Vellum is a popular material for crafts ranging from home decor to scrapbooking.
The vellum of today is not what it was in the past. Vellum once referred to a type of parchment made from animal skin. Now, it's a type of paper that is made to mimic the look of the original animal-skin vellum. Among other uses, vellum is a popular material for various arts and crafts projects.
Shades
Vellum paper softens light, which makes it an ideal shade material for candles and lamps. Create interesting light and shadow effects by cutting or hole-punching patterns into the vellum before shaping it into a shade. Use scissors or a specialty scrapbooking punch for your patterns.
Stencils
Vellum is ideal for making stencils because of its stiff, yet thin, texture that makes it easy to cut and use delicate patterns. Additionally, vellum is typically transparent, so it's easy to trace stencil patterns from any image.
Scrapbooking
One of the most common craft uses for vellum is in scrapbooking. One popular way to incorporate vellum into your scrapbook is to write favorite quotes and sayings on strips of the material that you then glue onto a page. Crafters often tear the vellum to give it a vintage look. You can also use it as an accent piece.
Invitations
Use vellum for upscale invitations, such as for a wedding, bar mitzvah or shower. Use it as an insert to protect the ink and to add elegance to the invitations, or print the invitations directly onto vellum. You don't need to order vellum invitations from a fancy print shop--purchase vellum sheets at any paper store and print them at home with a specialty font for a significant savings with impressive results.
Photos
An interesting departure from the traditional uses for vellum is to print black and white photos onto the specialty paper. Use these semi-transparent photos in scrapbooks or frame them on a wall for an artistic, glamorous look.
Envelopes
Use vellum to make distinctive envelopes. Print an envelope pattern onto a sheet of vellum, cut it out, fold it into shape and glue the edges together. Use these fancy envelopes to spruce up everyday correspondence, to complement special invitations and to hold small mementos, such as a baby's first hair, on scrapbook pages.
