Parchment Craft for Beginners
The art and craft of parchment craft creates wonderfully delicate, lacy or romantic greeting cards or pictures. Even the most basic techniques look complex to the untrained eye. This makes the craft very appealing to beginners as they can achieve excellent results very quickly.
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History
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Parchment craft dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries when Catholic European communities crafted such items as religious communion cards and pictures. The craft developed though the 18th century as more techniques were added to include fancy borders and perforations. French romanticism added floral themes in the 19th century and in the 20th century Martha Ospina started Pergamano, one of the leading manufacturers of parchment craft supplies, in the Netherlands. Parchment craft is also popular in Latin-American countries, with each region and country adding another dimension to style and technique.
Uses for Parchment Craft
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Beginners in parchment craft usually start with creating greeting cards, but the stiff, opaque parchment paper lends itself to several other uses. You can make bookmarks, trinket or favor boxes, raised decoupage, framed pictures and even lampshades using parchment craft.
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Basic Techniques
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The first parchment craft technique for beginners to learn is embossing. Once you trace the chosen design, usually with either white ink or pencil, you dry emboss the parchment paper with a dedicated embossing tool which has a blunt, ball-shaped tip. Use short, flicking strokes to create a soft, feathered effect.
Following basic embossing and shading of the outlines in the design, you can use more advanced techniques to perforate, cut or color the paper with oil pastels. Painting, dabbing and stenciling are all applicable to parchment paper.
Beginners usually start with tracing and embossing and gradually add more complex techniques as their skills progress.
Basic Tools
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An array of different tools are applicable for use in parchment craft, all designed to do different tasks, from basic, ball-ended embossing tools which come in a variety of sizes, to perforating tools with several needles and special scissors or cutters to create lacy effects. You can use grids, which consist of wire mesh frames, to evenly perforate patterns in the paper for easier cutting techniques.
To make embossing and perforating possible it's necessary to use a padded mat under the work. This gives a firm but yielding surface for both the bruising effect of embossing and the stabbing action of the perforating needles. Specialist mats are available but other household items can work just as well.
Considerations
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Parchment paper is both surprisingly tough and delicate. Take care when embossing not to use too much pressure, as this could tear the paper. Some tools, such as the embossing stylus, have a very fine ball point and can also easily tear the paper. Watercolor paints can create gorgeous parchment craft effects, but parchment paper and water don't mix too well. Take care not to overwet the paper as this can lead to buckling.
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References
- Photo Credit colored pencils 4 image by sonya etchison from Fotolia.com
