When a Wave Comes, Go Deep - Seahorse Tag

Hi everyone,

Hope you're having a great week.  Today I have this steampunk seahorse tag to share with you.

Here's how it came together:

I'm using this Steampunk Seahorse chipboard C15S and I found the perfect words to go with it in this sticker set.

I am also using one of the tags from the Super XL Tag set D92C.  This is a set of really big tags, each one has a slightly different top.  I tried my seahorse on all three before deciding on the middle one.

Since I was going to use collage on the background of my tag, I pulled out some possibilities from my stash.  I found a few different blue tissue papers, some other bits and pieces, and even some gift wrap that had shells and seahorses on it (the green one on the left) but I really wanted to stick to blues if possible.

While I was still deciding on and sorting through papers, I also gave all the pieces a coat of gesso.  I also found this poor broken seahorse which I managed to snap in half last week, so I wondered if I could add it to the tag and give it a home.

Now it was time for the fun part - covering the tag with all the lovely papers!

I also found one of those plastic fruit nets that lemons often come in, so I thought it could make a good fishing net for my tag, and glued it down on top of the papers.

While everything on the tag was left to dry, I got to painting the seahorses.  I glued the plaster seahorse back together and then painted it with a metallic paint I made from a few colours mixed together.  The chipboard seahorse has two parts - the base and the filigree top part, so I painted the base in a nice deep turquoise and then painted the top part with the same paint mixture as the other seahorse.

When the paint was dry, I started to add wax to both seahorses - turquoise for the plaster seahorse and a deep gold for the chipboard seahorse, so they have similar colours just tweaked a little.

Here's a closer look at the finished Steampunk Seahorse.

Using the same wax, I rubbed some all over the yellow plastic net.

I wanted to add more collage to the background and found these small pieces to add beneath the plaster seahorse.

I also had all of these thin strips of book paper leftover from another project so as a finishing touch, I added a few of them too.

I darkened the edges of the tag with some dark brown acrylic paint, and then the final step was to add the word stickers and call it done.

Here's a closer look at the seahorse and the "copper" net.

The Finished Tag:

Hope you enjoyed this little tag project.  Please let me know in the comments.

Till next time,

Elle
Empire of the Cat

Supplies:

Steampunk Seahorse C15S
Super X Tag set D92C
Collage materials from stash
Plaster seahorse mould
Acrylic paint and waxes
Word stickers

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

Seabiscuit & Secretariat

Lady Marina is off to the races...under the sea; with her prized sea horses, Seabiscuit & Secretariat.

Items used: 12x12 canvas, Poster board (cut to 12x12), Graphic 45 Sun Kissed Under the Sea 12x12 & Ephemera, Prima Marketing Julie Nutting Sally, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts (2) Steampunk Seahorse & (1) Cobblestone Small.

 

Additional items: Beacon glue, Mod Podge, Action wobbles, StazOn Orange Zest, Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo, Glitter Kiss Sahara Gold Kiss & Frosty Sparkle, Seashell themed embellishments, Small Dried Starfish, Dried moss, Seashell themed napkins.

Mod podge 12x12 G45 cardstock to 12x12 posterboard & set aside to dry.

 

Remove canvas (but don't throw away) from frame. The inverted side of frame will be used.

Separate top layer of napkin, cut napkin into (4) strips of 3.5"x12", mod podge strips onto frame & glue frame onto card stock/poster board.

 Glue (4) .5" wood squares to bottom inner ledge of frame.

    

Tint top layer of seahorse with Orange Zest ink & dab Glitter Kiss Gold.  Trace & cut out bottom layer image of seahorse on card stock, apply Glitter Kiss Frosty Sparkle on card stock. Glue all 3 layers together.

Stamp mermaid image onto white card stock, color image (Copic E55, E15, E18, E39). Stamp & cut out mermaid tail & top images on printed card stock. Stamp & cut out mermaid tail & top images on Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Cobblestone Small (to give her tail a scaly effect). Use wet glue to assemble layers together.

Fussy cut G45 Sand Dollar & trim length to 10-1/8" (this will be used as the border for the bottom of the frame). Fussy cut  several sand dollar images to be be used as embellishments & layering.

Attach action wobble to back center of mermaid to give her the allusion of "swimming"! Assemble images within the frame. Create image layers with double sided foam tape. Turtle images were cut out from G45 Turtle Time - popped out with double sided foam tape & action wobbles (the like to swim also!). Dried moss & seashell themed embellishments were added to create a 'fuller' scenery.

Lady Marina, Seabiscuit & Secretariat are ready for the racetracks!

Summer Journals

Summer is my favorite time of year so I thought Ii would make up a quick journal with a composition book that I  got on sale and have some fun.  My favorite animal in the Long Beach Aquarium where I live is the Sea Horses so  I used that for my inspiration today.

For my project today I used the "Steampunk Seahorse", the "Beach shape set" and "Chevron words travel" small to add dimension to the Me and My Big Ideas beach paper pack that i got at Hobby Lobby.  There was lots of fun things in the pack so it was fun to make and would be great for a summer project for your kids to do.  Then they can write in their journals each night for all the fun things that they did.

The beach pieces were my favorite and there are lots more in the set to use for other fun things.

Below is a quick tutorial on how i did my project... won't you join me?

First thing to do is cover the journal inside and out with your decorative papers.  Sand the edges to make them clean and finished and then chalk with colored inks.

Next.... take your Journey chipboard word and chalk with white chalk ink and let it dry.

Chalk the seahorse with different colors to make it look like a water color and also the shells.  I put clear embossing powder on my seahorse and heat embossed it so that the colors would pop.  The shells in inked again with brown to shade them.

Add stickers and words on the front of the journal to finish the book.

Here is a closeup of the top journaling and the journey chipboard.  I added brown ink on top to antique it just a little and not make it so stark white.....

And to finish it i added lots of fibers and twine that i had in my stash on the side.  And now it's time to get caught up with all the things i have done so far.....  I hope you have fun creating one too.

Supply List:

Steampunk Seahorse

Chevron Words Travel small

Beach Shape Set

Me & My Big Ideas Ocean Collection

Adhesives

Paper trimmer and scissors

chalk inks and stickles

fibers and twine to tie on the book

Seahorse Doorplate by Shanna

Hey everyone. Shanna here with a steampunk piece to share. I had a blast creating with this door plate.

Now the door plate comes with two pieces you are suppose to layer. I didn't layer them so I could use the rest of the plate for another altered piece. 

I glued everything down first and then gave it all a coat of black gesso. Everything then got coats of different metallic paints. 

I loved painting this piece and had a blast layering it all together. 

With all the fun steampunk pieces in the store there is so many choices and ways to dress this seahorse up. 

Have fun and enjoy creating! Make sure to check out Pam's post also on the blog today!

Products Used:

 Door Plate

Propellers

Steampunk Shape Set

Steampunk Seahorse - Coming Soon