Using Vellum

Vellum is a kind of paper that is see through, but with a misty effect.  In fact good quality tracing paper can give you the same effect, although this isn't normally available in a variety of colours.  But as a first go I recommend it as a cheap option to practice your projectshowto.

I think the actual definition of vellum is a smooth finish on paper, but to papercrafters it means translucent.  Vellum on a card can look very effective, it can give it a romantic soft feel.  I have added some samples talked about on this page as a collection  HERE, and I hope that they may inspire you to have a go.

Printing
The first thing I ever did with vellum was printed on it.  My ink jet printer prints very well on the product, but you may have a choice with your printer on the settings.  Looks for options like acetate or draft.  Too much ink will smudge and it just won't dry, bold could also give a problem - so have a little practice first before embarking on a major project.

Tearing is effective with vellum - you will find it does tear easier in one direction, don't forget to leave enough space around the printing for fixing.


Stamping
The main thing to remember with vellum it will not soak any of the ink, so you need to use a quick drying in and be careful not to smudge.  Some people recommend Stazon - but I just use any quick drying type, and have used chalks as well.  It is a case of just giving it a try.  And a little patience to allow time for it to dry if needs be. 

Once again tearing works, or cutting whichever you prefer.

You can colour the image too - but keep it subtle to suit the medium. 

I have used chalks to colour this image after I stamped it. I chalked on the reverse, so that there wouldn't be any problems with it smudging afterwards


I have just stamped with versa ink on this one


Patterned Vellums or Plain for 'covering'
There are coloured and patterned vellums on the market, and these can be used simply as a mask to fade the image behind. 

Attaching
One of the main problems to overcome with vellum is attachin it to the card.  there are special glues out there on the market and new ones appearing all the time, so it might be worth hunting out the latest product if you want to use vellum a lot.  If not I suggest you are creative with attaching  You will see already some of the methods I have used:

    Brads
    Eyelets
    Ribbon
    Sewing - I recommend punching holes with a needle first before hand sewing

all can be seen on the samples on this page.  Check out the eyelet page for more information on using them .  I also use glitter glue, or an embellishment to cover the glue.  this can range from a button, to a punched shape or a Prima flower - the possibilities are endless.

A couple more ideas not shown here are photo corners or thread wrapped around to hold it on place. Don't forget you can mix and match these ideas.

Machine sewing has been used on this rather than hand sewing.  The vellum has been embossed using a Cuttlebug embossing folder.


Using a embellishment to hide the glue. If using a wet glue such as PVA type use a minimal amount otherwise the paper will 'buckle', a dry glue or DS tape maybe better.


Textures
Something that I have not tried yet - but is on my list to do is crumpling.  You can crumple the vellum and them flatten it out, flatten it with some like a bone tool or maybe a spoon something firm but not sharp.  then you can drag a stamp pad on it 

Dry Embossing
Vellum is perfect for embossing, using stencils and a light box. Or it works well in embossing folders in leading die cutting machines. I don't have any samples at the moment, but a simple motif on the corner of a 'cover' as described above would be effective.


Finally, don't forget you can see all of the samples HERE. A special thankyou to Joanne (Angelnorth) for her samples

 © Carolyn Woodruff February 2008