"Pergamano" is the brand name for the large assortment of books, courses, tools and supplies for "parchment paper crafts."  It is a relatively new creative hobby here in the U.S.  The specialized paper is most commonly used to create greeting cards, although many other decorative works of art can be made from the paper also, such as boxes, lampshades, and 3-D flowers.

The origin of this exquisite craft began centuries ago.  In the very early days, holy pictures were made by nuns and monks in abbeys in countries such as Germany, Holland and Spain where the Catholic faith was strongest.  Real parchment, and later parchment paper was used.  The original techniques of painting, embossing and perforating is still used today.

In the 19th century France, Paris especially, the pictures became more romantic and sweet.  Cherubs, young girl heads and flowers began to appear on cards.  Many brilliant and beautiful ideas developed.

Through Spanish influence, the craft was brought to Columbia and other parts of South America.  It then spread to Holland where it became very popular.  It later crossed the borders to Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.  When the instruction books were translated into English, the craft then traveled to the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and is now in the United States.

The following thumbnails are some of the greeting cards that I have created.  You can click on the picture to see a larger version of the card.  I do hope to be adding more cards as time allows.  I also have one scrapbook page made with parchment paper in my Scrapbooking Place.

These are some nice sites of people who very generously like to share their creations with everyone else.  They include Pergamano, Parchment Paper, and Paper Crafts.  I do hope you'll want to check them out as I know you will enjoy them also.