Make It With Clay

• Use clay or a sculpting medium, like Sculpey clay, to create a three-dimensional cartouche. Roll out the clay and cut the long oval shape of the cartouche to the size needed. Locate a hieroglyphic alphabet and carve the hieroglyphs into the clay using sculpting tools found at art, craft or ceramic supply stores. Include a clay loop attached at the top of the cartouche so it can be strung on leather or attached to a chain and worn as a necklace. Translate a person's name into hieroglyphics or identify a set of symbols relating to or describing the person the cartouche is for. For example, choose Egyptian symbols for a writer by identifying symbols relating to a scribe and create a cartouche using those symbols and the writer's name.
  
  

Make A Rubber Stamp

• Design a cartouche on paper and have it made into a rubber stamp. Use a computer to create a cartouche in black and white by using a vector based software program like CorelDRAW, Macromedia Freehand or Adobe Illustrator. Vector based software programs create smooth lines and drawings that can be enlarged and reduced without losing detail. Size the drawing to the exact size of the rubber stamp. Print a copy and save the artwork to a CD. Take the printout and the CD to a stamp maker to make the rubber stamp. They will use the printout to measure the overall stamp size and write an order. The CD is used to download the artwork to their computer system to cut the stamp. Verify artwork requirements (type of file, delivery method) with the maker before having the piece made.
  
  

Use A Different Alphabet

• Create a cartouche in a language or alphabet other than Egyptian. Family names, personal nicknames and initials can be created in Runic symbols, Greek alphabet or any set of symbols or letters. Take the idea of a cartouche even further and create a personal set of symbols or an alphabet to use in the cartouche. Alphabets can become stylized versions of existing alphabets or a newly invented one. Search through clip art and other royalty free art and alphabet books for ideas to work with.