With the rising popularity of scrapbooking, stamping, and paper crafts, an often overlooked accessory is vellum. Vellum is translucent paper that comes in clear, or in various colors at craft and specialty stores. Crafters can use vellum as an overlay for invitations, announcements, etc. Although embossed and design vellum is available for purchase, anyone with a home computer, and a printer can custom design their own.
Printed Invitations
Using any graphic design software package, a vellum invitation or announcement can easily be produced to overlay a photo, cardstock or drawing. Using the following method, make an invitation guests will remember:
1) Measure the bottom piece of the invitation.
2) Open a graphic design software program. Set the margins as small as possible.
3) In the upper left hand corner, draw a rectangle the same size as the bottom piece of the invitation. Set the outline of the rectangle to invisible or none.
4) In the center of the rectangle, insert a text box. Type the invitation or announcement information.
5) Choose a font color that contrasts with the bottom piece design, but one that can be seen on the vellum. Usually, black works the best. If necessary, select “Bold” for all the writing.
6) If a border is desired, insert clipart or picture about ½” in from the border of the rectangle.
7) If your invitation is small, select all and copy and paste until several sets of rectangles/text are on a sheet.
8) It’s always advisable to look at a print preview prior to printing to ensure that everything entered is within the print range.
9) Save your design, just to be safe!
10) Produce a test page using plain white paper, which is much less expensive than vellum. Adjust the design as necessary.
11) Insert a sheet of vellum in the printer, and print the invitation or announcement. It’s usually worth the time it takes to feed the vellum into the printer by hand to ensure that the printer doesn’t experience a document jam.
12) Using a paper cutter or scissors, cut the design if necessary, and attach to the bottom document using ribbon, a brad or glue. The vellum should only be attached at one end so the reader can lift it to view the bottom of the invitation.
Full Page Design
Instead of paying for vellum embossed with clouds, baby bottles, text or flowers, make your own!
1) To make a full sheet of vellum to use for scrapbook or to lay over wrapping paper, use your favorite graphics software. Type a word or phrase, such as “Happy Birthday, Grandpa!” Select the text, make it as big as you want. Font size 28 is usually very visible. You can select the text color, or set the “Emboss” feature for an understated, elegant appeal. Copy and paste the word into text boxes, and rotate the boxes randomly until you’re satisfied with the look. Insert a piece of vellum in the printer, and print one page at a time.
2) The same effect can be achieved using clip art. If you’re working on a scrapbook baby page, insert a clipart selection of a baby bottle or a diaper pin. Copy and paste the clipart. Rotate the selections if desired. Insert vellum, one page at a time, into the printer. While you’re at it, this may be a good time to make other full page vellum designs to keep on hand for future scrapbooking.
3) For a handpainted appearance, use photography on vellum. Using your software, insert a scanned or digital photo. Make the photo black and white by desaturating it. Choosing the paint option, or crayon, select a few areas to color. As an example, if a photo of a rose is selected, paint the leaves green, and leave the rose black and white. Check the appearance on the print preview option, and then print. You can also print a vivid, full color photograph.
The uses of vellum are limited only by your creativity. The ease of printing from a home computer opens even more avenues to personalize your work in a professional manner.
