Vellum is a specialty paper that has a translucent, frosted look. It's used in all kinds of invitations. When combined with other scrapbooking materials, vellum can add unusual texture and beauty to photograph pages. A few helpful tips can make scrapbooking with vellum fun and creative, including using it as a frame or border and being careful in how you glue it.
Since vellum is semi-transparent, one of the best scrapbooking tips is to use this quality to enhance the look of patterned papers and photographs. Strips of vellum can be cut, or ripped for an interesting effect, and used to frame photos on scrapbook pages. The vellum frame will still partially reveal the edges of the photographs while also adding a layer of frosty texture. The same technique can be used to tone down brightly colored or boldly patterned scrapbooking papers on a border around the edges of a page. Scrapbooking with vellum's translucent characteristics can also be enhanced by adding designs on the paper with colored pencils for a watercolor effect or felt-tipped markers for a bolder look.
Pastel shades of vellum can be overlapped and used in strips or shapes to make interesting patterns, frames or borders. When combined with pastel-colored printed papers, pastel vellum can help make scrapbook pages look fresh and attractive. Vellum is also available in prints that can be mixed with solid colors or other prints. Darker colored papers may not look as good as lighter shades when scrapbooking with vellum.
In addition to pastel colors and printed designs, vellum is available in versatile white. The frosty, translucent elegant look of white vellum is popular not only for invitations, but also in decorating wedding and winter-themed photo pages in scrapbooks. Paper punches made for scrapbooking may be used to create shapes from the white vellum such as doves or snowflakes.
One of the most important tips when scrapbooking with vellum is to use adhesives carefully, as blobs of glue will show through the semi-transparent paper. A toothpick or piece of sponge could be used to apply glue in thin coats to better control it from showing. If unwanted dots of glue do show on the vellum, they could be covered by stickers or ribbon.
Computer printing on vellum is often done for invitations, but this technique can also be used on scrapbook pages to relate a story behind the photographs or to record the names and dates relating to the photo's subject. No matter how vellum is used in scrapbooking, it should always be stored in a covered container or inside a file folder. Due to its light color and delicate texture, vellum tends to get marked easily.
