Editing Parchment (section)

== Parchment craft ==
{{Main|Parchment craft}}
Historians believe that parchment craft originated as an art form in Europe during the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=parchment {{!}} writing material {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/parchment |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Parchment craft at that time occurred principally in Catholic communities, where crafts persons created lace-like items such as devotional pictures and communion cards. The craft developed over time, with new techniques and refinements being added. Until the sixteenth century, parchment craft was a European art form. However, missionaries and other settlers relocated to South America, taking parchment craft with them. As before, the craft appeared largely among the Catholic communities. Often, young girls receiving their first communion received gifts of handmade parchment crafts.

Although the invention of the printing press led to a reduced interest in hand made cards and items, by the eighteenth century, people were regaining interest in detailed handwork. Parchment cards became larger in size and crafters began adding wavy borders and perforations. In the nineteenth century, influenced by French romanticism, parchment crafters began adding floral themes and cherubs and hand embossing.

Parchment craft today involves various techniques, including tracing a pattern with white or colored ink, embossing to create a raised effect, stippling, perforating, coloring and cutting. Parchment craft appears in hand made cards, as [[Scrapbooking|scrapbook]] embellishments, as bookmarks, lampshades, decorative small boxes, wall hangings and more.