Annie Lang's Blog!

  The 2021 Greeting Card Universe Founders' Choice Awards have just been announced and I was absolutely thrilled to have one of my whimsical cards chosen as a winner!  I first joined the Greeting Card Universe community in 2015 and it's truly been a joy creating and sharing professional greetings for all the treasured milestones, seasonal events and everyday sentiments for shoppers and card recipients of all ages.  This is the 3rd GCU award I have been honored to receive over these past several years and I am truly grateful to all of those remarkable people who have encouraged and supported my work.  If you have never visited my online card shop, you are cordially invited to drop by and browse all available designs posted at Annie Things Possible .  Here's a quick and fun little video I put together back in 2015 that provides details on how to personalize and order customized designs from Greeting Card Universe...enjoy!  

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!

Have a little creative fun by dying and decorating fake eggs for Easter this year!  I'm always on the lookout for new crafting surfaces so when I stumbled on these fake eggs that were pre-packaged in cartons at Walmart, I just had to take them home to play with.  Unlike shiny plastic pull apart eggs, these are actually solid lightweight plastic with a lightly textured realistic feel matte surface.  Unlike real eggs, you don't need to boil them or keep them refrigerated until Easter, they don't crack when you drop them and the price is right.  It so happened that my 4 year old granddaughter was visiting the day I tested this new product and thought it would be a fun crafting project for us to work on together.   Here are a few supply suggestions and tips if working with this kit.  Make sure the work area is covered with plastic.  Dye will wash out but you should have plenty of paper towels and baby wipes nearby.  Pitch the tiny little plastic bags that come with the kit and

You can make your garden bloom any time of year with a bounty of vividly colored whimsical flowers and plenty of happy smiles to choose from!  This whimsical smiling flower character themed clipart collection along with a personal or commercial license is now available to download at Annie's Creative Market Store.   So get your garden growing projects started today and don't forget to smile!

When the weather turns warm, it's time to once again get outdoors and enjoy every minute of the season!  Nothing could be more fun than an outdoor picnic with goodies served up from a bright and cheery picnic basket covered with smiles.  It's also a delightful shower or wedding gift that will not only be well used, but treasured for years to come.  I purchased this reasonably priced basket online from Amazon after I was unable to locate one with a wooden lid locally.   It arrived within a few days, was fabric lined, filled with accessories and was easy to paint.   You can find the FREE DOWNLOADABLE line art pattern and painting instructions for this project on the DIY page at my Annie Things Possible website.  Hope you enjoy because life truly is a picnic basket meant to be enjoyed!

When the kids are out on Winter Break and it's too blustery and bleak for outdoor activities, we plan an indoor overnight festival to make the season fun.  We've had a Festival of Hearts, Fairy Festival and a Winter Wonderland Festival so this year we decided a Lucky Leprechaun Festival would be a fun theme to plan.  Invitations were made, treat bags were prepared and decorations went up.  The Dollar Store had plenty of gold coins, mini cauldrons, shamrock garlands, costume accessories and green tableware to choose from.  St. Patrick's Day was yet a few weeks away, but i t doesn't need to be March 17 to host a party for a pair of wee little Lucky Leprechaun hooligans!   To get things started, the kids spent time decorating bags to take home all their treats and prized.  You can download this FREE printable template from my home website right now and let the kids have fun embellishing their own bags with crafting supplies you have on hand.   Next, time was spent prepari

If you love Gnomes as much as I always have, here's a fun little FREE project that any "Gnome Lover" will enjoy!  Originally designed as a Leprechaun Festival activity with my granddaughters, it can easily be adapted for any occasion in any color you wish.  Best of all, the kids can use embellishments of their choosing like gemstones, glitter, stickers, ribbons, washi tape and more to make this character their own!  You can download the FREE project from Annie Lang's DIY page because Annie Things Possible with a little imagination.  So bag up your own Gnome and take him home!

  Now that I've changed out my calendar to start a new year, I decided to repurpose my beautiful 2021 scenic calendar so I can continue to enjoy the art any time I want.  Here's a fun little project you can easily complete in a day.  So grab your favorite beverage and a few craft supplies and let's make something fun! You'll also need some rags for staining, a pencil, scissors or craft knife,  something to make a door handle (I used a decorative upholstery tack) and 1/4" double sided foam tape to make a pocket to hold interchangeable artwork behind the framed window on the door.  To begin, lightly sand the wood and apply 2 coats of white basecoat paint.  When dry, put some wood stain on a rag and drag it down from the top of the door down to the bottom, creating the look of streaked weathered wood.  Paint the front and back of the window panel with white.   You'll find this wood door plaque in assorted sizes from cdwood.com

Nothing is more comforting on a cold winter's day that a cup of hot cocoa, a good book and a fluffy fleece blanket!  I make up jars of my own cocoa mix in the fall and then stash them on the pantry shelves until needed.  Whether it's snuggling up next to the fireplace for some quiet time, a comforting after school warmup for the kids or simply a warm mug of happiness to share by the campfire, hot cocoa is the perfect comfort beverage everyone enjoys!  These cocoa filled jars also make a perfect hostess gift when tucked in a basket with mini marshmallows, cinnamon sticks, chocolate kisses, etc.  Below you'll find my recipe for homemade cocoa mix along with FREE labels and jar tags you can download now by right clicking the images and saving to your computer.  So go ahead, get comfortable, relax and ENJOY !

