Annie Lang's Blog!

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

A dozen new smiles have just been added to ANNIE LANG'S CARD SHOP  and the ANGEL BABY CONGRATULATIONS  design was chosen as Design of the Day shortly after the card went live on the Greeting Card Universe website.  Hope you'll drop by and check it out.  There are deals going on each time you visit so you'll save even more off the already low prices for these high quality 5"x7" greeting cards.

This painting was originally created in 2000 as a cover for a scrapbook I was working on.  It was made using acrylic paint that was thinned with water in lieu of watercolors.  I particularly like this medium because it dries fast, colors don’t bleed together, it allows for a light transparent watercolor “feel” to the work and lends itself well to my style of pen and ink detailing technique.  If you think this project may be a bit too creatively challenging for you, feel free to use the pattern along with any medium you feel most comfortable with.  The main objective here is to get creative and enjoy...so why not   Go For It !  Scroll to the bottom of this post to find the free pattern...just right click and save. NOTE: If you don't know how to transfer pattern line art onto surfaces, learn right now by watching my quick tutorial how-to video... PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS PATTERNED BACKGROUND 1.  Transfer line art pattern onto watercolor paper. 2.  Thin acrylic craft pai

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!