Glitter Stenciling on Fabric

This is just a simple idea for embellishing fabric--napkins, table coths, runners, etc.--for the holidays. I found some natural, linen-type table runners at Target on clearance, and I thought they could be fun under Christmas decorations:

The runners are edged with twill tape that has a fine thread of gold running through it, but I wanted to give them a little more glitz. I searched both in stores and online for appliques but didn't find what just the right thing for the right price. So I began looking for another alternative. Browsing through Michaels, I found a display of Christmas stencils. This freeform ornament trio caught my eye:

And right next to it was a variety of glitter pens:

Making sure that it would work on fabric, I grabbed one in gold and headed home to try it out. The stencil is reusable and has adhesive on the back so that it adheres well to the surface you are working on. I centered it in the middle of each end of the runner and used the pen to fill in the stencil:

The pen sounds easy, but it was a bit of a struggle to keep the glitter flowing evenly. Still, I was generally pleased with the result:

It looks festive with Elin's candle ring:

This would be a fun holiday craft to do with children and would make lovely gifts. Think how cute a small snowflake stenciled with white glitter would be in a corner of a red or green napkin, or gold stars sprinkled on a placemat, or silver bells on a winter blue stocking, or . . . . So many possibilities.

Get your sparkle on!