Spellbinding Scarab Beetles

     This started life as a bit of fun playing around with some dies, I like to see what else I can make with my dies so I can get full value for money from them.
    The set I was using is Damask Motif from Spellbinder, it has several different elements to it so there are quite a few die cuts to experiment with.
    I have cut the 'legs' of the beetle in plain black card, his 'body' is cut from blue mirri card. Before cutting the body it has been embossed using a masking stencil rather than a folder. A stencil will give a softer impression as it doesn't make a sandwich of the card like a folder does, but you do need a tan mat to do this (or three sheets of doubled over kitchen towel will do the same job in an emergency).
    The body has been gently curved between my fingers to give it shape and there are two foam pads underneath to make sure it stays domed. There you have it, a scarab beetle, you can adapt the bug to make ladybugs, dung beetles and all sorts of other creepy crawlies that are just great for boys cards.
   

    The tag was a dark buff colour to begin with and I have stamped in Archival Ink Coffee using an All Night Media Egyptian set that I've had for years. The hieroglyph paper is from a book of papers that has also been around for ages so this tag really is verging on the ancient!
    I crumpled up the tag and distressed the edges to add to its tatty appearance. The pharaoh is embossed in gold and his head dress is coloured with a metallic blue pencil. The ribbon is seem binding stamped in Archival Ink Coffee and coloured with Distress Inks to age it.
    I shall continue to play around with the dies to see what else I can come up with, it's experimenting like this that makes getting a new set all the more fun.

    I would like to enter this tag in the following challenges:

Inkspirational - Anything goes

Try It On Tuesday - On The Wild Side

Country View Crafts - Die Cuts