Thursday, February 7, 2008

Extreme Makeover (altered house project)





Posted by the oh so beautiful and talented Ms. Sharon

I used to merchandise at a local scrapbooking store. Meaning I'd take incoming product and create dazzling displays. After a bagel and strong cuppa Joe I'd create my magic, then step back and watch the customers' adrenaline surge. Sometimes narrowly ducking the swarm - like bees drawn to honey.
The best part of my job was creating eye-catching, sometimes eclectic visuals. The reward? Watching the line sell. Or rather, upsell. Not just the specialty paper, which the store was becoming known for. But for the accessories that went along with it. I liked to coordinate little hints to help "guide" the customers. And most often, it gloriously worked.

...With the exception of these darn little cardboard houses. They arrived before Christmas, and I was given the challenge by my boss to alter one and merchandise it accordingly. So. I set out with a simple design using buttons from the Creative Cafe (cross merchandising) then used Diamond glaze and chipboard for the windows and door.

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No one took the bait. I think my mistake was not making it more "interactive". See how my daugther's reaction was to open the door?

AND SO, in comes the line from Love, Elsie. As much as I adore her whimsical designs, it wasn't a big seller. Our demographic is more conservative. So I offered to take the above house and reinvent it to help sell the line and - once again - try to move those darn cardboard houses.
I altered it mostly using the paper from the line. The windows are stickers that come with the line. I used my "Doodling for Papercrafts" book to embellish the lettering. My white SIGNO pen is my current fav tool of choice.
You'll notice I made an explosion album in the center. I had to use THREE magnets on each side to keep it closed and not frighten the customer, should they open the door and peek inside! Inside, I used the coordinating papers and rub-ons. Click on them to enlarge the details. There's so much you can do with this line! I boxed in and highlighted certain words to make "captions" for the pictures. For an extra touch, I made the chimney and used the paper from the line for the heart smoke stack. Enjoy!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is just TOO CUTE, and so lovely. Will you open your own shop? You should! You should!

I admire and LOVE your creativity, dahlink.

Scraphappynicole said...

Great job sista friend. I loved seeing your work in the store. You could always tell what was yours. Your style is unique and is really Scrap"O"rific. Love ya girl!

Nicole

What's so funny? said...

Girls, you both rock. Mary- sorry I'll be missing you tomorrow night :(

Nichole - thanks for reconizing my scrap-o-licious-ness at The Dream. I feel so...appreciated...sniff, sniff...

Rock on sistas!

Anonymous said...

Sharon I love it! You have more creativity in your pinky finger NAIL than I
have in my entire body! I think it's wonderful that you've started this
and you seem to just know, intuitively, where to put your talent and
passion. It's beautiful!!

Nichole said...

OMG! I'm jealous. I can't find Love, Elsie anywhere! I can't believe it didn't sell well...I would have bought double of everything.

The house is super cute!

Pam said...

Dang, I gotta make a road trip! I want some Love Elsie AND that house!