Information

[VALERIE 03/22]

WHAT IS RICE PAPER?????????????

IS IT SIMILIAR TO VELLUM?????????????

AND HOW IS IT USED????????????????

THANK YOU DC'S FOR HELPING ME OUT ON THIS QUESTION.................... VALERIE

[Birgit55~Chickadee]

I have used both but couldn't explain it well enough myself, so here's what I found by doing a quick research on line.
Rice paper if fibrous and is also know as mulberry paper because it's made from the mulberry tree.
Rice paper is often printed with images and applied with mod podge.  You can stamp on it and use it to add texture to your projects.
Vellum is smooth and typically opaque and, as I just discovered, is made from animal skin. 
You can stamp and print on vellum using your home printer and you can emboss vellum.
Hope this was somewhat helpful.

[stinkerbelle]

GREAT QUESTION VALERIE!

I RECEIVED SOME IN A PRIZE FROM NSD AND DISCOVERED, LIKE BIRGIT SAID, IT'S PRETTY MUCH LIKE MULBERRY PAPER.  I HAVE MOSTLY JUST USED IT FOR LAYERING ON PAGES, NOT DOING ANYTHING TOO FANCY WITH IT.

SOME OF THE PAPERS IN THE SHOP ARE SO GORGEOUS!

[Kelly R.]

It's mostly used for decopoge.  I have adhered it to white paper with Mod Podge and used it as scrapbook paper or fussy cut the images for embellishments.

[lisn2cats]

Rice paper is much thinner than vellum (though vellum can be very translucent or opaque), is delicate but doesn’t disintegrate like tissue paper (the nose kind) or paper napkins. That is, if you want to tear rice paper using the water method (paint brush and water) - you need to let the water soak in more than you would with tissue or napkins, which pretty much tears itself when it gets wet. You can actually print on rice paper (but not with my printer - it stinks).

Like very thing else, there are different kinds of rice paper -

• Mulberry, which I think has more texture and can be interesting if other fibers are mixed in during the process (like gold thread, etc.( and can also differ depending where it originates - Indian or Thai rice paper is different than Japanese washi (washi is NOT just on rolls….originally washi tape was washi paper with sticky stuff on the back). I think most mulberry is thicker than what I consider “rice” paper.
  
• Some rice paper is thicker and stronger -  think asian calligraphy scrolls, washi used for wrapping paper, or Japanese screens (shoji).
  
• Some countries still use rice paper for legal documents (kind of like parchment paper used in western countries).
  
• Other rice paper is very thin and delicate, yet takes to printing really well (like Stamperia) and looks fabulous when used with decoupage.
  
• Then there is the edible rice paper (mmm).
  
• I’m sure there are others, but these are the ones I use and can think off the top of my head.
  

Rice paper is made pretty much the same way as “regular” (wood pulp) paper except it uses the inside fibrous part of rice plants (mulberry I think is made from mulberry plant fiber?).

One of my favorite stores for all of these specialty papers is www.mulberrypaperandmore.com

[Jolly Holly Scraps]

WONDERFUL QUESTIONS, VALERIE!  
I LOVE EVERYTHING THE CHERRIES HAVE SAID!
I'VE USED RICE PAPER IN SOME COLLAGE WORK AND LOVE HOW THIN IT IS! (I PUT SOME AWAY IN A SAFE PLACE AND CAN'T FIND IT LOL BECAUSE I LIKE TO KEEP IT SEPARATE!) 
IT'S AS THIN AS VELLUM BUT EASIER TO COLLAGE WITH. IN MY OPINION. 
GOOD LUCK!