If you follow my blog you will know last year I started doing steampunk and now I am totally addicted to it.  So with valentines day coming up a steampunk heart seemed like the most obvious choice of project.  But I wanted to take it a step further and try and make a 3D steampunk heart out of cardboard.

I recently made a steampunk prop camera out of cardboard and it turned out so cool, I wanted to try the heart the same way. The idea I had in my head was to have a heart shape made from cardboard and the insides to mechanical. And to finish off the heart I would give it a steampunk mixed media art makeover, which also became my new passion in 2020.

It also happens to be our first blog hop for 2021 for  ‘Do It Over’ Designers.  We are a group of bloggers who come together each month to share our latest recycle/upcycle/DIY project. Be sure to visit the other talented bloggers who are participating this month in the links at the end of this post.

How to make a 3D steampunk heart out of cardboard

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Cut your cardboard

To make this steampunk heart you will need some corrugated cardboard.  I have no interest in cooking at all, so we buy Hello fresh for our meals, so I always have a supply of boxes.  Any box will work though but the thicker boxes give a better effect.

To start you need to cut out 3 heart shapes in cardboard around 220 mm high.  I can not draw to save my life, so I printed one and used it as a template. It works better to cut the cardboard with a sharp craft knife, scissors crush the sides of the cardboard. Two will be glued together for the base and the last will be for the top. You will also need some strips for the outside of the heart and the inside.  My heart is 45 mm deep, so I cut them all to this size for now.

I reprinted the heart just this time about 25 mm smaller than the first one. I used this as a template to cut out the centre of the third heart.  This will be the platform of the heart to give it the 3D look.

Split the cardboard

To get a nice corrugated look you need to remove the top layer of the cardboard. I have learnt that there is a hard way and an easy way. To get a nice clean surface which is what I wanted for this project, you need to start at the beginning. Use a craft knife and lift the top layer to get you started. Hold one side in each hand and very slowly move both edges away from each other.  The paper pops off in one clean piece in seconds.

The old way I use to do it was to use a pen and run the tip through the slots and pull off all the paper. This method is very messy and time-consuming. While this method offers a great texture effect for mixed media art projects, it was not the look I was after.

Building your 3D heart

Start, by glueing two heart together so you have a thick base.  This will offer some extra support for the sides so you have a stronger structure. I use hot glue to do this because it dries quickly and I can continue. Next, glue the sides to the base.  I did have some joins which are fine you can just slightly overlap the ends.

The hollow heart is then glued to the inside of the heart walls.  Because you have a double layer on the bottom the depth on the inside will now be different to the outside.  Measure the inside and cut the cardboard to the correct size and glue it on the inside of the heart.  This will support the top heart from caving in on itself.

Cover the heart

This is where I changed my mind on the look I wanted.  I decided to cover the heart in scraps of leather I had leftover from my Steampunk Mannequin. I covered the top and the outside with the leather, you will still see the corrugated effect through the leather on the sides. Because I was glueing corrugated cardboard to corrugated cardboard I was left with many gaps in the joins.  To offer extra support and fill in the gaps I glued some plastic beads in the crease. To glue the leather I used quick drying tacky craft glue.

Adding some texture

Decorating the heart is the fun part, and I always start by adding some texture.  You can use any scraps you can find around your home. The netting was packing of some toys I got for my niece.  The beads are half pearl which I did have to glue in place one by one using clamp scissors.

I find it easier to paint everything with the black gesso now so I have access to everything before all the layers are added.

Adding the embellishments

For this project, I used a combination of items I bought as well as items made.  Some of the steampunk charms were made using these steampunk silicone pipe moulds, steampunk embellishments and wings. Which all work great with hot glue and well as resin.

All mixed media needs a focal point which will be the first thing that catches your eye.  Mine was going to be a red heart bead with some wings attached. I wanted this to stand out much higher than the other embellishments and used this broken lamp fitting to do that. Adding the embellishment is as easy as randomly added them around the inside.  I always try and add some layers because offers a nicer effect.

Here are some of the items I used in this project.

• Metal flowers
• Filigree leaves 
• antique keys
• steampunk charms
• broken jewellery
• Round filigree charms
• assorted charms
• glass beads
• old buttons

The springs I used in those projects was a wire that I wrapped around a paintbrush and pulled it off.

The heart focal point was a glass bead from a broken necklace that was glued to a set of resin wings I made. I did add some steampunk charms to the inside of the heart but once painted it looked a mess.

This was the heart with all the embellishments glued in place before it was again painted with black gesso. You can also use acrylic paint I just find gesso has better coverage.

Painting the steampunk heart

You can now start to add some colour.

I used 2 colours on this piece, metallic emerald green and metallic rust. I like to apply my paint using a small amount on a makeup sponge and lightly dab it on. When you add the colours try not to cover all the black below as this adds to the final effect.

Closeups of 3D Steampunk heart

More DIY steampunk projects

This steampunk hat was made from mainly recycled products.

These shoes were too high to walk in, so they became ring holders with a steampunk mixed media makeover.

Now it’s time to visit the rest of the team.  Be sure to stop by each blog for some amazing Upcycling/Recycling/DIY projects.  You will find their links listed below.

The Apple Street Cottage

Birdz of a Feather

Chas’ Crazy Creations

Cloches & Lavender

Doodle Buddies

Little Vintage Cottage

Modern on Monticello

Pandora’s Box

Purple Hues & Me

Unique Creations by Anita

If you are looking for any of the items used in this project, please consider using our links. By clicking on the links we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Which helps us come up with new and exciting ideas to share with you. Please feel free to share or leave a comment we would love to hear your thoughts.