Annie Lang's Blog!

Here's a fun way to keep kids busy when it's too snowy or rainy to play outdoors.  This project was made for an upcoming baby shower, but it can also used for any theme or event.  Let the kids DIY their own party tablecloths, holiday placemats, school banners, murals and more.  They'll stay busy having fun and the time will simply fly by!  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".   

Need some help with your DIY Holiday projects?  Let Annie Lang's  Workshop Elves give you a hand!   You'll find LOTS of fun elves waiting for you at Annie Things Possible

Make holiday storytime FUN this year by making these adorable Elf Listening Ears for the kids to wear while reading Annie Lang's Elf Books!  You'll find A Little Elf Upon a Shelf and A Little Elf from Another Shelf available in both paperback and Kindle versions in Annie Lang's Book Store !  When you buy the paperback from Amazon, you can download the Kindle edition for FREE.  Right click the project page below to save the full size page to make your own printable DIY elf ears! Here's a fun Help Yourself Elf Hot Cocoa recipe for a group book reading activity.  Don't forget to let the kids help out and ENJOY!

If you need quick and easy decorations for your Autumn or Thanksgiving gatherings, here's a great DIY project idea you can complete in less than 10 minutes.  Best of all, you can make them both for next to nothing with supplies you can easily find at your local Dollar Store if you don't already have them on hand.  So start the timer and give it a try!

Here's a quick and easy project you can easily make with the kids on a rainy afternoon! You'll need craft paint, brushes, a small piece of black cardstock or posterboard, scissors and paper mache cone shapes.  I purchased a 6 pack of cones online to use for other character projects like angels, santas, candy corn, pumpkins and ghosts.  I paid half the price for the cones I found at local craft supply stores so buying in bulk was a good choice for me.  Here's a basic step-by step of how I created the Wishing Witch character.  You can add any embellishments or paint colors to make it your own.  So let's get creative and make a wish! You can right click and "save" the free pattern below!  When your witch is finished, just write a wish on a piece of paper, tuck it under the cone and wait for the magic to happen!  Enjoy and feel free to share this link ...

Halloween is so much more fun when you MAKE it yourself!  Whether you are getting ready to decorate for a party, packaging Halloween goodies for the treaters, creating costume accessories or simply want to whip up some not too spooky DIY items for your home, you'll surely want to get started now!  I created the header graphic above using the downloadable "Spooked" Font, Halloween prints and clipart characters found on the Annie Things Possible website. Make everything from flyers to wearables to totes and paper novelties using Annie Lang's clipart, fonts, digital art prints, activity books and line art patterns and have a GREAT Halloween!

We're enjoying a few day of Indian Summer here in Michigan.  Yesterday seemed the perfect time to head on out to spend a little time in search of a few of our local autumn delights that will quickly disappear within the next few weeks.  The autumn colors are not as bright and vibrant this year due to the recent weather, but every now and then, Mother Nature provided us with a surprising display of reds, oranges and yellows scattered along some rural country roads.  We spotted a few pheasants along with a flock of wild turkeys crossing the road and watched several farmers hard at work harvesting their crops.  This year, my son wanted to visit the Holly,Michigan area which just happens to be the town where he grew up. We made a stop at the Mitchell farm which featured a surprising display of pumpkins, florals and autumn decor naturals for sale like indian corn, hay bales and cornstalks.  In years past, the Mitchell farm sold produce and goods from their barn, but they've s

There is a squeaky door that needs fixing, a picture that need hanging, a fence that needs mending, hedges that need trimming, furniture that needs cleaning and a bookshelf that needs to be built.  How will these tasks ever get done?  Don't worry because my Grandma will use her power tools! Read this story and find out just exactly how we can get these problems solved. Young readers will quickly engage with Annie Lang's vividly detailed imagery as a little girl character and her Grandma spend the day together working on projects and fixing "stuff".  Children will learn about common tools in the toolbox, why safety gear is needed and how quickly the day passes when you spend it working together.  "My Grandma Uses Power Tools" is a terrific "read it together" publication that encourages discussion with each turn of the page. Inspired by her granddaughters, this is Annie Lang's ninth indie published children's book title.   In today

There's something wonderful about watch a kid grow and learn with a little help from Mother Nature and a garden of their very own.  All one needs is a small piece of land or some large patio pots, soil, seeds or started plants, a pair of garden gloves and small gardening tools to get going.  Since this was my granddaughter's first try at growing her own flowers and vegetables, we started with a sweet potato slip in a mason jar so she could actually see the root system develop with each passing day.  We talked about what each plant would need in regards to sunshine, watering, regular weeding and how some garden insects are needed to help keep a garden healthy and happy.  All spring and summer long we watched her garden bloom and she was simply thrilled.  Many life lessons were learned in this first garden and a happy harvest was the results of our efforts.   Although my granddaughter became a bit distressed when her green bean plants slowly died off at summer's end and her

Each year in late summer or early fall, I love to take a short road trip to recharge my creative batteries and get inspired by Mother Nature.  This year, I went with a group of family members to tour the Traverse City, MI area wine country for the first time ever.  The weather was beautiful, the vistas were breathtaking and each winery visited had it's own distinct identity.  I can't possibly imagine what the area looks like with all the brilliant colors in the fall but I'm sure spectacular would be a good description. I put together a grouping of collages that I digitally scrapped from the photos I took and created them on a widescreen size layout to use for my home videos as transition screens. Enjoy the views, get inspired and should you ever happen into Traverse City, MI Wine Country make sure you add these establishments to your tour!

There's nothing that makes you smile more  than a book filled with designs of happy kids !  No experience is necessary to create your own creative projects with timeless designs that are fun for all ages.  This publication has 21 full page vividly colored whimsical designs chosen from my most popular kid character images to use for your creative DIY projects  You’ll also find the line art patterns for each of the designs that you can trace, transfer and color any way you please.  Whether it’s a tote bag, wearables, canvas art or papercrafts, the sky’s the limit when you work with professional designs and patterns created by Annie Lang.  So go ahead and get your Creative Adventures started and we’ll share a few smiles along the way!

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 .