of fun scarecrow characters and smiles to help inspire all your fall DIY projects,  So whether it's colorful clipart or line art patterns , you're sure to find some autumn inspiration to get your season off to a great start.  Here's a quick little video clip from my YouTube Channel to see what you can do with all those Scarecrows in the Pumpkin Patch!

When there's a chill in the air, you can be sure that apple pickin' time is not far behind!  If you love apples, you'll need Annie's sweet little Apple Kids to give you a hand.  You'll find Annie's Apples and Apple Kids clipart collections in the Creative Market store so you can start working on your projects right NOW!  Need the lineart patterns?  Apple Kids and Acorn Frolics has all the character designs you'll need and the .pdf edition is on sale right now, too! Here's a short little video clip to get you INSPIRED!  Enjoy your apple season...

There's a new Bunny in town thanks to Photoshop and my digital pen!  YouTube settings should be set to 1080p/HD for best viewing experience.  Enjoy!!!

There's a few NEW characters in town and they have just been released as line art pattern books, clipart collections, digital prints and Paper Clip activity sheets!  Annie Lang is proud to introduce her whimsical gnome characters who love to frolic, play, make stuff and just hang out in the "Gnomeland".   

It's hard to believe this little bee character has been with me for over 30 years and he's still just as sweet as ever!  Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel because more adorable characters are on their way to the drawing board .

Subscribe to Annie Lang's Art You Tube Channel and  never miss a chance to make something FUN! 

Wondering what to do with all those wonderful greeting cards you've been saving up?  Here are 15 fun DIY ideas you can try to get you started.  Enjoy this fun video and Happy Greetings!

Get your Chills on all month long and best of all...Annie Lang's lineart pattern book is   available in both paperback and downloadable .pdf editions!

For more than two decades, we've had a tradition of compiling all our yearly personal photos and video clips into fun "Our Year" movies that we watch together at family Holiday gatherings.  I also include individual granddaughter videos and it's simply amazing as we watch them grow up so very quickly throughout the years of their young lives.  This year we have a new little star on our family tree so it was especially exciting to see how much she's grown in just the first 3 months of her young life. It's a bit time consuming but quite easy to put your own movies together.  I create monthly folders with sorted video clips and photos on my PC.  At the end of the year (we go from Dec-Nov) all are added to my Windows Movie Maker program, music is added and it's then ready to be shared!  If you are looking to give a gift that will last a lifetime, consider creating your own memory traditions for those you love and watch the magic begin!

Have a little fun today and see just how much fun digitally drawing clipart characters can be.  The actual time it took to complete this hippo was 8 minutes and 32 seconds so I sped things up a bit for you.  You'll find more hippos along with many other lineart jungle characters in my Safari Animals Jamboree linework pattern book.  Enjoy!

If you've ever wondered how I make my sketches into digital art, just watch this video to see how I do it!    When it come to artwork, I know "There's an App for that!" out there.  Most will take your sketch and instantly render it into line art or finished color art, but let's face it...there's very little challenge in only needing to know how to click a button when it comes to creativity, developing our skills and making something to call our very own. In the upcoming months, I'll have lots more "Let's Draw" character art videos to keep you creatively inspired.  You can subscribe to my YouTube channel so you won't miss a single new video!  You can also subscribe to this BLOG which will also keep you notified of every new release. You can use any of the art you find in my themed Line Art Pattern Books to practice your digital art sketching.  If you have the .pdf edition, simply import the art into your image editing program.  If

New Children's Book Release! Something Weird is Going on Here written and illustrated by Annie Lang Here is a delightful story that will inspire, encourage and help introduce young readers to the wonderful world of books!  Colorful and engaging illustrated images help early learners see how family life quickly changes as seen through the perspective of Meatloaf the cat.  From life at the shelter to the everyday joys of a new home to to addition of a new family member, children will see how Meatloaf the cat adapts to each new "weird" event that comes along.  This is a great read-it-together book that is sure to spark some very interesting home conversations with inquisitive youngsters.  This is Annie's 8th self published children's book title and is available in both paperback and Kindle editions from Amazon.com  and many other online book stores.

It's that time of year again!  Ready for a BBQ Picnic?  Let's GO! You'll find this newly released BBQ Picnic Days Line Art Pattern Book publication in Annie Lang's Book Store

One of my favorite Holiday characters (and believe me, it's VERY hard to choose!) happens to be Holiday Snow Bears.  This week I'll be working on some adorable Bear ornaments for the tree and creating sectional HollyDay Express magnetized train pieces so that my granddaughter can assemble and reassemble the pieces as she wishes on the refrigerator door! There's a 7 piece train car pattern set along with bears for you to trace, transfer and create with any medium or colors that you please.  I painted a train around a band box I filled with ornaments and gave to a friend one year as a most unique holiday gift!  The Train Set and Holiday Bears can be found in the paperback or downloadable .pdf  editions of Snow Bears and Moppets .

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!

If you want to paint decorative items for the kid's room, make fun papercrafting items, add some pizzazz to a scrapbook page or make a pillow for the tooth fairy...this publication has everything you need to get the project done!   It's Time to Say Goodnight includes mix and match designs of baby and toddler characters taking baths, brushing their teeth, reading bedtime stories, happy sheep, sleepy bears and tooth fairy related images and icons. To get an idea as to what's inside...just watch this video book trailer !

MAKE A SPLASH THIS SUMMER! It's time to get in the swim of things now that the warm weather has arrived! You'll find dozens of fun and exciting water themed patterns you can use to dress up and personalize a beach chair or tote, paint on summer glassware, create pool party decorations, make stickers and games for the kids, dress up a pair of flip flops, design fun summer wearables, appliques, travel kits or anything else you can possibly imagine.   Annie Lang's "Make a Splash" line art pattern book is available in paperback or printable .pdf formats so you can get started on your projects right away. The Kindle e-book edition of this publication as shown on the book trailer is no longer available and has been replaced by the printable .pdf format edition you can download directly from the Annie Lang's Book Store     So go right ahead and Make a Summer Splash...and don't forget to Smile!

Can't wait for the flowers to bloom?  If you've ever wanted to paint your own flower garden or simply enjoy watching them digitally bloom with a digital pen and tablet, you're in luck!  Just sit back, relax and ENJOY the fun and watch an Annie Lang flower character come to life.  This is just one of many characters from her " Spring Frolics " Line Art Pattern Workbook