Take Me to the Ocean Canvas

It's Tuesday, so it's time to share a project created for Topflight Stamps! If you've visited my blog before, you probably know that I love all things Steampunk. So when I saw Stamperia's wonderful new Sea World Collection, I knew that I had to have it! Also if you've visited before, you know that my projects sometimes take on a life of their own. This is one of those type projects, which was also one of those that came thisclose to being binned because I was not happy with the initial coloring. I fixed it, but then couldn't bear to trim the image panel very much and couldn't fit the sentiment (don't you want to go to the ocean too right now?), so the card became a mixed media canvas.

Here it is!

Topflight Stamps Products Used:
Sea World Octopus Stamp Set by Stamperia
Mechanical Sea World Thick Stencil by Stamperia
Dare to Swim Clear Polymer Stamp Set by Visible Image

Other Products Used:
Cryogen White Curious Metallic Cardstock
Tuxedo Black, New Sprout, Bamboo Leaves, Desert Sand, and Toffee Crunch Memento™ Ink by Tsukineko®
Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon, Hickory Smoke, and Rusty Hinge Distress® Ink by Tim Holtz®/Ranger Industries
Nocturne VersaFine Clair™Ink by Tsukineko®
VersaMark™ Ink by Tsukineko®
Moving Vines Stencil by The Crafter's Workshop
Metal Grid Background Dinky Stencil by That's Crafty
Copic® Markers:
   Helmet: Y11, Y21, Y23, Y26, Y28, C0, C1, C2, C4
   Tentacles: BV00, BV01, BV02, BV31 E70, E71, Y74, R30, RV52, RV93, B32, B34
   Pipes: T2, T3, T4, T5, E07, E08, YR23, YR27
Raven Black Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
8x10 Canvas Panel
Black Media® Gesso by DecoArt®
Media® Matte Medium by DecoArt®
Sea Set #3, Machine #4, and Machine #6 Dies by The ScrapMan
Compass Die by KaiserCraft
Gearheads Thinlits™ Die Set by Tim Holtz®/Sizzix
Mini Gear Die by Memory Box
Clock Die by Momenta
Square Nestabilities® Die Set by Spellbinders®
Tawny Turquoise, Buccaneer Bay Blue, Burnished Brass, and Bluebeard Blue Violet Moon Shadow Mists by Lindy's Stamp® Gang
Grab a Guy Gold, Bavarian Blue, Time Travel Teal, Polka Purple Magical Shakers by Lindy's Stamp® Gang
Blue Velvet Opal Magic Wax by Prima® Marketing
Brushed Iron and Aged Brass Metallique Wax by Prima® Marketing
Art Basics 3D Matte Gel by Prima® Marketing
Mini Art Stones by by Prima® Marketing
Sketch and Wash Pencil by General's®
Glaze™ 3D Glossy Gel Pen by Sakura
Detail Brass Embossing Powder by PSX (this stuff is ancient, but still works!)
Removable ID Labels by Avery®
STAY-tion™ by Wendy Vecchi for Ranger Industries

Instructions: If I were you, I'd get myself a big cup of coffee. Or wine. Or a margarita. Or all of them.

1. Cut a piece of Cryogen White cardstock in half.
2. Using Tuxedo Black Memento ink stamp the image onto Cryogen White cardstock to create the image panel. 
3. Stamp again onto Removal Labels, fussy cut, and adhere atop the counterpart on the image panel to mask the image.
4. Sponge Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, and Mermaid Lagoon to cover the entire image panel.
5. Spritz lightly with water. Heat set.
6. Place the image panel onto the STAY-tion, position the Sea World stencil as desired, secure it with magnets, and sponge Hickory Smoke and Rusty Hinge Distress ink over the stencil. 
7. Lift the stencil but keep the image panel on the STAY-tion for now.
8. Sponge the same colors of ink over the the Metal Grid Background Dinky stencil where desired.
9. Place torn scrap paper horizontally at the bottom of the image panel where the Sea World piping ends.
10. Sponge Desert Sand and Toffee Crunch over the torn paper to form a sandy ocean floor.
11. Lift the torn paper, position the Moving Vines Stencil as desired along the right side. Sponge New Sprout ink over the stencil. Remove and clean the stencil, dry it, flip it, and position the vines along the left edge. Sponge New Sprout ink over the stencil. Remove the image panel from the STAY-tion.
12. Use Bamboo Leaves Memento ink to stamp the ocean plant stamp from the Dare to Swim stamp set over the vines as shown.
13. Use Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink to stamp the fish group from the Dare to Swim stamp set as shown.
14. Remove the mask over the Octopus and color the image with Copic markers.
15. Use Copic markers to color over the stenciled pipes, the stenciled vines, and to color the leaves of the sea plants. 
16. Add several layers of Glaze gel pen to the bubbles, mask, and the other glass elements of the image, letting each layer dry before adding a new layer.
17. Set aside the image panel for now.
18. Coat an 8x10 canvas panel with Black Media Gesso. Let dry.
19. Using Steampunk dies (I listed the ones I used above), cut black cardstock.
20. Use Media Matte Medium to adhere the die cuts to the gessoed canvas. Coat with a good layer or two of Media Matte Medium, and heat set.
21. Do a really bad job cutting the compass die cut at the top left. Use 3D Embossing Gel and Mini Art Stones to camouflage your mistake and add them in two more places. Heat set and allow to the gel medium to bubble if it wants too. It'll just add more texture. Texture is good.
22. Spray the canvas with a variety of Moon Shadow Mists, heat setting every now and then.
23. Use the Magicals Shakers with a water and a brush to add more color as desired. Heat set.
24. Use a poofy brush to add metallic and/or opalescent (sp?) Prima waxes to the raised bits on the canvas. Notice how nice they smell. Get bummed out because one of them went bad and is a funky color. Toss it. Oh well. 
25. Heat set the image panel again because why not?
26. Stamp the sentiment onto black cardstock with VersaMark ink. Heat emboss with Brass embossing powder. 
27. Use one of the squares from the Nestabilities die set to cut the sentiment. Run the edge of the die-cut on the VersaMark ink pad, then heat emboss with Brass embossing powder.
28. Use the next largest square from the same die set to cut black cardstock. Smoosh the die-cut into the VersaMark pad, then heat emboss with Brass embossing powder.
29. Mat the sentiment onto the larger embossed square.
30. Mat the image panel with black cardstock cut 1/4" larger than the image panel.
31. Adhere the image panel as shown.
32. Add the sentiment to the canvas and say "Yahoo!".

Thanks for visiting today!