Here's a quick and easy holiday home decor DIY project that anyone can make in minutes.  Best of all, chances are you already have all the supplies you need on hand.  You'll find the free step by step instructions along with lots of other fun ideas RIGHT HERE . Happy wrapping!

As an avid nature, folklore and garden lover, two publications fell into my hands in the late 1970's and early 1980's which I still have today.  The first book was " Gnomes " which was published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc, written by Wil Huygen and brilliantly illustrated by Dutch artist, Rien Poortvliet .  It explains in great detail every aspect of a Gnome's life, environment, talents, language, legends and more.  This book is now a hard to find collector's item, but does pop up every now and then on auction sites and E-Bay.  I suspect that it will someday be re-printed! I also own a well worn copy of The  Gnomes Book of Christmas Crafts  by Carol Endler Sterbenz whi ch is still available in hardcover version today and filled with dozens of gnome-inspired Christmas decorations and crafting projects.  I recently visited Frankenmuth, MI, a friendly German inspired community that successfully blends old world charm with modern trends.  Frankenmuth is also home

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!

Christmas Jingles and Santa Kringles are Annie Lang's featured Holiday characters of the day! Enjoy... 

Christmas Holiday House Mouses are Annie Lang's featured Holiday characters of the day! Enjoy... 

As one of my favorite holidays approaches, it's time to start planning our Thanksgiving feast.  This year, I had a little help from my 4 year old granddaughter who helped create turkey napkin holder place settings for each guest.  With a few basic supplies and a sky filled with blustery snow flurries, we completed this project together and had a lot of fun chatting about our many family blessings.  So go right ahead and invite a turkey to dinner this year.  I hope you'll give this fun project a try and enjoy the smiles! 

It was a great year for my outdoor herb garden but the time has now come to harvest and dry what I can to be used for the long winter ahead.  Since I don't have a kitchen window to grow fresh herbs indoors and a cat who loves to indulge in anything resembling greenery, I had to come up with a way to safely dry my garden delights while keeping them handy for kitchen use.  Up until now, I've been hanging them "willy-nilly" from cabinet knobs and kitchen peghooks which simply isn't practical.  So here's what I came up with to work for my limited kitchen wall space.  I already had a 9" x 12" board which I painted white and then streaked with wood stain.  The two Command small wire hooks I used were those I had on hand which I sprayed with green paint to match my board lettering.   The tree branch "rod" was one from my grandkid's outdoor "enchanted fairy forest" and the herbs were naturally harvested from my outdoor garden! I hand

You just never know who may drop by unexpectedly for the holidays so I've been making some quick and easy last minute gifts to keep on hand for any occasion.  You can also adapt the project for any beverage bottle, be it coffee lattes, bottles fruit juices or full size wine bottles.  Simply use burlap bag sizes to match your bottles.  These dressed up mini bottles are also great for tucking into Christmas stockings, adding to gift baskets and for decorating your luncheon or dinner table.  The empty bottle dress-ups can also be upcycled into mini vases for the shelf or mantle.  Best of all, you only need scissors, a glue gun and odds and ends for embellishments.  So go ahead and make up a batch to have ready for whoever might drop and you can celebrate the season in style! The sample project shown features 5.4" x 3.7"  mini burlap bags purchased at a local craft and hobby store.  If you cannot locate them locally, you can get them for about $.35 each at Amazon .   

Just in time for Holiday Gift Giving!  Make 36 Gift Card Holder Card Pockets in just minutes with Annie Lang's ready to print papercraft project book!   Publication is only available in .pdf format so you just select and print as many project pages as you need them.  36 project pages are 8.5" x 11" format featuring Annie Lang's designs and artwork .  Publication includes easy step by step instructions.  Simply print the page, cut out the design, assemble, personalize and embellish as you wish and give! Great for group and classroom projects.  Finished pocket cards can also be used to hold folded money, checks, coupons, service vouchers and more.  Personal use allows for unlimited printing and resale of FINISHED items .  You can only find this Gift Card Holder Card Pockets printable .pdf activity craft book available for download from Annie Lang's website and Book Store.  So go ahead and check it out and get started right now on your next creative papercrafting ad

One activity I love the most is an annual day trip to a fairly local destination in the fall.  However, the color this year wasn't nearly as vibrant as years past due to rain and warmer temperatures.  Fortunately, frost covered the area a few nights ago and the trees in southern Michigan started to show off their autumn colors just in time for Halloween.  This year, we took a day outing to downtown Chelsea, MI which is about 15 miles west of Ann Arbor.  It's a picturesque little town with plenty of local history, well kept Victorian homes, truly unique shops and great places to eat.  We originally planned to visit the "Jiffy" mix plant but it was closed due to Covid mandates, but here's a little tour of some of the other places we visited as we walked the downtown area. Kitty Face is by far a most unique shop filled with toys, games and vintage curiosities for kids of all ages.   You'll find everything from baby clothing to shower gifts to educational fun to