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.