Tuesday 4 June 2013

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

7 comments:

  1. That's amazing Rocky - a scarab beetle from a damask motif - you have one glorious imagination! I love the whole Egyptian theme, it makes for a great masculine tag!
    It's always lovely to see your wonderful creations, I look forward to our Anything Goes weeks to see what you come up with!
    See you again soon! Ruth x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! This is a stunning piece of art. Love the beetle. So creative! Thanks for sharing with us at Inkspirational!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is so cool! Love your creativity. Thanks for joining us at Inkspirational!

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOVE that shiny beetle, Rocky! What a great themed tag--it makes me want to travel to Egypt! Thanks for joining us at Inkspirational! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, I LOVE your scarab, Rocky!

    A brilliant tag! The Egyptian feel to your tag is fantastic!

    Thank you for joining us at TIOT!

    Hugs,
    Claudia x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great imaginative work! I would never have though of cutting a beetle like that! Thanks for joining us at the Country View Crafts Challenge this month. Have a lovely weekend Jennie x

    ReplyDelete
  7. These are really fun & look great! Thank you for sharing them with us as TioT! x

    ReplyDelete

This blog does not allow anonymous comments.