.::. Texture fun .::.

This will teach you how to make a nice sand carving, you can use any texture actually, but i used sand

Start with a new document, any size will do...I used 400 x 300.
Now use the rounded rectangle shape tool (radius 10%) and draw a shape, make sure the edges are outside the canves for a bit.
In the picture below you can already see i went to the blending options and added a bevel and emboss and i added a pattern

For the blending options, use these settings:
For the pattern, you may choose anything you like, i used a sand structure:

Now simply duplicate the layer so you have 2 shaped layers
click layer /rasterize / rasterize all layers
we will work with the duplicated layer to add some stuff

Use the eraser tool and use the starbrush like i did here, just place it on the layer and click once
You will see the star comes out very nice

Or if you want to really carve it in the sand, just go to the blending options and change the bevel direction to UP, it will carve in the texture as seen below:

You can use all sorts of stuff and simply erase that part to carve it like i did below with a text: