Down by the Steampunk Sea by Betsy Skagen

Making this piece was so liberating. After experiencing a horrible, no good, really bad day all I wanted to do was crawl under the bed covers. However, I knew that wasn't a choice since I had too many upcoming project that I needed to complete.

Instead of retreating from the world, I pulled out some  sea-themed chipboard pieces since waterways always soothe my soul. To keep my project simple, I limited my palette to only two colors beyond black and white.

I found this decision liberating because my project came together lickety-split--which for me, the world's slowest artist, is nothing short of miraculous.

Down by the Steampunk Sea Tutorial

Begin by cutting the Steampunk Seahorse, Undersea Steampunk Set and Beach Shape Set pieces from their protective frames and covering them with gesso.

Color the chipboard pieces with a coral and teal ink and then ink the edges with black ink.

Next use matte medium to adhere scrapbook paper to a wooden board. If you don't have a wooden board, a piece of mat board of foam core will work.

Give the paper a light whitewash of gesso mixed with water and then dab dry with a textured paper towel. 

Ink the edges with embossing ink and lightly sprinkle aqua and black molten dimensions embossing powder around the edges. Heat with heat gun. Check out the amazing texture this makes. 

Use embossing ink to stamp wavy lines in random spots on the board and cover with White Molten Dimensions. Heat with heat gun.  

Adhere the chipboard shapes to the board. I just love how Gypsy Soul gave sea elements a steampunk twist.

If you wish, create a title piece and line it with black cardstock before adhering to your board. Finish your steampunk sea board by adding a black and white decorative backing. 

I hope you have a fabulous weekend. Happy creating! -Betsy

Great Stuff

Steampunk Seahorse

Undersea Steampunk Set

Beach Shape Set

White gesso

Coral Distress Oxide Ink

Black Distress Ink

Eileen Hull Bay De Laurier Color Box Blends

Scrapbook paper

Black cardstock

Wooden board

Matte medium

Embossing ink

Eileen Hull Aqua Splash Molten Dimension

Eileen Hull Black Magic Molten Dimension

Eileen Hull White Wonder Molten Dimension

Wavy lines stamp

Beacon Zip Dry Adhesive

I Love You More Card

Happy New Year! It is Gloria with you today with a non-traditional Valentine's Day card. We live by the ocean, and my husband LOVES the beach, which makes my under the sea Valentine easy to understand!

I created a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card with colors of sea, sky, and coral. This simple, multi-layer card is perfect for any sea-loving soul.

Select your images and color each with Copic markers. I chose a mermaid from the Mermaids Miniatures set, an octopus from the Ocean Creatures Small set, coral from the Coral set (out of stock), and the Under the Sea Border.

Cut white glossy paper to 3 3/4" x 5". Use an air brush to add various green and blue Copic inks. (If you do not have an air brush, you can drop colorless blending solution and drops of refill ink onto the paper. Quickly, before the ink can dry, blow air through a straw to create patterns on the paper.)

Swipe a coordinating marker around the edges of the cardstock.

Cut black cardstock to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and score on the long side at 4 1/4" to make a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" top-fold card. Cut Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea (Signature page) to 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" and swipe the edge with Copic Marker BG18. Attach the printed panel to the card front.

Trim the orange border strip from Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea Deep Blue Dreams paper (use the 8x8 pad) and wrap the strip around the top of the air brush panel.

Mat the air brush panel with black cardstock cut to 3 7/8" x 5 1/8". Attach the panel to the card front.

Trim the sentiment from Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea Wild Wild Waves paper and mat it with black cardstock. Attach the sentiment to the center of the card with foam adhesive.

Glue the mermaid and octopus chipboard shapes to the card front as shown. Trim the Under the Sea border to size and glue it to the bottom of the card.

Glue three clear epoxy dots to the card. 

Tie a loopy bow from teal satin ribbon and attach it to the bottom left corner of the card. Glue a starfish charm to the top of the bow. Tie a second loopy bow from orange print ribbon and glue it to the top of the blue bow.

Trim two white cardstock panels to 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" and glue them to the inside of the card.

Thanks for looking!

~ Gloria Stengel: Scraps of Life

Supplies Used:

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts:
Mermaids Miniatures set
Ocean Creatures Small set
Coral set (out of stock)
Under the Sea Border

Partner products:
Graphic 45 papers: Voyage Beneath the Sea 8x8 Pad

Other: black and white cardstock, glossy white cardstock, Copic markers (black, orange, green, teal), clear epoxy dots, starfish charm, satin ribbon (teal, orange print), tape runner, foam adhesive, wet glue, hot glue

Steampunk Seahorse Super X Tag

Hello, Friends!  It's Kathy Clement here, with another Guest Design gig for Gypsy Soul.  I am a huge Steampunk Fan, how about you?  I also super love the gorgeous Super X tags from Gypsy Soul.  They are thick and chunky and perfect for mixed media projects, which I also love.  So what do you get when you combine these fabby tags with GSLC Steampunk Seahorses and Graphic 45 Voyage Beneath the Sea?  Oh...such steampunky, beachy goodness that you can hardly believe your eyes!  Take a peek:

I've prepared a Snapguide Tutorial for you with a complete supply list and detailed information about how I altered these gorgeous chippies.


Check out How to Make Steampunk Seahorse Chipboard Tag by Kathy Clement on Snapguide.

Here are the links to the GSLC products I used in this project:

Super X Tag Set
Gears Texture Sheet 
Steampunk Seahorse (Coming Soon)
Stencil Seaweed (Coming Soon)
Under the Sea Border (Coming Soon)
Coral (Coming Soon)

Thanks so much for letting me join you once again!  Now go get your craft on!
Cheerio,
kathy