holidays are coming!

and this year I'm reverse-appliqueing some motifs from Frank Lloyd Wright's houses (this one was a pattern in cement blocks in a wall) for the architect in my life.

For more on reverse applique, see these previous posts from me:
2009: Irish County T-Shirt
2008: Maidenhair Fern Pillow Covers (in velvet!)
2008: Tallulah Bankhead T-Shirt

And this post from the woman who brought reverse applique (along with a unique business plan and eco-conscience) to exquisite heights in the fashion world, Natalie Chanin:
DIY Eagle T-shirt

To make your own one-time-use stencil out of cheap printer paper (which has the benefit of being easy to cut, for all that it is a flimsy stencil), spray the back of your stencil (after you've selected, enlarged, printed, and cut out your image) with a repositionable spray adhesive, available at some arts and crafts stores. It basically turns the backside of your paper stencil into a giant sticky note. I have found that the adhesive did not leave a residue on these shirts, even though I left the stencil on the shirt for two weeks while I applied multiple coats of fabric paint.