Fake taxidermy

I've seen this concept floating around the internet for a while, and with a little inspiration I've decided to try some for myself.

It started with a magazine advertisement I have hanging on a shelf where I keep my insect collection.I always thought it was a funny idea (I keep lots of insect themed drawing, photos and ads around my collection space), and came across it again once I started sewing insects many months ago. It's been in the back of my mind ever since.

Then I started coming across etsy sellers who created their own fake taxidermy, and I remembered the ad and thought I might try it for myself. I'm always thinking of different ways to portray my insect creations, as plush toys as well as jewelry and accessories, so I thought having another "functional" purpose would make them more appealing.

I started with a few for myself and my father, and when I put a praying mantis in my shop it sold the same day! And I've since sold another mantis, and a stag beetle... as ideas come to me, I'm creating more. My latest is an orchid mantis.

I highly recommend everyone check out these sellers that make great fake taxidermy:
GirlSavage makes amazing feltidermy, a word she coined herself that sounds as cute as her creations. She's part of my original inspiration and one of my favorite etsy sellers, I'm hoping to splurge on one of her pieces soon.
Morninglori makes fascinating sculptures of imaginary beings, hanging one of her pieces on a wall will be sure to grab peoples' attention and start conversations.
Cherrybox makes plushkill forest creatures, dead plush likenesses of animals like deer and ponies.
Erachel only has one item in her shop, but it's a most fascinating deer head!
Thefamilytree has a cute little teddy bear taxidermy.
Honeypulp has some interesting sculpture animals like a shrew and bush baby.
Rubyslounge was a featured seller on etsy and rightly so - the patterned deer heads and other animals are fantastic.

I've also been tossing around another idea - Riker mounts. These are the display boxes that you always see insect specimens for sale in, like this:
I'll have to check on bioquip (my favorite entomology supply company) to see how much they cost and if it'd be worth it to give a few a try.