A Brief History.....
The history of Parchment craft dates back to the 14th century, the early days of written text. The craft began with communion cards and devotional pictures, made by nuns in abbeys in such countries as Germany, Holland and Spain. Through Spanish influence, the craft was brought to Columbia and other parts of the Americas, particularly South America.
Real parchment, and later parchment paper was used for this work. All the cards were done by hand in the 14th century but the advent of the printing press in the 15th century made mass printing possible. 
Biblical themes were the most prominent and this continued through the 18th century. At this time the cards became larger and decorative borders done by hand were added, reviving the handwork and introducing the wavy borders and perforations with which we are now familiar.
19th century Paris saw a change in the parchment cards. The themes became more romantic and personal, introducing floral themes, cherubs, and portraits, and introduced embossing to the art creating the raised effect. Most of the borders, perforations, and cuts were done by machine at this time. 
The techniques that were used in those days, embossing, perforating, and painting are still used today.

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