The Holly and the Ivy -- Well, at Least the Ivy -- with Stencils

 
A minority of my Christmas cards are made without reflective surfaces, in the traditional colors of red and green.

For today's post I used my 9"X12" stencil Ivy Frame...

 

Above:  I used masking tape to secure this 9X12 stencil to cardstock with a parchment-like print.  Next, I used a Distress Ink applicator brush (top right) to fill in the stencil openings with cranberry ink from a regular (not Distress) stamp pad containing dye ink.  While the ink was still damp, I used a swab to add green Pan Pastel to the edges and tips of the ivy leaves.  Below:  another shot that better shows the details--

Above:  The sheet of parchment paper after the stencil was lifted. 

After removing the stencil from the parchment paper, I sprayed the paper with Blair Fixative to keep the Pan Pastel from smearing.

This last image, below, is not a Christmas card, but while I had my card-making supplies out, I made its background using my other ivy stencil, Ivy 6: 

 
 My substrate was an old blueprint ... because I think "oddment" papers make for interesting backdrops.  Over the blueprint, I scraped textured pink acrylic paint thru this 6"x6" ivy stencil.  After that paint dried, I topped it with a spray-painted print made with a portion of my 6"x6" Gingko stencil.  Then I added swirls of glitter glue above and below the white print, as well as outlining the gingko leaves with the same glitter.  The glitter shows better when you click on the image to enlarge it.

Christmas Tree Greeting Card

I think it's fun to create Christmas trees using materials that aren't normally associated with Christmas...and less fun, trying to fully capture the festive beauty of reflective foil!  Below are two shots of the same Christmas card, under different lighting conditions:

 I started with a sheet of Inkssentials self-adhesive foil from Ranger Industries.  I love working with this surface because embossing it is so easy and quick.  

My next step was to measure the foil needed to cover the front of a blank greeting card measuring 6"x6" (JamPaper.com). 

Then, I placed my  stencil on top of the foil, using masking tape to block off the areas on the stencil that I didn't want to use.  Holding the stencil in place, I traced the openings with a stylus.

I lifted the stencil to reveal an embossed tree shape.
 
Wanting to try something new, I got out a mini paint applicator sold in the model airplane/car section of Michaels.  Alongside that I used a disposable foam plate to pour out a little Golden High Flow acrylic (Permanent Green Light.) 

The embossed outlines were very helpful as I carefully used the mini paint applicator to fill in the shapes that had started life as a fern but that now had a different starring role.

After the green paint had dried, I got out the glitter glue -- 2 colors from Ranger Industries:  Sparkles Diamond and Sparkles Ruby.  I used them to place ornaments on my tree.

Once the glitter dried, I trimmed off excess foil along the edges.  Finally, I peeled off the white backing paper and applied the foil to the front of the Christmas card -- as shown at the top of this post.

Because the dark bronze metallic cardstock is just that -- very dark -- I line the insides of the cards with lightweight papers, cut to fit.  

Above is what the inside of my cards looks like, after the light paper is added.

Other artists would probably skip that step and, instead, use white markers or pens to fill out the inside of these greeting cards.  

Check with the Postal Service before mailing 6"x6" greeting cards -- there is a non-machinable surcharge for sending mail of these dimensions.