Reverse Applique the Patterned Paper Way w/Lexi Bridges

Good morning Crate Paper fans! Lexi Bridges here today and I can't wait to share my newest “mistake” with you. Yep...one of those happy mistakes that actually turns out for the good!

Recently, I was making my littlest his usual birthday shirt. I have done this every year as a special treat. For the most part, I applique whatever number he's to be {age wise}. Well this year, my head was saying applique, but my hands starting cutting the shirt and before I knew it I had a mess! Or, so I thought ;) So I decided to try reverse applique and it turned out so cute!Which had me itching to try it on a layout!

First, decide what shape you want to go with. Because I have all things spring and summer on the brain, I went with a kite shape. I roughly drew it on the cardstock and then used it as a guide to determine the best location for both my pictures and journaling.

If you have a die cut machine it would come in handy here!! Because I wanted full control over the exact location of the shape, I used a craft knife.

Once that's done, take a piece of paper that is larger than your cut out shape and begin glueing down strips of patterned paper. This is a great way to use up some of them small scraps! I liked varying the widths and patterns - it lended the kite a more whimsical feel.

I chose to sew {zig-zag stitch} along the seams of my patterned paper strips with the help of my sewing machine. It seems that I just have a hard time not adding some machine stitching to my projects! They just don't seem complete without it! I kinda like the look of all those threads there.

Adhere your layered block to the underside of the opening with adhesive. Your kite is all ready to go!

Although the kite looks fine as is, I wanted a little something more, so I added some quick hand stitching to jazz it up a bit.

I debated on adding little dividers to the large kite after adding them to the smaller kites, but in the end, I decided against it as I didn't want it to break up the colors and patterns that were already in place.

I decided to add a ribbon bow near the base of the kite. Even though I've never seen a kite in real life with a pretty bow, it's still a cute touch! If you look closely, you'll notice that the stitched kite string is the line for my journaling {spring picnic}. I think it adds interest when journaling along the path of a curvy line, like this - it's actually something I've never done before!

I used foam adhesive for the two smaller kites so as to boost the dimension of my layout.

How cute is that snail?! He goes right along with the whole picnic theme. And lastly, I used alphabet stickers from both the Portrait and Neighborhood collection. I love how the fonts and shapes mix well together!

So, there you have it. Amazing how a mistake can start you thinking in a whole new way! I hope you give this reverse technique a try soon in the near future. If you do, show it to us at Crate's Facebook Page! Have a wonderful day everyone! See you in May!