Friday Focus - Idea-ology

Hi there, Cec here with the Friday Focus segment and this time it is about Idea-ology.  For the next two weeks these products will be available in The Funkie Junkie Boutique for a 15% discount (editor's note:  Friday Focus 15% off sale does not apply to the brand new Yuletide Christmas Idea-ology collection that just arrived in the store this week), which is a fabulous buy since they are already discounted from the suggested retail price.

I have made two cards to show you.  I did this on the few days we had rain this past week so there are some missing photos because they just didn't turn out, but I know you will be able to picture what I did from my description.

I used Idea-ology products I had in my stash but there are so many others to choose from so I will  give you alternatives at the end of the post if you want to make cards/projects for different occasions. 

I started by pulling a piece of Tim Holtz Color Core card stock to create the blank for this card that could be used for winter or Christmas and then added a couple layers of paper from the Maja Design Vintage Frost pad that I distressed around the edges and topped with some Deco Art Snow Writer.

The next step was to add some Idea-ology Frosted Film to some more of the Color Core card stock and to a scrap of white card stock to give them a bit of a sheen and then cut snowflakes using the Tim Holtz Paper Snowflakes Thinlits die.  Note:  The snowflakes did not cut as cleanly with the frosted film added as the card stock would have on its own so I added a thin piece of card stock to the sandwich and also used a blunt tapestry needle to coax the pieces out - there is always a workaround.  I inked the edges of the snowflakes with some Weathered Wood Distress Ink and added some Idea-ology Mirrored Stars to the centres.

Next I cut a sled from Idea-ology Grunge Paper using my Cameo. This stuff cuts like butter and can be altered in so many ways.  In this case I coated it with some Brushed Corduroy Distress Stain first and then went over it randomly with some Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I added some burlap string for the "rope" to pull it.

I took some white paint and covered an Idea-ology Christmas Word Band and then immediately wiped the paint off so that it only remained in the text recesses.  Then I added a piece of the burlap string and added it to the bottom of an Idea-ology Found Relative card from the Occasions set.

So for this winter card I used five different Idea-ology products - Frosted Film, Word Band, Mirrored Stars, Grunge Paper and Found Relatives.

For this Halloween card, I started with more Color Core card stock for the blank and added a piece of paper from the Tim Holtz Regions Beyond paper pad for the background, also an Idea-ology product.

I cut a haunted house from Grunge Paper with my Cameo and then coated it with Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint and when it was dry I inked it with some Vintage Photo DI. I didn't think it looked spooky enough so I also inked it with Black Soot DI after I took this photo.

Next I drew the outline of the house on some acetate and added some Frosted Film to it.  I didn't care if there were bubbles since the glass in an old house would not be perfect anyway.  After I cut the house shape out I attached it to the back of the Grunge Paper house and then added some Sunshine Yellow Alcohol Ink to the acetate side where the windows were.

Next I added some spiderweb stamping with a stamp from the Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge set and Jet Black Archival Ink.  In this photo, you can see the coloured windows.

I cut the tree and fence from scraps of black card stock using my Cameo and covered them with Wendy Vecchi Black Embossing Paste by patting it on with a palette knife so it would look rough.  The skeleton is an Idea-ology charm from the Adornments - Oddities set and he has been coated with Wendy Vecchi Watering Can Embossing Powder and hangs from the tree by some burlap string.

I cut a circle of card stock and inked it with Scattered Straw and Wild Honey DI and then crumpled it up and smoothed it out to make the moon.  The cobwebs are pieces of cheesecloth dyed with Black Soot DI and the bats are just clipart as are the gravestone, evil pumpkin and scary cat.

This card has four Idea-ology products - Patterned Paper, Grunge Paper, Frosted Film and Skeleton charm. but I saw quite a few neat new Halloween themed Idea-ology products in Linda's store that I wish I had been able to get my hands on.

If you are making cards/projects for other occasions, here are some suggestions for different Idea-ology items you might want to consider:

Frosted Film -can be replaced with Tissue Wrap (not self adhesive like Frosted Film but is thicker than gift wrapping tissue, adheres beautifully with a thin layer of glue, is see through and acts as a resist if you want)

Word Bands - come in many different sets or can be replaced with Typed Tokens in different sets (all can be altered with paint or alcohol ink if you want some colour)

Mirrored Stars - can be replaced with Gumdrops (come clear but can be coloured with alcohol ink), Star Fasteners, Brads of many types

Skeleton Charm - can be replaced with other charm sets or metal embellishments (can also be altered with alcohol ink or embossing powder for colour)

Halloween Paper - can be replaced with Christmas papers or Florals to name a few

Found Relatives - come in other sets and there are also Photo Booth strips

There are lots of embellishments for a variety of creative styles and I could go on and on but would encourage you to check out the Funkie Junkie Boutique to see what is available in this line that suits your creative style. 

I hope I have given you a few ideas and since my teammates also use lots of Idea-ology in their projects check their creations out for even more ideas and then let's see what you are creating.  There are still a few days left to join our  current challenge 'Stamps Be Gone!'.