STEP 1
Let's start by setting up our Color Palette.
Open the oldwood.jpg pattern you downloaded.
Set the foreground color to dark grey - I used #808080 - and the background color to black.
Set the foreground style to pattern, using the oldwood image as your pattern, with Scale = 50 and Angle = 90.
Set the background style to solid.
STEP 2
Open a new transparent image, 344 x 382 pixels in size. Add a layer and call it "supports". Load the "supports" selection and FLOOD FILL 
with the oldwood pattern. Apply an Eye Candy 3 Inner Bevel using the Low Flat Edge preset, with the Bevel Width reduced to 3.
Deselect and SAVE!
STEP 3
Add a layer and call it "steps". Load the "steps" selection. Change the Angle on the pattern to 45 and flood fill the selection with the oldwood pattern. Apply an Eye Candy 3 Inner Bevel using the same settings as in Step 2. Add a drop shadow with Vertical offset = 11, Horizontal offset = 0, Opacity = 82, Blur = 22.2, and Shadow color = black.
Repeat the drop shadow, same settings. Don't worry about the "extra" shadow below the supports and steps - this will be hidden eventually by grass and plants!
Deselect and SAVE!
STEP 4
Add a layer and call it "vtrim". Load the "vtrim" selection. Change the Angle on the pattern to 90 and flood fill the selection with the oldwood pattern. Apply an Eye Candy 3 Inner Bevel using the Mesa preset.
Deselect and SAVE!
STEP 5
Add a layer and call it "htrim". Load the "htrim" selection. Change the Angle on the pattern to 0 and flood fill the selection with the oldwood pattern. Apply an Eye Candy 3 Inner Bevel using the same settings as in the previous step.
Deselect and SAVE!
STEP 6
Add a layer and call it "nails". Load the "nails" selection. Flood fill with black using the right mouse button and apply the PSP inner bevel using the Round preset.
If you wish to make your own nails, use the PAINT BRUSH tool 
with Shape = Round, Size = 4, Hardness, Opacity and Density = 100, and Step = 25. Add black nails as shown, and then apply the PSP inner bevel using the Round preset.
Deselect and SAVE! Here's what we have:
STEP 7
Set the background style to gradient, choosing the #1 Foreground-Background gradient provided with PSP, with Style = Linear Gradient, Angle = 0, and Repeats = 0. Unless you've changed your colors, they should already be set (foreground - dark grey and background - black).
Activate "Layer1". Add a layer and call it "shadow". Load the "shadow" selection. Using your right mouse button, Flood fill with the gradient to darken the area under the steps.
Deselect and SAVE!
STEP 8
That's it! Essentially, you're done! Now you want to add your decorations - sky, grass, flowers, tools, and whatever else you have on your summer steps! Be sure to activate the top layer before adding all these goodies, and put each item on a separate layer so you can move them around until you get things the way you want them! When you're done, add a drop shadow to all your items - I used a drop shadow with Horizontal and Vertical offsets = 0, Opacity = 67, and Blur = 14.8. Save often while you're on this step! You might even want to add a frame - I made mine using the oldwood pattern.
Then all that's left to do is watermark, merge all layers, save, and you're finished!
Don't forget to sharpen your image if you resize it at this point!
Here's another Summer Steps image I made using other tubes for decoration:
Hope you have enjoyed this tutorial as much as I did creating it!
If you have any problems, comments, or questions, please do not hesitate to Email me.
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