Unless you are especially talented, you will not be able to recreate the rich panoply of detail in a fine Victorian painting without help. A painting by numbers kit will make the whole activity more accessible. The "Victorian Garden" kit is a typical example. Featuring a Victorian detached house amongst a group of trees, with a white fence, summer flowers and a pond, the kit includes a pre-printed textured art board, acrylic paints and brush, instructions and a color chart.
Photography was burgeoning in the Victorian era, as new cameras and processes were invented. With a modern camera, and photo editing software, you can replicate the art of Victorian photographs. If you can hire some Victorian costumes and convince your friends to dress up, so much the better. Take as many pictures as possible. Choose the best and open them with your photo editing software. Apply a sepia effect to travel back in time.
Collage using Victorian imagery is very effective. You can combine flower-festooned illustrations, nostalgic scenes, and winged cherubs to make ornate yet whimsical works. You simply cut out the images you like, arrange them and glue them onto a sheet of paper, card or board. You can use the same technique on boxes, mirror frames and table tops, then coat it with varnish, to create decoupage. You can buy collage sheets from many places. Swing Shift Designs is just one company that even offers a few free samples to get you started.
Cyanotypes were invented in 1842. They are distinctive cyan-blue prints. Botanist Anna Atkins used the process to produce albums of plant pictures. To produce your own cyanotypes, you can use a kit, such as Dr. Michael Ware's New Cyanotype Kit. With Ware's kit, you can create up to fifty 8 x 10 inch prints if you take care to apply the sensitizer in the correct manner with a glass coating rod, also referred to fondly as a "puddle pusher."